Around 500 construction workers at Hinkley Point staged a canteen sit-in on Tuesday following a row over overtime pay.
Workers at the massive nuclear job downed-tools after not getting overtime pay from the weekend when the site was shut due to heavy snow.
Many workers are not local and stayed near the site rather than returning home.
One builder at the site told the Bridgewater Mercury: “Construction staff are currently taking part in a sit-in strike in the canteen at Hinkley C.
“EDF is refusing to pay the weekend pay even though people stayed local ready to work. There are about 500 of us.”
Asked how long the strike was expected to last, the worker said: “Until they pay us.”
Another worker said: “This is not an organised, union-backed strike. We have withdrawn our labour because we are at the end of our tether.
“A senior manager came out and spoke to us just before 12, asking us to get back to work and was met with a resounding ‘no’.”
A spokesman for EDF said: “The majority of the Hinkley Point C workforce are working as normal today. A smaller number of workers are disputing payments for bad weather and they are being encouraged to return to work.
“Employees who were unable to work at the site during recent bad weather will be paid in line with agreements signed with the trade unions.”
EDF sais the safety of its workforce is paramount and a decision was made to close the site on Thursday ahead of the bad weather.
Work was carried out over the weekend to ensure the site was available for a safe return to work this week.
from Construction Enquirer http://www.constructionenquirer.com/2018/03/06/500-hinkley-construction-workers-stage-canteen-sit-in/
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