Talks
between the GMB and Unite unions and the Engineering Construction Industry
Association have broken down as a rash of unofficial strikes have broken out
over major construction sites all over the country. There has been action at
South Hook liquefied natural gas terminal near Milford Haven, at Lindsey oil
refinery in Lincolnshire
and at Stanlow refinery on Merseyside.
These strikes are completely illegal under the anti-union laws.
The
national shop stewards’ conference on June 5th called for a national
ballot of construction workers in Unite and the GMB. The issues put before the
membership will be a pay freeze the bosses want to impose from next January,
and protecting jobs. It is the latter issue that looms large in the minds of
the workers. Employers all over the land are hiring workers and trying to
undercut the agreed rate and conditions. There have been walkouts all over the
country on the jobs issue. The unions want to uphold the NAECI agreement for
all workersso we all get the rate for the job. It’s a lie that the argument is
about ‘British jobs for British workers.’
Phil Willis
spoke to Socialist Appeal about the coming battle.
“We know it
will take 6 or 7 weeks to organise a strike. We know what we want. We want a
vote for an all out strike, not just an overtime ban. There is one big issue
and that is jobs.
“The
problem is that there is no database of our members. So the first thing is for the shop stewards
to go out there and get the data. We’ve been trying for this for months.
“At the
Isle of Grain I’ve only been there a few weeks and I’ve already got five shop
stewards in place. One of the stewards represents the Polish workers. We’ve
also got four safety reps and a proper safety committee. These are proper
stewards elected by the workers. I have my doubts about the union just
parachuting people in.
“Alstom
came to me even though I had a case against them. I insisted on being elected
as a rep. I had to have the support of the workers. We need a collective
database including a register of unemployed construction workers. I think
they’ve picked the wrong time to have a fight with the workers. Our livelihoods
are at stake. The unemployed will demonstrate alongside us. In the present
economic situation, if we don’t fight and win, we’re done.
“They want
to break the NAECI agreement and just turn it into a code of practice. In the
construction industry, we’re the ones who’ll have a fight. The main contractors
have got to keep their noses clean if they want to get all the nuclear power
plant work. There are 3 lever arch files sitting there at the Isle of Grain with
the CVs of construction workers – people who have always had a job up to now.”
