THE executive of the electricians' union has voted unanimously for strike action, writes Padraig Yeates. The strike is in pursuit of a pay rise awarded to members in the construction industry last January. The Technical Engineering and Electrical Union is to serve 14 days' strike notice on the employers' organisations today.
TEEU assistant general secretary Mr Finn Lawless said after last night's executive meeting that the difference between what the employers were offering and the original award by an independent arbitrator was about £2,000. "That's a lot to ask people to forgo in a boom period," he added.
If the strike goes ahead it will be the largest craftworkers' strike since 1969 and the first national strike by construction industry electricians since 1961.