Fresh strike dates have been announced in a concrete maker dispute.

The Unite union yesterday announced a further escalation of the dispute with Tarmac Building Products Ltd, in Buckingham Hill Road, Stanford-le-Hope, over the creation of a two tier workforce.

Unite members at the company which produces concrete breeze blocks, say they will strike on March 6 and 8.

The decision to strike comes after the company’s decision to impose a new contract on new starters which will result in them receiving lower rates of pay, creating a two-tier workforce.

It has already been announced that there will be walkouts on Tuesday 20 and Thursday, March 22. Further strike dates are set to be announced in the coming days.

There have already been three days of strike action since the first day of action on January 30.

Since the strike action, the production of concrete blocks at Tarmac has been severely affected.

Unite regional officer Guy Langston, said: “Tarmac was warned that further strike dates would be announced if this dispute was not resolved.

“Due to the company’s refusal to bring forward proposals to resolve this dispute, that is what happened.

“Unite members never take strike action lightly but they believe that the changes that Tarmac is making to contracts are the thin end of the wedge.”

A spokesman for Tarmac said: "We continue to make every effort to resolve the industrial action and are continuing our discussions with Unite.

"We fully support peoples' right to legal protest and want to work with Unite to ensure these can be undertaken in a safe manner.

"In the meantime, we'll continue to focus our efforts on safely supplying customers and resolving matters with employees through constructive discussions."