Workers at Dragon LNG say they are "out for the long haul" this morning following concerns over safety and water supply at the site.

Around 400 men, employees of all main contractors at the Waterston site downed tools yesterday morning. They returned to site this morning and voted unanimously to stay out.

The Western Telegraph understands that the origins of the dispute are in a lack of water on Saturday morning.

Workers say that the water went off as early as 8.20 on Saturday and had not come back on four hours later.

They also claim that the site safety officer, who said it was too dangerous to work in Monday's high winds, was overruled and the men were forced to work in dangerous weather conditions.

A pipe fitter, who did not wish to be named, said that there were a whole raft of safety issues on the site and that the water situation was "the straw that broke the camel's back".

"They preach safety to you when you start, with all these inductions," he said, "but then productivity is their main concern, the men are secondary to that."

He said that the lack of water had made conditions unbearable at the site on Saturday.

"When there is no water there are no toilet facilities and there are a lot of men on site. When you get your hands dirty you can't wash them.

"You should only have to wait three hours or until first break for water. The men waited for four hours. There was still no water and they left the site.

"The management have refused to pay for the shift and now the whole site has walked."

The Western Telegraph has contacted Dragon LNG, at the moment nobody is available to comment.

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