Talks avert shipyard walkout

The sacked workers staged a picket on Monday

There is expected to be no repeat of strike action which brought two shipyards on the River Tyne to a standstill.

A deal was brokered late on Monday night which will be put to the 98 sacked subcontractors who had been working at the Swan Hunter and Amec yards at Wallsend.

Secondary action was taken by some 2,000 staff there on Monday in support of the subcontractors' case.

An agreement was reached following five hours of talks brokered by the conciliation service ACAS.

Mass meeting

The dispute started when staff employed by the Jarrow-based subcontractor C and D Group were sacked on 5 September.

They staged an unofficial strike because they claimed they were paid £1.95 an hour less than other workers at Swan Hunter.

Amicus shop steward Ken Rogan said there would be no pickets at the sites on Tuesday, and workers were expected to go in as normal.

Mr Rogan said: "The men will be having a vote on whatever Acas can put to them. C and D is putting the offer through Acas."

He said there would be a mass meeting on Wednesday morning at which a new offer would be put to workers.