The Enquirer understands that officials from the Unite union have started balloting members over potential strikes.

It is understood the employers have tabled a series of pay offers during the latest round of talks under the industry JIB agreement.

Unite shop stewards have now rejected the offer which is due to last two years covering 2015 and 2016.

One industry source said: “The employers have made a decent offer which I’m sure would be accepted in a lot of other sectors.

“But the sparks are a bit of a law unto themselves and they have a lot of issues with the industry at the moment so this could become another major flare-up.”

Electricians are also unhappy that the employers have made another attempt to introduce a new grade of labourer which they see as an attempt to “de-skill” the industry by allowing less qualified workers to carry-out site tasks.

Some have threatened a wave of action similar to the opposition to plans by employers to reform industrial relations with the doomed Building Engineering Services National Agreement (BESNA) in 2012.

One source said: “This makes the proposal more dangerous than BESNA and must be resisted with the same fervour as shown throughout BESNA”

A spokeswoman for the Electrical Contractors Association declined to comment while talks were still ongoing.