Will Dutch masters need extra time at Wembley?

But what should have been a source of pride for Darlington engineering company Cleveland Bridge, has turned into a nightmare, with hundreds of workers losing their jobs in a legal battle with main contractor Multiplex. Deputy Business Editor JULIA BREEN gets the inside track on the dispute from one sacked worker.

Wembley's main contractor Multiplex has assured the nation that the stadium will be ready for the FA Cup final in 2006. But former worker Davey Roote has his doubts.

The land surveyor and leveller, who was one of 200 workers taken on when Dutch steel fabricator Hollandia took over the construction contract from Darlington engineering company Cleveland Bridge, has seen first-hand the amount of work that has been done during the summer.

"In our industry, the best two months of the year are June and July for putting steel up," he said.

"There are lighter mornings, the weather is generally better, and you can work later into the evening.

"But while I have been there, since we were taken on by Hollandia, there has been hardly any steel delivered and no steel going up."

"The amount of work that's been done, I can't see it being on schedule.

"The past couple of months we have hardly done any work. They say it is not behind schedule, but it has to be."

Under Cleveland Bridge's management, 800 tonnes of steel were being delivered and used each week.

But Mr Roote said that only 1,000 tonnes had been delivered in the past two months since Cleveland Bridge pulled out.

Mr Roote and his 200 colleagues, consisting of welders, platers and steel erectors, had been working on the stadium for 18 months with Cleveland Bridge, "without a hitch", he said.

But in June, to the bewilderment of workers and unions, Cleveland Bridge suddenly stopped work on the project. The company was due to work there until its completion in 2006 and, only a week before it pulled out, was celebrating the completion of the Wembley Arch.

Cleveland Bridge says it is owed millions by Multiplex.

Mr Roote said that Cleveland Bridge was called to a meeting with Multiplex in June, which it believed was about the contract for the roof of the stadium.

But he said the Darlington company was told the contract had been given to Hollandia, and Cleveland Bridge had 28 days to leave the site.

"To be honest, we were just the cogs in the wheel," said Mr Roote. "It was all a bit over our heads and we weren't quite sure what was going on."

Workers were transferred to Hollandia's employment under an agency, Fast Track, and it was believed their contracts would carry on until the work was completed.

But Mr Roote said the new employer wanted them to work seven days a week for three weeks, without a break, and that other terms and conditions stipulated by the company went against the construction industry's employment rules, as laid out in what is known as the Blue Book. Unions were involved in negotiations, and it was believed a settlement had been reached. But just over two weeks ago, Mr Roote said workers were called to a surprise meeting.

"They came in at 11.45am and told us we were all working against our contracts and we were sacked on the spot.

"I think the likes of Multiplex wanted us to go on strike so they would have an excuse to sack us.

"I have worked in the engineering and construction industry for 35 years and a lot of the lads are the same. I have worked for the biggest companies in the country and I have never been sacked in my life. They just didn't want us there."

Later, 15 managers and site foremen, who had been seconded from Cleveland Bridge to Hollandia to smooth the transition of the project, had their contracts terminated.

Mr Roote said: "I think it was because they were hoping Cleveland Bridge would talk to those managers, but by the end Cleveland Bridge was refusing to do that and they were no longer of use to Multiplex and Hollandia."

He also repeated claims made by Cleveland Bridge that the instructions for raising the stadium's retractable roof, which took engineers working for the company a year to devise, would take months for Hollandia to replace.

He said that Cleveland Bridge owned the patents for the complex engineering operation.

A source at the engineering company has told The Northern Echo that the roof could only be put up with Cleveland Bridge's computer module.

Mr Roote hopes that picketing workers and unions will put pressure on the company by delaying the project further. "Once the picket was made official, most people won't cross the picket line," he said. "But it is a peaceful demonstration - there hasn't been any trouble there."

This week, some Dutch workers brought over to replace the sacked employees walked out of the site in disgust at their treatment and reinforced former workers' claims that very little work had been done for months.

Mr Roote said he would be on the picket-line with his former colleagues for as long as possible, but said the expense of staying in London without a wage would drive many of the workers, about half of whom are from the North-East, back home.

He said: "I have worked all over and to say that this was one of the most amazing projects I have worked on is an understatement.

"Watching the arch going up was really good - we were proud of doing that - but, to be honest, now the pride has gone stale."