Forth Road Bridge workers are considering the possibility of industrial action in the wake of internal changes affecting payment and working conditions.

Since the abolishment of the bridge’s toll system last month, the Forth Estuary Transport Authority (FETA) has begun implementing a series of restructuring initiatives involving the amalgamation of two major departments as well as a major staff reshuffle.

As a result of the recent changes, some 20 workers are reported to be facing longer hours for less money, sparking debate over a possible strike.

Moreover, 40 per cent of the bridge’s 100-strong workforce were relieved of their duties as budget cuts left no future for toll collectors.

Members of the workers’ union Unite have been voting on the possibility of industrial action, however, no ballot has officially emerged from the union.

Chris Waite, Communications Manager for FETA, told The Journal: "No indication of a ballot from the union has been received as of yet, and unions are required to issue ballots a minimum of seven days prior to industrial action.”

Mr Waite went on to describe the changes leading up to the workers’ contemplation of a strike, explaining the following: “Prior to the abolishment of the toll system, we ran two principal departments: Operations and Maintenance, which ran on different shift patterns.

"Since the tolls were abolished, we have begun a restructuring project whereby the two departments have been amalgamated into one, called ‘General Operatives’.

"Our main objective is to streamline the different shift patterns, and we are currently discussing possible ways of going about this with unions and staff.

"These talks are still very much underway, so I would be very surprised to hear of any industrial action being planned at the moment.”

Nonetheless, Mr Waite admitted that certain measures are being employed to ensure that the bridge is able to remain open for public use in the event of a strike.

He said: “We have contingency plans in place to ensure that essential maintenance is not compromised, which means employing contractors to oversee all maintenance issues. We also have measures in place to ensure that traffic flow continues as normal. These are the two major areas we need to focus on.”

However, Sandy Smart, Regional Industrial Organiser of the Transport and General section of the Unite union told The Journal: "We are currently waiting on clarification regarding a vote on industrial action concerning grade four and five workers, which include control men and labourers.”

Mr Smart believes that the current treatment of bridge employees is unacceptable, claiming that employees should not have to tolerate undertaking jobs to which they are not accustomed as FETA begins its restructuring project.

Earlier, he stated: "From what is being proposed, the right skills are not being matched to the right jobs in this restructuring.

“There is no point in having someone on boat duty if they can't swim or someone up on high if they are scared of heights. FETA are behaving awkwardly on this. They seem to be more interested in trying to appease politicians and unfortunately we are looking at some sort of industrial action."

However, Mr. Smart added: “I must stress this will be a last resort and we will be trying to resolve this without taking this course of action.”

The cost of removing toll booths on the Forth Road Bridge cost in the region of £1 million, however it is estimated that, with redundancy packages and legal costs, the final bill will amount to several million.