Pay and conditions on the Tyneside yards are harmonised

The fitters and welders, employed by subcontractors C and D Industrial Services, voted to re-open negotiations with management at a meeting on Wednesday morning.

They are demanding a pay increase of �1.95 an hour to bring them in line with workers employed directly by Swan Hunter's and Amec.

About 2,000 workers from the two yards staged a lightning strike on Monday in support of the craftsmen.

The 98 were sacked on 5 September after holding a one-day unofficial strike.

Ken Rogan, from the Amicus union, said he was optimistic a deal could now be struck.

River deal

"We have some good guarantees on the table. We don't have the money in our pocket, but we do have something.

"C and D said in front of Acas members that the meeting will progress on Thursday with a maximum of two weeks negotiations to get us to the yard rate."

Meanwhile, it has been reported that the wildcat strike has led the Swan Hunter boss Jaap Kroese to consider pulling out of an agreement signed last year to harmonise pay and working conditions among the Tyneside yards.

Norman Brownell, commercial director at Swan Hunter, said: "Jaap has put his personal fortune into this yard... naturally he must feel very, very personally disappointed with the actions of the workforce and I think we can understand why.

"I think when the river agreement was put together there was always a danger that if there was mismanagement or problems at one yard it would spread to another yard, despite the unions telling us this would not happen.

"I think it was somewhat unofficial the way it [the strike] came about."