Manchester City Council joined UK construction union Unite’s Construction Charter and now they have announced a new partnership. Both institutions will work together to stand up for the city’s construction workers and outlaw poor construction practices on building projects under its control. “By signing up to Unite’s Construction Charter, Manchester
The managing contract to complete the troubled Royal Liverpool hospital project has been handed to Laing O’Rourke. Following the collapse of the Carillion, the project stalled, and is now hoped to restart next month. However, the appointment of Laing O’Rourke has raised concerns among the UK construction union Unite. Unite
Manchester City Council joined UK construction union Unite’s Construction Charter and now they have announced a new partnership. Both institutions will work together to stand up for the city’s construction workers and outlaw poor construction practices on building projects under its control. “By signing up to Unite’s Construction Charter, Manchester City Council is making a serious commitment to securing the best employment standards for construction workers. The Charter will protect workers from poor industry practices which result in the loss of employment rights, it stops blacklisting and means workers can raise health and safety issues without fear,” said Unite’s regional coordinating officer for construction, Andy Fisher. “It’s fantastic news that one of the UK’s major cities has pledged to lead the way and demand the highest standards in construction. It means that projects across the city including the ongoing work at Manchester Airport will need to meet the highest employment standards. Unite representatives at Manchester City Council deserve a special thanks for the work they did to help get the Charter up and running,” Andy Fisher added. Manchester City Council is the latest local authority to sign up to Unite’s Construction Charter, which ensures building contractors and sub-contractors under the control of the local authority provide good jobs, good apprentice training, excellent health and safety and that they ensure workers are paid the going rate for the industry. “Manchester City Council has ambitious plans for the city and we are delighted to work with Unite to ensure that our construction projects meet the highest standards for workers and for residents. The council has a number of important development projects in progress including the renovation of Manchester Town Hall and the Factory project. The Charter means that workers and residents can be confident that these projects will move forward with ethical construction practices,” commented Councillor Carl Ollerhead.
The managing contract to complete the troubled Royal Liverpool hospital project has been handed to Laing O’Rourke. Following the collapse of the Carillion, the project stalled, and is now hoped to restart next month. However, the appointment of Laing O’Rourke has raised concerns among the UK construction union Unite. Unite will apply greater pressure to the client, the Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University NHS Trust, to establish clear rules that will ensure proper union recognition and fair treatment of the workforce. “Unite is committed to ensuring that the Royal Liverpool hospital is completed as quickly as possible but that must not be at the expense of workers rights or to the detriment of their health and safety,” said Unite regional officer Colin Carr. Unite has already seeked guarantees from Adrian Kehoe, the trust’s chief executive, that the contractors will adhere to national industrial agreements that govern pay and conditions; will use local labour and suppliers; workers are directly employed; exploitative forms of employment, such as umbrella companies, are outlawed; and trade unions are recognised and are given proper access to the workforce. “Providing there is clear leadership from the Trust, Unite looks forward to working together with Laing O’Rourke to ensure that workers are properly treated and the mistakes made on previous hospital contracts in Liverpool are not repeated,” said Colin. “However, given the battle there has been to get the project restarted and for it to become a directly funded public sector project with the cancellation of the Private Finance Initiative (PFI), Unite will not stand idly by and allow construction workers on the Royal Liverpool to be exploited or for unions to be denied access,” he added. The concerns raised by Unite will be discussed at a meeting on Tuesday, the 13th of November, with the project being expected to be completed in 2020.
