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Around 300 Northern Powergrid staff, including workers on Teesside, are set to vote on industrial action over pay and contracts - in a move that could have an “astronomical impact” according to a union organiser.

A joint ballot has been called by GMB and Unite unions, after professional and administration staff unanimously rejected a pay offer from the company. Unison is also expected to serve notice of a ballot.

Northern Powergrid runs the power network for 3.9m homes and businesses in the North-east, Yorkshire and northern Lincolnshire,

The Newcastle-headquartered business directly employs more than 2,200 people, with many of those involved in the ballot believed to be based at offices in Middlesbrough and Shiremoor.

Northern Powergrid said it understood around 10pc of its employees were due to be balloted.

Ballot papers will be sent out on Monday, July 20 and members have until August 10 to vote.

Stephen Thompkins, regional organiser for the GMB, said: “Members clearly feel there’s no alterative but to take action on this, and of course that could have massive ramifications. They may decide on one-day action or go all-out, which could have an astronomical impact.

“Perhaps if there had been a decent pay offer, it might have been different, but in this instance it would have been rejected on that basis alone.

“Union members right across the board say that - in their own words - they are being treated like second-class citizens. They believe it is time to stand up and fight.”

The company claimed the rejected offer would have “secured agreement to ensure salaries and benefits were comparable to similar roles in the North-east” as well as ensuring Northern Powergrid “can be there for its customers when they need us most, such as lightning strikes earlier in the month which affected around 55,000 customers.”

A Northern Powergrid spokeswoman added: “We have received formal notification from two of the three unions representing some of our non-operational, professional and administration staff of plans in the coming weeks to hold a ballot for strike action.

“We are very disappointed that our offer, which we felt was fair and reasonable in the current climate, was rejected. We remain available for talks with the unions at any time to explore opportunities for a resolution.

“We will of course keep our customers and stakeholders informed of developments.”

Normal operations continue, she added, and any failure to agree a new deal with the affected employees will have no impact in the immediate future.