OVER 500 electricians walked off building sites in the greater Dublin area yesterday morning because of the failure of contractors to give them a £33 a week pay rise. This was their second unofficial stoppage this week, with further stoppages expected. It appears to have been most effective on large sites.
A spokesman for the electricians' shop stewards said: "We are very pleased with the turnout we have achieved. Unless employers recognise the genuine anger that exists, and our willingness to fight for the concession of our full award, there will be increased and rolling action."
The next stoppage is likely to be on Wednesday, when the electricians' union, the Technical Engineering and Electrical Union, is due to meet the Construction Industry Federation.
The TEFU assistant general secretary, Mr Finn Lawless, said the protests were "a mark of the level of frustration and anger our people feel that an agreement that was supposed to be implemented last January is still not in force at the end of June".