A strike ballot has opened in the Taylor Wimpey pay dispute involving 19 scaffolders and 31 joiners in Sunderland, according to Unite.
Voting began on 9 November and is scheduled to close on 23 November, the union said in a Unite Live report published on 9 November. The report does not announce strike dates.
The ballot is a new stage in the dispute covered by Scaffmag, when Unite had raised the possibility of industrial action but had not confirmed a ballot.
Dispute over bonus terms
Unite says the directly employed workers received dismissal notices on 1 October and faced a 7 October deadline to sign revised terms. The union alleges that the proposed changes would reduce bonus pay by more than 30%. That is its assessment of the bonus changes, not a verified reduction in each worker’s total earnings.
“Unite will continue to support our affected members throughout this process,” regional officer Greg Robson said.
The Sunderland pay dispute is separate from the consultation over changes to local teams reported by Scaffmag yesterday (10 November), which could lead to redundancies.
Taylor Wimpey’s earlier response
In a statement reported by Construction Enquirer on 19 October, before the ballot announcement, Taylor Wimpey said a routine benchmarking exercise had identified some North East direct-labour roles whose terms were significantly ahead of comparable rates and needed review.
The company said the consultation had been conducted fairly and openly and that it had consulted Acas. It said a grievance had been raised under the CIJC Working Rule Agreement and that it would engage with employees before a final resolution, with several possible outcomes still being considered.
