Dave Reid, Socialist Party Wales
Ainscough crane drivers took strike action on 1 February after a 90% vote against a two-year pay deal being imposed on the workforce by the company that is also trying to casualise working conditions and hit safety.
Pickets were out in force at the Cardiff depot and the strike was solid – no worker crossed the picket line. Reports from across the country indicated the strike had brought the company to a virtual halt.
The crane drivers are highly skilled operatives who are striking for more than the 2.5% and 2.75% offered by the company. And against new contracts that casualise the industry.
Ainscough made £14 million profit last year and the managing director gave himself a rise of over 20%!
Meanwhile, the company is introducing zero-hour contracts to new workers that further casualise the work and threaten safety.
For these operators there will be no guaranteed weekly hours or pay. Instead they will be expected to work from any depot with no payment for travel time, a cut in holidays and no payment if weather conditions on the site make it unsafe to work.
Unsafe conditions
Management are trying to replace the highly skilled workforce with a casual workforce by making crane drivers redundant and then offering work on a zero-hour basis. It is trying to drive the work back to the unsafe conditions of the past.
The national strike could be escalated with another one-day strike on 8 February followed by two two-day strikes and two three-day strikes, so the company might as well concede now!
