Ucatt mass picket outside Nova Square construction site, Victoria, London, 7.11.14, photo by Rob Williams (Click to enlarge: opens in new window)
Hundreds of crane drivers from the UCATT construction union picketed building sites in London and around the country this morning in a dispute over pay with HTC Plant Limited.
Workers had voted 94% in favour of strike action and 94.6% in favour of industrial action short of strike action. The turnout was in excess of 80%.
There was a mass picket outside the Nova Square site in Victoria which saw concrete mixer lorry drivers refusing to cross picket lines.
Ucatt mass picket outside Nova Square construction site, Victoria, London, 7.11.14, photo by Rob Williams (Click to enlarge: opens in new window)
Drivers are furious that after years of pay freezes and even wage cuts, they have only been offered 3%, when all the talk is of a recovery and in London in particular it seems that the industry is booming.
Workers have had enough of paying the price and now want their share. One worker said: “We haven’t had a rise for years. We’ll keep taking action until we get one”.
UCATT has given notice of further strikes on the next two Fridays.
Workers saw the brother of the company director keeping an eye on the Victoria picket line. They gave him a wave with the clear message to take back to managment that it’s time to pay up!
Rob Williams, chair, National Shop Stewards Network
This version of this article was first posted on the Socialist Party website on 7 November 2014 and may vary slightly from the version subsequently printed in The Socialist.
