The trade union, Unite, which represents over 90% of crane operators in Ireland, has warned that industrial action involving their members could escalate in the absence of meaningful engagement by the Construction Industry Federation.
Today’s nationwide stoppage marked the fourth day of industrial action in the dispute.
Speaking on a picket line in Ballsbridge this morning, Unite Regional Officer for Construction Tom Fitzgerald suggested today’s picket again illustrated members’ determination to secure wage rates which accurately reflect their skills and levels of responsibility and the recovery in the construction sector.
“Crane operators are frustrated at the lack of meaningful engagement from the Construction Industry Federation, and there is a very real danger that this dispute could escalate further.
“A resolution of this dispute is in the CIF’s hands. They owe it to their own members to sit down and engage constructively and collectively with us”, Tom Fitzgerald said.