New offer in bid to avert engineering construction strike

Employers are hoping a revised pay and conditions offer will head-off threats of a national strike which could cripple power stations across the country.

The new deal will be put to a meeting of engineering construction national shop stewards in Manchester next week.

The shop stewards have already recommended a previous pay rise of at least 3% over the next two years but it was rejected by the rank and file workforce in a national ballot.

The workers were unhappy about the increase but also demanded tighter wording in the Naeci "blue book" over the use of cheap foreign labour in the industry.

Demands for a better deal have continued against a backdrop of unrest and unofficial stoppages over the influx of foreign workers.

It is understood employers at the Engineering Construction Industry Association have altered the agreement's terminology to reflect the workers' concerns and have increased the pay offer by a marginal amount.