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Hundreds of Wembley workers to be sacked

28/03/2006

Hundreds of workers building the troubled new Wembley stadium are to be laid off next week as a result of a pay dispute.

Trade union officials representing workers at Wembley revealed today that hundreds of steelworkers, scaffolders and welders have been informed by contractors that they will no longer be in employment from next Tuesday.

The row centres on a dispute between suppliers and contractors at the stadium, which has resulted in sub-contractors not being paid.

Tom Kelly of the GMB union, which represents workers on the project, revealed the lay-offs and warned contractors that the union would give its full backing to its members.

"We have instructed our members to carry on working normally until we have an opportunity to resolve the matter," Mr Kelly said.

"The stadium is not finished and someone will have to employ our members to finish the job."

The news represents yet another setback for Australian construction firm Multiplex, which is already facing substantial losses as a result of overspending and the late completion of the stadium.

Last week, work at the stadium was suspended for the day after a 50m steel roof beam collapsed.

The Football Association has already confirmed that this year's FA Cup final will not be played at the new stadium after Multiplex admitted there was a 30 per cent chance the £757 million project would not be completed on time.

Multiplex has admitted that it stands to incur "significant" losses of up to £1 million a week if, as now seems almost certain, it misses Friday's deadline for project completion.

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