HUNDREDS of workers at a North-East Corus site are considering taking industrial action for the second time in a few weeks after a new dispute between employees and the company erupted.

A ballot on industrial action was last night under way at the Corus Tubes plant, in Hartlepool, over the company’s decision to suspend bonus payments.

The move affects workers in all Corus divisions nationally, but those in the Corus Tubes sector work on a different pay scale to the majority of the company’s workers, and are said to rely heavily on their bonuses to subsidise their basic wage.

The dispute – said to be a “double whammy” for workers in the Corus Tubes division – comes at a time when unions representing workers across the country are locked in negotiations with the company over its plans to close the pension scheme to new staff.

While industrial action was being threatened earlier this month, that has now been suspended while negotiations between Corus and the unions are held, with lawyers from both sides currently looking at the cost of finding alternatives to closing the pension scheme – which dates from its days as British Steel – to new starters.

A Corus spokesman said: “Corus has written to employees reaffirming that bonuses cannot be paid for the quarter just ended in view of the fact that bonus agreements with the trade unions for 2009-10 have not been concluded,”

adding that the company was hopeful that discussions could get under way shortly.

Last night, Jimmy Skivington, regional organiser for the GMB union, said: “I can’t say that there won’t also be an industrial action ballot held if there is no resolution surrounding the pensions issue, but at this time, it is only the plant in Hartlepool balloting, and that is over the issue of bonus payments.

“The workers are not happy the bonus payments, which are a very big part of their wages, have been stopped, even though this site is in profit and that part of the business is doing well. For the workers in Hartlepool, this is a double whammy.”