At a conference of senior union representatives from the engineering construction industry, a decision was reached to recommend an offer from the employers on a new national agreement covering workers in the engineering construction industry.

Unite, the biggest union in construction, will now hold a consultative ballot of its members in construction with a recommendation from the union to accept the offer. The results of the ballot will be known within a fortnight.

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Unite assistant general secretary, Les Bayliss, said: "Following months of intense negotiations, the union is now in a position to recommend an offer from the employers to thousands of workers in the construction industry.

"If the offer is accepted by the workers there is the opportunity for industrial peace in an industry which has been plagued by unrest, thanks to certain unscrupulous employers.

"With a significant number of new build projects on the horizon, the construction industry is hugely important to the UK economy and will help bring the UK out of recession. If the offer is accepted, it's in everyone's interest to make the agreement work."

The National Agreement for the Engineering Construction Industry (NAECI) has operated since 1981. If the new agreement is accepted, it will run from 1 January 2010 to 31 December 2011.

(CD/KMcA)