AN INDUSTRIAL stand-off over pay at a North-East dock could escalate.

Union negotiators for tug boat crews at Teesport may hold a strike ballot in January if a three per cent basic pay increase is not extended to bonuses and other benefits and if current working practices are not maintained.

And a war of words is developing over how much they already earn and over Danish boatmen employed during a ten-week-old work-to-rule action on the Tees.

Employer Svitzer says the average boatman earns between £30,000 and £42,000, but the Transport and General Workers Union (TGWU) puts the basic figure at about £20,000. The calculation is difficult because of the hours the men on the six boats work.

Svitzer has also hit back at claims by a union negotiator and David Walsh, Labour leader of Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council, that a collision involving one of the two Danish boats hitting a jetty may have been caused by Danish crew not having an intimate knowledge of the Tees.

Iain Buchanan, Svitzer's regional director, said: "Unfortunately, we have not been able to make progress in our negotiations with union representatives and, some time ago, the union embarked upon a programme of industrial action short of a strike.

"In the interests of our customers, we have been using tugs from our Danish fleet to help maintain services. It is nonsensical to suggest these tugs and their crews operate to lower standards than UK vessels. We remain open to constructive negotiations."

No one from the Teesside TGWU could be contacted for comment yesterday, although it has been suggested that early preparations for a strike ballot are being made.