WORKERS at a strike-hit dump truck factory were ordered home yesterday - and told not to bother coming in on Monday.

Bosses told 150 workers at the Caterpillar plant, in Peterlee, County Durham, to leave without warning.

A letter was also issued by managing director Dick Cooper ordering all 500 shop floor staff not to report for work on Monday.

Last night, Kelvin Wood, the Amicus/AEEU works convenor at Caterpillar, said union members would meet tomorrow to decide their next move.

He said that Mr Cooper said the paid mass absence was to allow the company to prepare for the latest in a series of 24-hour strikes, on Tuesday, over a pay and conditions row.

Mr Wood said that, earlier in the day, union representatives had offered to fall in line with new working practices aimed at making the plant more efficient.

He said: "We had a meeting with Dick Cooper at 3pm and we were informed just after that he was sending the back shift home, and he gave us a letter to say all the day shift did not have to report in on Monday morning."

After insisting it wanted to resolve the matter internally, the US-owned firm relented earlier this week and entered into talks with the arbitration service Acas. However, no agreement was reached.

No one from Caterpillar was available for comment last night.