CRUNCH talk are due to be held tomorrow (Wednesday) in a bid to ensure an independent audit of wage rates is carried out at the £200m energy-from-waste plant being built at the Wilton complex on Teesside.

The talks will involve Merseyside Recycling and Waste Authority (MRWA), which awarded a 30-year £1.2 billion contract to Sita/Sembcorp to turn waste into energy.

The focus of the six-month dispute is that the Wilton project is being built outside of the terms of all the national agreements for the construction industry which have been in place for more than 30 years.

Sita Sembcorp UK has rejected the claims and says principal contractor CNIM has carried out an investigation into more than 60 sub-contractors’ pay rates.

Officials say the move found the vast majority are offering salaries above national agreements.

However, it emerged last week that two firms have seen their agreements torn up after failing to give any evidence, which CNIM says is proof of its commitment to providing a fair workplace.

Unite regional officer Steve Cason said: “The unions are demanding that a forensic wage audit be carried out at the site, which the unions have agreed to pay for, with the goal that the workers at Wilton receive the nationally agreed rates of pay.

“We are going into the talks with executives from MRWA and Sita/Sembcorp in a constructive frame of mind. However, should our reasonable demands not be met we will report back to the Teesside construction committee (TCC) which will then decide on the next steps in our campaign for pay justice.”

Unite has members working at the plant and is critical about the lack of access to workers at the project. This follows on-going concerns about undercutting of wage rates, as well as health and safety issues.

The union is also worried at the lack of job opportunities for people from the local community. The union would like to see the companies taking the lead on apprenticeships and ensuring opportunities are available for young people.

There also appears to be a high number of agency labour onsite operating through umbrella companies who are employed with no employment rights.

Mr Cason added: “We also want to avoid the situation where the infrastructure to burn waste is completed and owned by Sita and, as competition is wiped out, prices to remove and burn waste from local authorities could rise, placing an unfair burden on the council taxpayer.”

The waste-to-energy plant’s construction has been the focus of union action, with hundreds of protesters demonstrating near the factory over pay, alleged favouring of foreign workers, poor treatment of migrant staff and a disregard for safety.

Sita Sembcorp UK has consistently denied the accusations, and always said it doesn’t agree with any claims about the factory build.