TALKS are being held today in a bid to avert the threat of industrial action by lock-keepers on the River Thames.

Lock-keepers in Oxford-shire, the majority of whom are members of the GMB union, had been preparing to be balloted on industrial action in a dispute about their duties.

The union maintains much of the work lock-keepers undertake is not form- ally recognised by the Environment Agency, resulting in them being employed on too low a pay scale. It claims that their present pay structure fails to recognise the additional responsibilities that lockkeepers undertake, such as controlling water levels and operating weirs, and also being available for call-outs.

GMB had originally planned to ballot about 50 of its members who work on the Thames on April 28. It decided, however, not to go ahead with the ballot, to enable talks to continue tomorrow and on Friday.

Ted Purcell, GMB senior organiser, said the dispute centred on health and safety issues and the call-out system to deal with flooding on the river.

Mr Purcell said: “The EA management at first put forward a stand-by and call-out system that was so incompetent it would have undoubtedly led to flooding and a threat to life and limb.

“GMB members corrected the errors and agreed to trial the new system as long as their long-standing request for an accuarate job profile was forthcoming, based on what lock and weir keepers actually do.”

The union will argue that lock and weir-keepers have been underpaid for over a decade, because their pay scale does not reflect the importance of their role in reducing the risk of floods.

Mr Purcell added: “Senior officers claim they supervise water level management and therefore get paid for it and have done so for over ten years. But river users saw how well these senior managers managed this task over the Easter weekend, when parts of the river ran dry.”

EA spokesman Dave Ferguson said: “No ballot has been carried out. We have spoken to all staff and they are working as normally. We are currently in negotiations with their union about their role. These negotiations are ongoing.”

It is believed 30 lock-keepers in Oxfordshire are members of the GMB union. Many previously belonged to Unison. If the ballot had gone ahead, it is understood that the action would have been limited, with no recommendation for a strike.