Workers at crane operator HTC Wolffkran are to be balloted over taking strike action.

Union Unite said it will submit ballot papers to staff this week after the company refused to hold fresh talks in a dispute over pay to employees.

Previous talks broke down when HTC Wolffkran's refused to increase its pay offer beyond 3% with a commitment of bringing holidays in line with industry minimums.

Unite said negotiators "also undermined their own position" when they stated they would only countenance a two-year pay deal, when a one-year deal was what had previously been discussed. The company's final offer was for a three per cent increase and an additional days holiday this year and the same again next year.

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The union said the pay offer is a cut in real terms as the retail price index is currently 3.7% and is expected to increase. Unite's members are "increasingly unhappy" that their pay has not recovered in real terms compared to what workers were receiving in 2008.

Workers will begin to receive their ballot papers from Wednesday, 19 July and the ballot will close on Monday, 04 August. If action is approved, strikes will begin later this summer and are set to "

create chaos across the industry".

It is expected the action will affect major contractors and construction projects in London, Birmingham, Sheffield, Manchester and Leeds. High profile schemes set to be affected also includethe Tottenham Hotspur stadium, Greenwich Peninsula, Elephant and Castle redevelopment, the Midland Metropolitan Hospital and the Sheffield Retail Quarter.

Jerry Swain, Unite's acting national officer for construction, said: "This strike ballot is taken very much as a last resort and is entirely a result of HTC Wolffkran failing to put forward a pay offer that meets our members' expectations and its refusal to return to the negotiating table.

"The ball remains in HTC Wolffkran's court if it wants to avoid strike action it needs to re-open negotiations and table a realistic pay offer.

"Without an improved offer contractors need to brace themselves for major disruption as sites grind to a halt and projects are delayed."

(LM/MH)