Construction Workers Protest In Central London

Construction workers, who face up to 30% pay cuts because they claim rogue employers are de-skilling their industry, will be demonstrating at a building site opposite Selfridges tomorrow, Wednesday, 5 October.

Several hundred construction workers, members of the country's largest trade union, Unite, will be staging their protest at Park House - site opposite Selfridges near Oxford Street - between 6.30am and 8am.

The Park House site has been targeted as its major contractor, T Clarke is one of a group of breakaway construction companies, which are imposing semi-skilled grades into the mechanical and electrical sector.

Unite regional officer, Guy Langston, said: "London is the most expensive city in the world to live and work. If these companies get away with de-skilling the industry and slashing the pay of their workers by a third, our members won't be able to pay for their mortgages or support their families.

"London construction workers have made it clear they will not accept a pay cut. They have been protesting for weeks and will not stop until their employers have returned to the negotiating table for a constructive dialogue."

Workers in five of the eight breakaway companies have been written to by their managers with a stark choice - sign new contracts on much inferior pay, and terms and conditions or face the sack on 7 December.

The employers want to withdraw from five long-held agreements and replace them with a new agreement which will allow employers to introduce semi-skilled grades and dictate rather than negotiate on pay, holiday entitlement, overtime, and what constitutes away work.

But five of the eight have upped the stakes. Balfour Beatty, Crown House Technologies, Spie Matthew Hall, Shepherd Engineering Services and NG Bailey have issued Unite with legal notice of their intention to dismiss, with notice, thousands of employees before re-engaging them on new inferior contracts.

(CD/BMcC)