Unite tower crane workers at Wolffkran take strike action over three years of stagnant pay

Unite have announced that tower crane operators employed by industry giant Wolffkran will begin strike action. The workers are taking a stand against three years of stagnant pay.

As a consequence, construction work will likely come to a halt on building sites across the UK unless the world-leading German company comes back with a better offer.

‘Completely unacceptable’

Almost 100 crane operators are taking part in the industrial action. The workers, represented by Unite, have voiced their fury having not received a pay rise in three years. To make matters worse, Wolffkran are now seeking to slash additional benefits, including standby payments received for being on call.

The operators will begin their strike action on Tuesday 27 January. After that, they’ll walk out every fortnight, though the exact dates will vary from site to site. Unite union members at each site intend to cause maximum disruption through strategic timing of strikes.

Sharon Graham, Unite’s general secretary, said:

It is completely unacceptable that highly skilled and vital construction workers have not seen their pay increase in three years. To add insult to injury Wolffkran is now attacking workers’ conditions.

Unite is the UK’s principal construction union and we will be backing our members one hundred per cent in their dispute. They deserve a fair day’s pay.

Knock-on effects

Within the last few years, major contractors such as Mace and Vinci and Mace have hired Wolffkran cranes. Vinci used four for a £138m open-die forge project in Sheffield last year. Likewise, beginning in 2024, Mace used five Wolffkran cranes on its West London Powergate Data Centre project.

Wolffkran also operates on several other major construction sites in the UK, including the Cambridge Science Park, Grenfell Tower deconstruction, and the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts in Berkshire.

Given the vital nature of tower cranes for projects of such magnitude, the walkouts will likely bring construction to a standstill later this month. Geotechnical engineering website Geomechanics explained the wider implications of the Wolffkran strike:

With Wolffkran UK controlling more than 220 tower cranes, any prolonged Unite-led stoppage in the United Kingdom is likely to affect critical-path lifting on high-profile schemes like the Grenfell Tower deconstruction and Cambridge Science Park, forcing main contractors to re-sequence works or source alternative crane capacity at short notice.

In our Infrastructure coverage, safety-tagged pieces involving labour action often precede tighter site controls or renegotiated method statements, so this dispute may translate into more stringent lifting protocols and operator consultation on complex jobs such as the new headquarters for the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts.

The planned strike pattern of action every two weeks suggests intermittent but recurring disruption, which tends to be harder for project planners to absorb than a single continuous stoppage because it complicates booking of mobile cranes, deliveries, and just-in-time concrete and steel operations tied to tower crane availability.

‘A fair wage for a vital job’

Given the highly technical nature of their work, and the fact that it’s necessary for so many different large-scale projects, it’s understandable that the Wolffkran employees feel insulted by years of static wages.

A Wolffkran crane operator who’s taking part in the strike told Construction Enquirer that:

The drivers feel they aren’t being offered a fair wage for what is a vital job.

Any strike action would have a major impact because we wouldn’t expect others to cross a picket line.

He also added that:

Stopping work is always a last resort so hopefully a deal can be struck.

Echoing that sentiment, Unite regional officer Vince McCoy stated that:

These workers are doing a difficult, dangerous and highly stressful role.

Without a pay rise for over three years and facing the threat of worse terms they have reached the end of their patience and are now taking strike action.

We urge Wolffkran to come back with a much improved offer.

With the workers timing their action to cause as much disruption as possible on their individual worksites, Wolffkran looks likely to face significant numbers of angry contractors. Of course, all of this could be avoided, should the company come back with an offer that isn’t a slap in the face for their hard-working employees.

Featured image via Volffkran