KEY workers are being balloted by their union over possible strike action in a health and safety dispute with a water company that could ultimately hit supplies to more than 500,000 people in Kent.

The GMB union says that if the 11 electricians and fitters involved in the row vote in favour of taking industrial action it could have a significant impact on the company's ability to maintain supplies to a major part of the county.

The union has accused Mid Kent Water of trying to force the workers to carry out maintenance work against their wishes at plants in Essex that handle raw sewage.

The GMB says its members are being bullied and harassed for refusing to travel to work at the Epping Forest District Council sites where they fear they risk being contaminated by raw sewage.

The union says if the 11 are forced to work at the plants they could also cross-contaminate water supplies when they return to work on domestic water supplies in Kent and their families too.

The ballot of the 11 began last Friday and the result is expected within a fortnight.

Paul Maloney, the GMB senior organiser for south east London and Kent said: "The selfish actions of Mid Kent Water management are not only putting our members at risk, but the community who they serve too, in a quest to make profit.

"We have no option but to ballot as our health and safety warnings have fallen on deaf ears and our members continue to be bullied and harassed. We do not want to see our members or Mid Kent Water customers suffering the risk of contamination," he added.

Mid Kent Water says it won a contract with the Essex council last October to maintain 16 treatment plants located off the main sewage network and two pumping stations.

The company says concerns expressed by the 11 staff have meant specialist sub-contractors had been used since last November to carry out the maintenance work while talks continue to resolve the employees' fears.

"The majority of the 11 staff proposed to work on this contract would not have any contact with sewage. Where contact is unavoidable strict health and safety procedures are in place to safeguard Mid Kent Water's staff and freshwater supplies," Mid Kent Water said in a statement issued this week.

"The risk of cross-contamination is understood and controlled by observing the correct operating methods. Rigorous procedures have been developed to address any health and safety risk as a consequence of carrying out this work," the statement added.

The company says it takes any allegations of bullying against staff extremely seriously and will investigate any complaint thoroughly. Mid Kent Water says it plans to hold talks with the GMB later this month to discuss the workers' concerns.

The company serves 210,000 homes and 24,000 businesses in Kent, in an area stretching from Paddock Wood to Snodland and Herne Bay to Tenterden and including major towns like Canterbury, Ashford and Maidstone.