The 29 workers are employed by Altrad-Hertel at the power station. According to Unite, the dispute is a result of the company refusing to register the scaffolders under the relevant industrial agreement the National Agreement for the Electrical Construction Industry (NAECI). The vast majority of other construction workers on the site work under the NAECI agreement, Unite says.
Unite has called two 24-hour strikes: from 6am on Thursday 5th September and a week later on Thursday 12 September.
Continuous strike action is then scheduled to begin on Wednesday 18th September.
Unite claims to have exhausted all grievance procedures in an attempt to get Altrad-Hertel to agree to abide by the NAECI agreement, before moving to an industrial action ballot.
Unite regional officer Chris Weldon said: “The strikes are set to cause a great deal of disruption at Drax. The strikes are entirely of Altrad-Hertel’s own making as the company has failed to act reasonably. The vast majority of construction workers at Drax work under the auspices of the NAECI agreement and there is no good reason why scaffolders should be treated any differently.
“Our members feel very strongly about this issue and they have voted for strike action as a last resort. Even though strike action has been announced it is not too late for the dispute to be resolved.
“Altrad-Hertel simply needs to enter into negotiations and agree to employ the scaffolders under the NAECI agreement.”
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