Nearly 3,000 crane and other heavy-equipment operators have walked off the job across Ontario.

Members of the International Union of Operating Engineers, who operate construction cranes, bulldozers and similar equipment, began their strike early Wednesday.

A construction crane stands idle in Toronto's downtown core because of a strike by equipment operators.
(Dwight Friesen/CBC)

At issue in the dispute are wages and hours of work, said Local 793 spokesman Mike Gallagher.

He says the five private companies who employ the union members are offering wage increases of less than three per cent a year despite predictions of rising demand for the workers' services.

Among the building projects already affected are a hospital in North Bay and the Toyota plant in Woodstock.

The building trade union Local 793 represents about 10,000 construction and industrial workers.

With files from Canadian Press