Unofficial pickets are expected to appear on many building sites today as scaffolders seeking pay rises and improved training and working conditions take industrial action.
The pickets will cause disruption and could lead to layoffs on building sites, according to the Construction Industry Federation.
Each side says the other has refused to attend Labour Relations Commission talks. There have already been pickets, including one at Croke Park and on housing developments at Easter.
In advertisements in this morning's newspapers, the CIF calls the scaffolders' claim for a wage increase "an unjustifiable and clearly unreasonable claim".
It continues: "This unofficial action will lead to significant disruption on construction sites. We very much regret the inconvenience that will be caused to the industry's clients and the layoffs which will inevitably follow if these strikes continue."
The ad-hoc Dublin Scaffolders' Society, which has initiated the unofficial action, is following the line taken by SIPTU crane drivers who secured a £3-an-hour pay rise after similar independent action. The scaffolders are said to be seeking rates of between £9.50 and £18 an hour.
The CIF says scaffolders will receive a 21 per cent increase in basic pay over the lifetime of Partnership 2000, and that increases to scaffolders this year include 7 per cent received on April 1st, 1.5 per cent due on July 1st, and 2.3 per cent on November 1st.
However, according to Mr Eric Flemming, of the construction branch of SIPTU, the key issue for scaffolders is not pay but health, safety and training.
"Scaffolders . . . are annoyed that they find themselves unable to attend training courses due to unco-operative employers," he said. Pay was an issue "but we want progress on safety and training to come first".
However, Mr Liam Kelleher, CIF chief executive, has called the training issue "a smokescreen". The federation has "led the development of training programmes and certification for scaffolders in conjunction with ICTU and FAS", according to its advertisement. "Progress on resolving the dispute cannot be achieved while the unofficial action continues."
The present basic rate of pay for scaffolders is £6.70 per hour.