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Rachel Reeves' tax grabs and increased costs for businesses have been blamed for creating a "perfect storm," as some of the UK's biggest construction sites face disruption due to worker strikes. Around 90 tower crane operators from Wolffkran UK, a major crane rental firm, on Tuesday (January 27) held their first day of strike action in a dispute over pay.

The staff, who on average are said to earn over £65,000 per year, are represented by Unite, with the trade union saying further walk outs over the coming weeks will see construction work "grind to a halt this winter". Steven Mulholland, chief executive of the Construction Plant-hire Association (CPA), of which Wolffkran is a member, accused the union of playing "hardball" and said financial pressures on the firm as a result of Labour's budgets, Rachel Reeves' tax raids and weak demand means requests cannot be met.

He told the Express: "This dispute is the product of a perfect storm created by Labour.

"Construction activity collapsed throughout 2025, yet employers were hit with higher National Insurance, higher minimum wages and growing regulatory burdens at exactly the same time."

He added: "The employers of these crane operators - and this is something we'd like Unite to acknowledge - have had to suffer a really, really horrendous 2025.

"These guys have stood by their workforces, they've trained their workforces, they've retained their workforces and they're having to pay extra for them because of National Insurance contribution charges.

"Employers are being asked to pay more at the moment and they are struggling to find that money. They have paid these extra costs and had that not been there, that would have been something free to go directly into wage negotiations.

"That money's not there now and when you couple that with the shortages of pipelines of work, it's a real problem."

New analysis shows a decrease in activity across the construction industry last year, including main contract awards falling by 11%. Mr Mulholland said the strikes will take 10% off productivity at building sites each month.

He warned this slow down could affect Labour's 1.5 million new homes pledge, as well as other important infrastructure projects. The 24-hour strikes organised by Unite are to take place every fortnight.

The union said the exact days will be determined by members at each site "based on what will cause the most disruption".

Announcing the action earlier this month, Unite said the tower crane operators had not received a pay rise in three years.

It added: "Unite members at Wolffkran are furious that the company is now also seeking to cut some of their additional benefits including standby payments."

Sharon Graham, Unite general secretary, said: "It is completely unacceptable that highly skilled and vital construction workers have not seen their pay increase in three years. To add insult to injury Wolffkran is now attacking workers' conditions.

"Unite is the UK's principal construction union and we will be backing our members 100% in their dispute. They deserve a fair day's pay."

Unite regional officer Vince McCoy added: "These workers are doing a difficult, dangerous and highly stressful role.

"Without a pay rise for over three years and facing the threat of worse terms they have reached the end of their patience and are now taking strike action.

"We urge Wolffkran to come back with a much improved offer."

Wolffkran said it had made a "significant" offer to increase pay for the crane operators who earn on average almost £66,000 per year - around 69% more than the average annual UK salary in 2025 (£39,039).

The firm said: "Despite receiving an offer from the company in August to significantly increase their basic pay and having received over 38% in pay increases since 2015, Wolffkran tower crane operators are now engaged in industrial action in a quest for more money.

"This comes as a huge disappointment to all of us who have worked hard to resolve this issue and we are saddened that a proportion of the 123 operators, whose average pay is almost £66,000 per year, have chosen this course.

"Wolffkran lay the responsibility of the disruption squarely at the door of Unite and its members due to their inflexibility during negotiations and failure to seek a solution.

"We are and have always been, open for further discussions but we have not seen any appetite from Unite to resume dialogue and this is very disappointing."

It added that crane utilisation has decreased by 26% since 2016, while the number of cranes on hire has dropped by around 40% and average rental rates have declined by 20-25%.

The Government insists it is providing "long-term certainty" for the construction sector, with corporation tax at the lowest rate in the G7.

The Express has approached HM Treasury and Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government for comment.