Union representatives are to meet today to decide the timing and form of industrial action by 6,000 workers in the electrical contracting sector.
The electricians, members of the Technical, Engineering and Electrical Union (TEEU), have balloted to strike in pursuit of a pay claim. The action could cause significant delays to construction projects and would also hit other areas of the economy including manufacturing and services.
While the main impact would be in the private sector, the dispute could also hit public service agencies that contract out electrical installation and maintenance work.
The TEEU says the dispute is over employers' refusal to set new rates for the sector through agreed procedures. In addition, the union says, employers have said they will want a six-month pay freeze in the event of a new rate being struck.
New pay rates were due to come into effect in the sector on April 1st. The union is also pursuing a claim for payment of a 1 per cent lump sum due under the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness to compensate for inflation. Most private sector workers, it says, received this payment by September 2002.
An association representing 360 electrical contractors says it is refusing to pay new rates until employers paying below legal minimum rates are forced to comply with the law.
The Association of Electrical Contractors (Ireland) (AECI) says it will attend a Labour Court hearing arranged for June 2nd to outline its position.
Mr Gerard Goggin, national honorary secretary of the AECI, said the association had done a survey which established that only 12 per cent of contractors were complying with their obligations on pay. Some employers, he said, were paying electricians €9 an hour, about half the legal minimum rate.
