Construction BUSINESS

A large number of crane drivers on some of Dublin’s highest-profile building sites were unavailable for work last week as a row over pay in the construction sector worsened.

As many as 80% of crane drivers operating on sites in Dublin city did not show up for work bringing building work to a halt. The drivers were struck down by what sources described as “crane flu”. Many of the highest-profile building sites in Dublin’s booming Docklands and elsewhere in the city were unable to function when the drivers did not show up for work.

The recent mass absenteeism came after many crane drivers changed trade union as a pay dispute threatened to escalate. Many were previously members of Siptu but were forced to bargain for pay on each individual building site after a registered employment agreement for construction was struck down in 2011. They had asked the trade union to lodge a general wage claim for €27 an hour but the union had not done so, according to sources.