An Informed View

An Informed View

Just to set the record straight around the below article from the employers mouthpiece Construction Enquirer, there was no agreement on this deal.

The negotiating team only agreed to bring the offer back to the shop stewards committee for their thoughts and opinions on what was on the table. This is the way our union operates now with full transparency and full lay member involvement. It's not back in the days where sweetheart deals were struck between bent union officials and the employers! The unanimous feeling from the committee was that this was another attempt at de-skilling the industry. What we want is direct employment for those currently working in the industry whom at the moment are forced into working through parasite agencies and dodgy payroll and umbrella companies. 

This is down the employers continuous breach of rule 17 of the JIB rule book on the use of agency labour which is supposed to be used as a top up to direct labour and should never outnumber those directly employed by a company, but as we know there are construction jobs up and down the country where agency labour is on from day one and is the norm, where it should be that direct employment is the norm and agency labour is used to a minimum. We need all guys forced to work for agencies through no fault of their own, taken onto direct employment and the people who can deliver this are the employers! Instead of bringing in new people industry directly employed, how about directly employing the skilled people currently working in the industry? A list of the reasons for rejection are set out in the supplementary letter that was sent out with the ballot papers.

We want proper apprenticeships for school leavers and young people, especially when youth unemployment is at an all time high. If there are issues with government funding for apprenticeships, then the employers should be working with Unite and the rank & file to pressure the UK governments into making funding available for proper skilled construction apprenticeships.

Quite clearly the employers are worried about unrest across their sites, but they have a long way to go to win the trust of a workforce that is constantly undervalued, was attacked through BESNA and has been blacklisted for decades! Time for them to cut the crap and take us seriously, and if it takes industrial action, official or unofficial and civil disobedience to once again make them understand? Then so be it!

http://www.constructionenquirer.com/2014/07/08/me-contractors-blast-activists-over-5-pay-rise-rejection/#share-absolute-div

Unrest builds as Ballot papers land

Unrest builds as ballot papers land

Unrest is starting to creep in on construction sites, as ballot papers start landing on the doormats of thousands of Electricians across the UK.

There has been a blatant attempt by the ECA to de-skill the electrical industry and finally rid itself of what little skilled workforce it still has. We are getting used to hearing the headlines of 'Skills Shortages in Construction', so the obviously answer to the ECA is to de-skill the industry even further. 

Forget about proper apprenticeships for school leavers and training up the next generation of Electricians. Forget about direct employment and making the industry attractive to young people. 

The ECA want to do away with all of that and fill the Electrical Industry with part qualified labourers.

This has really hit a nerve on sites across the UK and talk of unofficial wildcat strikes has been mentioned on several major projects including refineries, power stations, Crossrail to name a few. Unite are working hard in the background updating members details and planning for full industrial action. The construction Rank & File have actions and plans in place ready to go.

Calling all JIB Electricians

Employers continue their de-skilling agenda

Are the ECA really this stupid? Wildcat strikes, 

official action and Rank & File action?

When you ballot paper arrives tick the right box

REJECT REJECT REJECT

These are the reasons for rejection given by the Unite committee that originally rejected the offer.

The committee is made up of Electricians from all corners of the UK

There are only two criteria for receiving a ballot paper

1. Hold a current JIB card

2. Be a member of Unite the Union

If you can say yes to both of the above and do not receive a ballot paper by Friday 11th July then please phone Bernard McAulays office 01132 364830 and request one is sent out ASAP

Calling ALL JIB Electricians

Calling ALL JIB Electricians

If you hold a JIB card and are a Union member then next week a very important letter will be

falling on your doormat and it’s imperative that you take the time to read, understand and return it immediately.

The ECA have made their final offer for the 2015/2016 JIB wage negotiations and the Unions lay activists and representatives met on 4^th June in Leeds to hear and discuss it. It was heavily rejected by the group, but as it was the final offer, a decision has been made by Unite to send it out to the membership in the form of a consultative ballot. 

The ballot is open to ALL JIB card holders. It does not matter if you are direct, agency, self employed or even left the industry. YOUR opinion is wanted and it is vitally important we knock back this fresh attack on OUR trade

Blacklist Support Group Update - June

Blacklist Support Group Update - June

1. George Tapp - NOT GUILTY VERDICT 

Michael Collins the driver who drove through a blacklisting protest outside the Manchester City Training ground fracturing both knee caps of ex-Salford Labour councillor George Tapp has been found not guilty in Manchester Crown Court 

http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/a-4ad6-Jury-shown-George-Tapp-injury-footage#.U6KWNyxOW70

2. High Court halts firms insulting compensation scheme

The firms insulting compensation scheme that would see the vast majority of blacklisted workers

Employers continue their de-skilling agenda!

Employers Continue Their De-skilling Agenda!

By A.N. Gryspark

So it's 2/3 years since the employers charter, BESNA was thrown our way, and was successfully stopped from coming into existence(although we all know it goes on). However, we are not naive enough to think that the employers would give up with their agenda of de-skilling the industry, are we? Of course not, and as expected it has arrived at our door once again through the JIB agreement! 

The deal on offer from the ECA is quite clear on what it is about, accept a 2%(30p) rise for 2015, a 3%(45p) rise for 2016 but you must agree to the introduction of 2 new "Entrant Grades" as they are calling them.

So what are these "Entrant Grades"?

First round of Umbrella Scam protests

First Round of Umbrella Scam Protests

In recent weeks there has been unrest on several large projects across the UK. The reason for the unrest is the use of large scale, long term use of agency labour and the Umbrella Scam.

Sparks were sacked at the Balfour Beatty Crossrail site at Whitechapel for refusing to be paid through the Umbrella Scam. Unite got them reinstated.
Workers cabined up at Manchester City's training Ground, Balfour Beatty again with BAM as the main contractor.
Workers cabined up at Cramlington Hospital, Newcastle. Due to being forced onto the Umbrella scam, once again another Balfour Beatty project.
There was severe unrest at a site in Swansea at Morriston Hospital, yet again another Balfour Beatty site.

There is a reoccurring theme with all of the above. Balfour Beatty.

Police called as blacklist workers occupy head office of employment agency

 Police called as blacklist workers occupy head office of employment agency

Police were called to the UK head office of the Danish owned employment agency Atlanco Rimec today (Friday 23rd may 2014) when it was occupied by campaigners from the Blacklist Support Group and members of the UCATT and UNITE trade unions. The employment agency that operates in the UK and Ireland construction industry is centre of a storm after it was exposed on Danish TV that it kept a secret blacklist of workers who joined a union and denied them work. The revelations were made by an ex-manager of the firm in a documentary broadcast on the DR1 TV channel last week.

The Labour MP Ian Davidson, who chaired the parliamentary Select Committee investigation into blacklisting issued a statement saying:  “What we have seen shows clearly that the use of agency workers is a weak spot in eradicating blacklisting and we therefore recommended that direct employment and transparent recruitment practices should be standard for all public-sector contracts in the construction industry,” 

Among the blacklist protesters was Northampton grandfather and blacklisted bricklayer Brian Higgins

Branch meeting held outside due to CIS tax changes

Branch Meeting held outside due to CIS tax changes

London Construction Branch (follow on twitter - @Unite0555) held their monthly meeting last week as they do every month at Conway Hall. But this month was slightly different. The meeting had to be held in the park outside as Conway Hall wasn't big enough to hold everyone. This itself shows the level of anger running through sites across the London and the whole UK. 

There was alot of anger over the fact that Umbrella companies are even legal, let alone the fact that companies signed up to National Agreements have the front to push workers on to them. NG Baileys have been the first to take workers on the cards after workers at Three Bridges Station and Tottenham Court Road Crossrail Station forced their hand. Since the action by the two sites, Baileys have offered others the chance to also go on the cards.

What happened at Three Bridges is here in an earlier post 

The main conversation was the tax changes hitting the industry. For years we have been forced to work as Self Employed,

New Site Worker Magazine

New Site Worker Magazine 

OUT NOW

The new Site Worker magazine is out now.

To get hard copies for your site please email your address and amount of copies required to

siteworkers@virginmedia.com

Agency Electricians Stage Walk Out

Electricians Stage Walk Out at 

Three Bridges Station

On Friday 4th April, 30+ Agency Electricians walked off of the job at Three Bridges Station, Crawley, Sussex, because of the new Umbrella tax system. The Client is Network Rail, the Main Contractor is Volker Fitzpatrick and the M&E Contractor is NG Bailey.

There had been unrest and grumblings all week as it was becoming clearer as to the extent that the average construction worker will lose out by being forced into moving onto the Umbrella tax scam through an agency. On Wednesday, Mechanical and Electrical workers walked off at AWE Aldermaston and this provided the impetus for yesterdays action.

Two members of the South East Construction Branch (twitter - @unitesec ) met the workers before they went on to site to give them the facts of what the new schemes and systems mean in real terms. 
Once everyone had got on site, the workers then called a meeting, they had a discussion, had a show of hands and walked off the job.