At the centre of the dispute is Altrad’s offer of a one-time 4 per cent pay uplift, which falls far short of the two-year deal of 11.3 per cent and 5.5 per cent proposed under the National Agreement for the Engineering Construction Industry.
A recent indicative ballot saw members vote 100 per cent in favour of strike action and if a strike were to go ahead, it would bring work at the site to a halt.
Altrad staff at an adjacent site saw their pay increase following another recent GMB dispute.
Workers at the Bacton site – who do identical work, including scaffolding, painting, and thermal insulation - are now seeking the same resolution.
The ballot closes on Thursday 18th September.
Paul Block, GMB Regional Organiser, said:
“GMB representatives have worked hard to get Altrad to listen to our members and resolve this dispute.
“So far, the company has been unwilling to provide any meaningful resolution.
“Staff on both sites work incredibly hard and they are just looking for fair pay for a fair day’s work.
“They do identical work and they are employed by the same employer – there is simply no excuse to pay them differently.”
