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INSIDE: Apprentices Housing Prostate health buildingWORKER Spring 2018 The magazine for Unite construction sector members Construction, Allied Trades and Technicians 1. Directors 2. Government 3. Auditors 4. Accountants 5. Shareholders ...and many more Carillion’s collapse – who is to blame? Usual Suspects The

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Page 1: The Usual Suspects - unitetheunion.org Worker Spring... · Usual Suspects The. ... 3 Trades and Technicians Spring 2018 ... up holiday pay, saving jobs and winning a landmark case

INSIDE: Apprentices • Housing • Prostate health

buildingWORKERSpring 2018 The magazine for Unite construction sector members

Construction, AlliedTrades and Technicians

1. Directors2. Government3. Auditors

4. Accountants5. Shareholders...and many more

Carillion’s collapse – who is to blame?

UsualSuspectsThe

Page 2: The Usual Suspects - unitetheunion.org Worker Spring... · Usual Suspects The. ... 3 Trades and Technicians Spring 2018 ... up holiday pay, saving jobs and winning a landmark case

www.unitetheunion.orgwww.unitelegalservices.org

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Had an accident? FREE specialist legal

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Construction, AlliedTrades and Technicians3 Spring 2018

Contents Construction, AlliedTrades and Technicians

Dear Colleagues,

Across the pages of this edition are gains fought and won byUnite members, staff and officers – safeguarding asbestosrules, winning fair pay at Mears, forcing employers to coughup holiday pay, saving jobs and winning a landmark caseagainst bogus self-employment.

I am proud of our union’s record and dismayed at thenegligence that led to the collapse of Carillion, the biggestcrisis to hit the industry in decades.

We will never know how many people lost their jobs as aresult of financial mismanagement, bordering on the criminal,as the vast majority of Carillion’s construction workforce wasemployed via sub-contractors. Time will tell the damage thatCarillion’s collapse has done to the construction industry.

Unite is clear, there must be no more business as normal.Unite’s demand for a public inquiry is to force disclosure of allthe facts so that those responsible are held to account andpunished. A full account of Carillion’s collapse is on page 12.

This issue also contains two features on subjects that I ampassionate about and which are crucial to our industry,apprenticeships and housing.

Put simply our apprenticeship system, the lifeblood of theindustry is a mess. That the industry is not training sufficientapprentices is undisputed. Client led contracts andgovernment procurement can hard wire apprenticeshiptraining and Unite says this should be the norm. The article ison page 16.

John Healey Labour’s shadow housing minister writes forbuildingWORKER on page 18 where he clearly sets out theparty’s commitment to build the houses the UK needsespecially council houses.

Finally if you are receiving buildingWORKER for the first timeplease go to page 11 and opt-in for future issues. It only takesa minute.

Gail Cartmail, assistant general secretary

buildingWORKERSpring 2018 The magazine for Unite

construction sector members

3 Gail Cartmail, assistant general secretary, editorial

4 National news

6 Regional news

9 Pay and bargaining update

10 International news

11 buildingWORKER opt in

12 Carillion’s collapse

15 Prostate health

16 Apprentices

18 Labour’s housing policy

20 Legal Update: bogus self- employment

22 Unite Recommends: reviews of books

23 Membership Form

Back cover

Workers’ Memorial Day poster

Doug

Pou

ch

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Construction, AlliedTrades and Technicians4 Spring 2018

NATIONALNEWS

Shortly beforeChristmas it wasrevealed by TheGuardian and theBureau for InvestigativeJournalism howcorporate intelligencefirms such as C21 andthe Inkerman Grouphad infiltrated left-wing andenvironmental groups.

Following therevelations, Uniterenewed its calls for afull public inquiry into blacklisting as there are genuine concerns thatthe information the companiescollected could have found its wayonto the Consulting Associationblacklist.

After the seizure of the ConsultingAssociation blacklist in 2009 it wasdiscovered that as well as blacklisting

trade unionists, environmental activistswere also targeted.

However when the ConsultingAssociation files were seized by theInformation Commissioner’s Office, thefiles relating to the environmentalactivists were not seized and were thendestroyed by Ian Kerr the head of theConsulting Association.

Some of theinformation on theblacklist could onlyhave come from thepolice or security forcesand it is now feared thatcorporate intelligencefirms may also havesupplied information.

Unite assistant generalsecretary Gail Cartmail, said: Theserevelations are yet another reason why itis imperative that we have a full publicinquiry into blacklisting.

Given the scale of the materialgenerated by the corporate intelligencefirms it would be astounding that theinformation they compiled did not findits way onto blacklists.”

Intensive lobbying by Unite hassecured an important victory for thesafety of asbestos workers.The government in its policy ofcutting “so called” red tape wasproposing that all asbestos workersshould only have a medicalexamination every three years.

The current regulations require thatworkers who undertake the moredangerous licensed asbestos workmust have a medical examinationevery two years.

However following strong objectionsfrom Unite the government wasforced to withdraw their proposals

and maintain thestatus quo.Unite health andsafety adviserSusan Murraysaid: “This was avictory forcommon sense. Rather thandecreasing thefrequency ofmedicalexaminations, allworkers whoundertake someform of asbestoswork should have a medicalexamination every two years.”

Corporate spyingleads to calls forblacklisting inquiry

Brya

ntbo

b

Unite has ensured the safety of

asbestos workers is not reduced

The Guardian has

exposed corporate

spying linked to

blacklisting

UNITE IN ASBESTOS SAFETY VICTORYTh

inks

tock

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Construction, AlliedTrades and Technicians5 Spring 2018

The Construction Industry TrainingBoard (CITB) has confirmed that it willend direct training in 2020. Unless aprivate provider steps in a skills blackhole will be created as there will be noprovision for specific skills to beprovided in the UK.

The CITB announced in November thatthey were restructuring and would nolonger provide direct training.

In a blog post in February the CITB’schief executive Sarah Beale wrote: “Ifwe cannot sell these activities, then

there is a risk that we will need todiscontinue and close some businessareas.”

Much of the specialist training isundertaken at Bircham Newton inNorfolk, a former airfield. The specialisttraining provided involves heavyequipment, tunnelling, cranes andscaffolding and would be very difficultto recreate on a smaller site.

The CITB offsets loss making courseswith those that make a profit,something private providers would be

unable orunwillingto do.Unitenationalofficer forconstructionJerry Swain said:“Much of the directtraining provided by the CITB isabsolutely unique, if no one picks thisup there is a real danger that the UKwill not have the necessary skilledworkforce to maintain a buoyantconstruction industry.”

Vital skills such as

scaffolding will be lost if

CITB ends its training

Mar

k Th

omas

Unite has warned that the constructionindustry remains in denial over thegrowing skills chasm.

Unite issued the warning following thepublication in February of theConstruction Industry Training Board’s(CITB) annual skills report.

The report found that the industry willneed 158,000 new entrants over thenext five years which is over 30,000 peryear. However in 2015/16 just 21,460apprentices were recruited withcompletion rates far lower than this dueto drop out rates.

Due to the expected large increase inhousebuilding there is expected to be aparticular demand for carpenters(15,350) during this period.

The introduction of the apprenticeshiplevy last year has also resulted in aninitial fall in apprenticeship numbers.Brexit is also set to have a major effecton the supply of labour as industry willstruggle to recruit workers from abroadas they have done previously.

Unite assistant general secretary GailCartmail said: “The industry remains indenial about apprentices with everyonethinking it is someone else’sresponsibility to train the workers’ oftomorrow.”

• Apprenticeship feature page 14-15

Industry in denialover constructionskills chasm Unite welcomed the decision by Dr

Martens to launch a choice of bootsspecifically for women working inindustry, including construction. Alongstanding problem for women inconstruction is the lack of suitable fittingpersonal protective equipment (PPE). Ithas been found that ill-fitting orinappropriate PPE can in some cases bemore dangerous than not wearing PPE.

A TUC survey found just 29 per cent ofwomen workers wear PPE that isspecifically made for them. While 57per cent said their current PPEhampered their work.

Unite health and safetyadvisor Susan Murray, said:We are pleased that things arestarting to change and westrongly encourage ourmembers – women and men –not to take no for an answer ifyour employer saysthere is no suitablePPE. We all comein different shapesand sizes.”

The collection is available to buy onlineat http://bit.ly/2t5P8by

Women’sBoots rangelaunched

CITB creatingtraining black hole

Construction is failing to train

sufficient workers

Mar

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Dr Martens have

launched a range of

industry boots for women

Khao

sam

ing

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Construction, AlliedTrades and Technicians6 Spring 2018

The marathon Manchester Mearsdispute finally ended in February.

The 180 strong workforce at ManchesterMears and Manchester Working (a jointventure company run by Mears) took 80days of strike action in a dispute overpay parity.

Workers at the organisations were beingpaid up to £3,500 less than othercolleagues for undertaking the samework.

They were employed to undertakerepairs and maintenance work on11,000 council properties managed byNorthwards council, however thecontract was tendered by Manchestercouncil.

The deal to end the dispute saw acrossthe board pay increases of 20 per cent. As well as:

Equalisation of pay within and acrosstrade groups

Parity of pay with similarorganisations in the sector

The removal of the proposed ‘sackerscharter’ which would have resultedin adverse changes to the workers’contracts.

Unite regional co-ordinating officerAndy Fisher, said: “This is a victory forsolidarity and direct action. Ourmembers have stuck together throughthick and thin.”

Strike action at the Sellafield complexinvolving DSD Construction, wasavoided following an eleventh hourclimb down by the company.The company is employed in improvingsecurity at the nuclear reprocessing site.

Unite members had voted for strikeaction following the harassment andthen sacking of the union’s shopsteward James Bainbridge.

Mr Bainbridge was sacked after heraised a collective grievance on behalf

of his members. The collectivegrievance concerned: working in therain, the supply of inadequate andsub-standard personal protectiveequipment (PPE) and uniforms andmaking weekend working available toall workers.

Unite had called three strikes in lateJanuary and early February. Shortlyprior to the first strike DSDConstruction sought fresh talks.The company offered an extremelygenerous financial settlement to Mr

Bainbridge and the strike action wascalled off.

Unite regional officer RyanArmstrong, said: “This was animportant victory for the union:“Members stuck together and weredetermined not to allow their shopsteward to be mistreated. Trade unionunity ensured we secured a substantialfinancial settlement for MrBainbridge.”

Strike action avoided at Sellafield

VICTORY IN MANCHESTERMEARS DISPUTE

Mears workers were united throughout the dispute

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Construction, AlliedTrades and Technicians7 Spring 2018

REGIONAL

NEWS

Unite has warned that a rogue constructionproject in North Wales is underminingpay and conditions in the industry andcreating a race to the bottom.

The project is the £800 million energyfrom waste facility at Park Adfer inDeeside north Wales.

The client is a confederation of fiveWelsh councils led by Flintshire CountyCouncil. The project is being undertakenby French company CNIM andWheelabrator from the United States.

The project is failing to recognise theNational Agreement for the EngineeringConstruction Industry (NAECI)agreement, which is the appropriateagreement for the work being

undertaken. Instead only the living wageapplies. These rates are 63.5 per centbelow NAECI rates.

There are also major concerns aboutsafety, welfare provisions and trainingbeing undermined at the site.

When the project is fully up andrunning there will be between 250-300workers on the project.

The failure of the local councils and thecontractors to ensure that the NAECIagreement is applied has resulted inseveral demonstrations occurring in andaround the site. Unite regional officer Steve Bensonsaid: “Park Adfer is a stain on the

construction industry, the Welshauthorities are giving carte blanche toCNIM to turn the clock back 50 yearson construction rights.

“The local councils need to stop rollingover and having their bellies tickled byWheelabrator and CNIM and insteadtake action and ensure that theexploitation and squalor being created atPark Adfer is ended.”

Unite national officer for constructionBernard McAulay said: “This matterwon’t rest here this is an injustice.”

Members expect and demand the rate forthe job. We will be upping ourcampaign to win justice through bothindustrial and political avenues.”

Unite accuses North Wales councilsof creating a race to the bottom

London workersin holiday payvictoryOver 150 construction workers,employed at three high profile sites,have secured a total of £250,000 inholiday pay.

The workers who were all employed byconcrete frame contractors ByrnesBrothers, were working on Westfield inWhite City, The International Quarterin Stratford and 100 Bishopgate,banded together to demand their fullholiday entitlement.

The workers were only receiving holidaypay on their basic 39 hours week, whenin reality they were working on average55 hours a week. The workers received£400 to £1000 each with further backpayments to follow.

The company had tried to deal with thecase as a series of individual grievances

but workersdemanded acollectivesolution.

The holidaypay victorywhich wasundertaken aspart of Unite’sconstructionorganisingcampaign,

.Unite regionalofficer MarkSoave said: “Thisis a fantastic result for the workers atByrne Brothers. Even though theworkers were legally entitled to themoney, management tried to avoidpaying it.

“Just because you have a right to bepaid more it doesn’t mean bosses willautomatically pay up, that’s why it paysto be in a union that is prepared toenforce your rights at work.”

Mar

k Th

omas

London construction workers have

secured reinforced holiday pay

Mar

k Th

omas

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Construction, AlliedTrades and Technicians8 Spring 2018

REGIONAL

NEWSCROSSRAIL LEGALACTION ASBALFOUR BEATTYSTEALS WAGESUnite is preparing to take legal actionagainst Balfour Beatty after thecompany unlawfully deducted agreedbonuses from workers’ wages during anindustrial dispute.

The dispute involved 76 Uniteelectricians employed on the Woolwichstation section of the multi-millionpound Crossrail development. Theworkers voted for strike action in adispute over the failure to implementan improved second tier payment andan industry standard four weekfinishing bonus (payable when theworkers are made redundant).

A series of one day strikes began inJanuary and ran through February andMarch. Rather than seek to resolve thestrike Balfour Beatty has instead

enflamed tensions anddestroyed morale byillegally deducting apreviously agreed bonusfrom the workers’ pay.It is feared that theongoing strikes and thecollapse in productivity,as a result of BalfourBeatty’s actions, willmean the project will bedelayed by weeks or evenmonths.

Unite national officer for constructionJerry Swain said: “Balfour Beatty’smanagement are no better thanguttersnipes and common thieves andthey should hang their heads in shameat their pathetic attempts to bullyworkers.”

STOP PRESS: As buildingWORKERwent to press a deal was agreed.Workers will receive an additional50 pence an hour in their monthlybonus and up to £250 in additionallodge cots when they are maderedundant. Additionally the Januarybonus has been fully reinstated ashas half of the February bonuswhen targets were missed.

Electricians at Crossrail’s

Woolwich site have been striking

over a finishing bonus

Workers at Tarmac Building ProductsLtd, in Stanford Le Hope, Essex, havebeen involved in a series of strikes overthe creation of a two-tier workforce.The members voted overwhelmingly forstrike action after the breeze blockproducing company tried to imposecontracts on new starters which wouldresult in them receiving lower pay.

The workforce, where Unite has100 per cent membership,began strike action at the end ofJanuary, held three further daysof strike action in February,with increased strike actionthroughout March.

Unite regional officer GuyLangston, said: “Unitemembers never take strike

action lightly but they believe that thechanges that Tarmac is making tocontracts are the thin end of the wedge.

“The strikes are having a severe effect onthe company’s production capabilities.It is clearly in Tarmac’s interests to tablefresh proposals to end this dispute.”

Essex concrete strikeover two-tier threat

Unite members at Tarmac

Building Products have staged

several days of strike action

Workers at Burntisland Fabrications’(BiFab) marine construction yards inFife and Arnish on the Isle of Lewis areagain facing an uncertain future.In November the yards were initiallyplaced in danger of closure as thecompany was running out of money as aresult of a dispute with a major sub-contractor. The workers occupied theyards and the Scottish Government wasforced to intervene.

However the company has failed tosecure new orders and the existing workis coming to an end. Management hasbegun consulting on redundanciesand the yards could close by the endof June.

A cross party group of 19 MSPs havewritten to the Business Secretary GregClark asking him to intervene and findnew work for the yards.

New threatto Bifab jobs

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Construction, AlliedTrades and Technicians9 Spring 2018

Tarmac pay talks makingprogressPay talks for Unite members employed atTarmac’s cement and lime division haveconcluded. The membership accepted apay offer of 2.5 per cent for 2018.

Talks for a pay deal for sales lorrydrivers employed at Tarmac arecontinuing. An initial offer of a 2.5 percent increase was rejected as Unite’smembers were seeking a greaterincrease in allowances then thecompany was willing to pay.

Shaun Lee the officer dealing with thepay talks is now seeking an improvedoffer.

Red Book workers pay talksdelayedHopes that local governmentcraftworkers covered by the ‘Red Book’will receive a pay increase on theiranniversary date have been dashed dueto the action of Local GovernmentEmployers.

Despite the Red Book pay claim beingmade in December the LocalGovernment Employers informed Unitein early February that: “There wasunanimous agreement to deferresponding formally to your claim untilthe main NJC [Green Book] pay roundhas been settled. As you know, we areexpecting the NJC unions to announcethe results of their consultations on thepay offer in mid-March, so I will be ableto update you further at that time.”

Jim Kennedy, national officer for localauthorities, who leads on Red Booknegotiations described the response as:“totally disrespectful to loyalemployees.”

The Red Book pay claim includes anincrease of five per cent on all trades, areduction in the working week to 35hours and doubling tool insurance.

CIJC talks underwayTwin track talks are underway for theConstruction Industry Joint Council

(CIJC), the largest constructionagreement which primarily covers civilengineering.

There are ongoing wage talks, as theanniversary date for a pay rise is the lastMonday in June.

Unite is also seeking the creation of asupplementary agreement which couldbe used on larger sites. Unite has toldemployers that a supplementaryagreement must include changes to thewage structure to make the agreementmore relevant.

Unite national officer for constructionJerry Swain, said: “A supplementaryagreement is needed for the CIJC tobetter protect construction workers andto restore dignity in the industry.”

HTC Jobs SavedUnite has successfully ensured thatcompulsory redundancies at HTC, theUK’s largest tower crane operator,have been averted.

Following talks with the company thethreat of compulsory redundancies waswithdrawn. Instead some workers willbe redeployed and there will be asmall number of voluntaryredundancies, where the company willadditionally make a payment in lieu ofnotice.

Irish mechanical rates riseUnite has welcomed a new agreementin the Republic of Ireland formechanical workers operating in theconstruction industry.

Under the Sectoral Employment Order(SEO) which also covers pensionsworkers will receive €23.60 per hour.The new rate came into effect onTuesday 6 March.

However the agreement does notinclude travel payments and Unite iscommitted to ensuring these paymentsare included in future agreements.Unite regional officer Tom Fitzgeraldsaid: “Unite was instrumental inachieving this new SEO which is a winfor mechanical workers securing theirposition as the top earners in the sector.”

Holiday payUnite regional organiser KarlStephenson, has secured a holidaypay agreement for 30 membersemployed at Intermet RefractoryProducts Ltd in Sheffield.

The workers, who undertake repairand maintenance work on kilns andfurnaces, will receive normal paywhen they took all of their holidays.Holiday pay will include all overtimepayments, shift premiums, call out

and standbypayments.

PAY AND BARGAINING

Civil engineering workers need

a pay rise.

Mar

k Th

omas

Jobs saved at crane company

Cool

Guy

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Construction, AlliedTrades and Technicians10 Spring 2018

Global construction unions haveexpressed their shock and disgust afterLafargeHolcim, one of the world’slargest cement, aggregates and concreteproducers, performed a dramatic u-turnand decided not to sign a globalframework agreement designed to buildpositive industrial relations.

The company’s annual shareholdersmeeting in 2017 had agreed to sign theframework agreement; it was due to besigned in early January. However in lateDecember Lafarge announced that itwould not sign the agreement. Lafargehas put the change of position down tothe appointment of a new ChiefExecutive.

The decision not to sign the globalagreement is of particular concern as thecompany has an appalling safety record.In 2016 86 workers were killed atLafargeHolcim operations worldwide.

Lafarge’s terrible safety record isconnected to its excessive use ofprecarious employment with manyworkers sub-contracted or working forthird party organisations.

The global confederation ofconstruction unions, the Building andWoodworkers International, are callingfor LafargeHolcim, to introduce fairlabour relations by:

Signing the global frameworkagreement

Put an end to the abuse of sub-contracted and third-party workerswithin the company

Respect its own promises regardingthe involvement of workers and theirrepresentatives in improving safetyand preventing needless deaths.

Ambet Yuson, BWI General Secretary,said: “Cement is a hazardous industry,but prevention of accidents and illhealth is seriously undermined by theabuse of outsourcing in the companyand its refusal to take responsibility forbad working conditions. Unions havethe capacity to help the company but itshould be ready to change itsexploitative employment policies andlabour practices.”

INTERNATIONAL

NEWSNew Agreementsigned on QatarinspectionsA new cooperation agreement betweenQatar’s Supreme Committee for Delivery& Legacy (SC) and Building WorkersInternational (BWI) has been signed toallow the continued inspections ofQatar’s World Cup stadiums and theaccommodation the workers live in.

Unite was heavily involved inestablishing this programme which ledto six inspections last year which sawfour stadia and the accommodationfacilities for workers inspected. The jointworking group made recommendationsto improve aspects of working and livingconditions, such as better storage systemsfor workers’ harnesses, improving healthrecord management and providingtraining for contractor’s medical staff.

One important aspect of the agreementis the creation of Workers’ WelfareForums which have been established toencourage workers to speak openly aboutany issues they have concerning theirwork or accommodation. The BWI isproviding further training to the workersinvolved to help them improve theircommunication and leadership skills.

Ambet Yuson, General Secretary ofBWI, said: “The work we haveconducted with the SC has been anexcellent starting point. Over the next12 months the BWI team will return toQatar to make further progress.”

Global unions’disgust atLafargeHolcimu-turn

There are many deaths

at cement works

throughout the world.

lieny

uanl

ee

There is a building boom in Qatar

and the BWI has secured the right

to inspect the World Cup stadiums.

curr

ybet

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Ower

London

Wolverhampton Norwich

Aberdeen

BirminghamCoventry

York

Leicester

Chorley

Derby

Liverpool

Don’t miss out!Get Your buildingWORKER every quarterbuildingWORKER is the magazine

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Construction, AlliedTrades and Technicians12 Spring 2018

Mar

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CARILLION’SCOLLAPSE ‘NO BUSINESS AS US

Carillion’s fancy hoardings hid a company in chaos

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Construction, AlliedTrades and Technicians13 Spring 2018

Carillion, which was the second largestconstruction company in the UK and alsoran 450 outsourced public sectorcontracts, was forced to go intocompulsory liquidation, after itsdesperate attempts to be bailed out failed. The company had just £20 million in thebank while owing in excess of £2 billion.

The company directly employed 19,500,while the vast majority of its constructionworkforce numbering over 10,000 wereemployed via sub-contractors,employment agencies and throughvarious forms of bogus employment.

Over 30,000 sub-contractors were owedin excess of £1 billion by Carillion,meaning that thousands more workershave lost their jobs or remain at risk.

Over £1 billion of Carillion’s constructionwork was halted including high profilehospital projects in Bristol, Liverpool andSandwell (West Midlands) withcompletion dates receding into thedistance.

Given the scale of Carillion’s collapse,Unite’s simple message “that we can’treturn to business as usual” must be ourwatchword.

Mutant companyCarillion’s mutation from a standardconstruction contractor to a company

which was as likely to be bidding forcleaning services to building an office,was at the heart of its demise.

It became obsessed with bidding for newwork and acquisitions to increase itsincome with little regard for creating astable business model.

The City spivs knew Carillion was introuble, its shares were the most ‘shorted’in history (betting that the value ofCarillion’s shares would go down not up)and made a fortune. Despite manyorganisations and regulators monitoringCarillion none took action which couldhave saved the company or preserved jobs.

Carillion issued three profit warnings lastyear, despite this the governmentcontinued to award it over £2 billionworth of contracts, which persuadedmany sub-contractors to continue towork with them.

Since Carillion’s collapse it has emergedthat the company’s final salary pensionschemes were in deficit by at least £900million. These schemes will betransferred to the pension protectionfund, inevitably leading to a cost totaxpayers, with workers facing losingaround 15 per cent of their pensions.

It has since emerged that while thepension deficit was increasing despitepleading from the trustees, Carillion’sboard prioritised paying dividends toshareholders rather than plugging thepension deficit. In the past 10 years over£500 million was paid to shareholders.Last year shortly before it made its firstprofits warning, it borrowed money topay a dividend to shareholders.

Yet the pension regulator failed to assistthe pension trustees and force thecompany to act.

Shortly before the first profit warning,which saw the company write down the

value of the company by £500 millionovernight, the auditors KPMG gaveCarillion a clean bill of health.

Reliant on good willFaced with the allegation of a cosyrelationship with Carillion KPMGmaintain that it did nothing wrong andcould not be blamed for giving aninaccurate portrait of the company’sfinancial health.

It has since emerged that on thoseaccounts Carillion’s biggest asset was‘goodwill’ which was supposedly worth£1.57 billion (84 per cent of the totalvalue of the company). This mythicalgoodwill evaporated once Carillion werein trouble.

There is a body called the FinancialReporting Council which is meant tooversee auditors. The FRC had raisedconcerns with KPMG’s auditing ofCarillion’s accounts in 2013 but failed tocheck that those issues had been resolvedand there weren’t other problems.

Carillion’s collapse is being investigatedby MPs via a joint select committee of thebusiness and work and pensionscommittees.

When Carillion’s directors were broughtbefore the committee, they rejected theywere culpable for the company’s collapse.Conservative MP Stephen Kerr who sitson the joint committee summed it up bysaying, “I have never met such a sorrybunch of directors.”

Carillion was forced into insolvencyrather than administration since noaccountant would take on the role ofadministrator as there was insufficientmoney left in the company to pay them.

That means the Insolvency Service isleading the process to sell off parts ofCarillion, make workers redundant, windup the company and consider whetherthe director’s should be prosecuted.

If prosecutions do occur it will not bequick, on average it takes 21 monthsbefore directors are taken to court. SarahAlbom, the chief executive of theInsolvency Service said this process isbeing delayed due “to the incredibly poor

S BY GAIL CARTMAIL UNITE ASSISTANT GENERAL SECRETARY

MORE SUAL’

Carillion’s collapse in January was

the biggest corporate failure in the

UK since the Second World War.

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Construction, AlliedTrades and Technicians14 Spring 2018

CARILLION

standard of Carillion’s record keeping”, ittook days to even discover who therelevant Carillion directors were.

The Insolvency Service admits it is hasnever dealt with anything on this scale.The process of winding up Carillion willcost at least £50 million of taxpayer’smoney.

Following Carillion’s demise thegovernment provided some assistance byensuring that all public sector contractswhich spanned health, education, prisons,local government and the Ministry ofDefence would continue to be delivereduntil alternative providers could be found.

Insourced contractsUnite and the Labour Party have arguedthat all public sector contracts should beinsourced and delivered by theappropriate public body. Insourcing hasonly been implemented on a limitednumber of contracts.

Towards the end of February just over1,000 Carillion staff members had beenmade redundant and over 5,000 staff hadbeen transferred to new organisations, theremaining 11,500 workers remained inlimbo, not knowing if they were to bemade redundant or who their newemployer would be.

In an additional complication becausemost of Carillion’s companies wereforced into compulsory liquidationthe TUPE (transfer of under-takings protection of emplo-ment regulations) rules thatprotect a worker’s pay andconditions do notnormally apply.

Carillion work-ers before theyare

transferredto another

contract areofficially made

redundant (andeligible for redun-

dancy payments paidfor by the

taxpayer). It means that they could beforced to take a job with worse terms andconditions. Unite has ledcalls for the govern-ment to insistthat voluntaryTUPE

paymentsshould apply,

but this fell ondeaf ears.

Given the scale ofCarillion’s collapse on

the construction supplychain, made worse by

Carillion not paying invoicesfor 120 days, leaving

companies with huge unpaidbills, which they will not get back,

Unite led calls for swift action.

Within days of Carillion’s collapse agovernment taskforce, which the TUCsits on, was created. This has looked athow best to prevent further job losses inthe construction supply chain.Government pressure also resulted inthree banks HSBC, Royal Bank ofScotland and Lloyds making £225million available for companies affectedby Carillion’s collapse to access financialassistance.

Unite has called on the taskforce toprioritise getting Carillion’s stalledconstruction projects underway and theindustry building again. The nature ofour industry means that we have

absolutely no way of knowing how manyworkers in the supply chain were laid offas a result of Carillion’s collapse. Many ofthese workers will have been bogusly self-employed, agency workers or on shortterm-contracts and will have lost pay andwon’t qualify for redundancy payments.

The effects of the collapse will be felt formonths if not years with further corporatefailures likely. It could affect the long-term health of the industry as investorsbecome jittery with projects postponedor cancelled.

Radical Change

We need a radical change in how businessoperates in the UK. Public sector contractsneed to be insourced. There are very strongarguments to get rid of profiteering fromthe public sector and at last we have aLabour leadership that agrees with us.

The financial regulatory system in the UKneeds a complete overhaul, insiders inCarillion admit that they knew they hadbig problems in 2016 but to outsiders itwas healthy.

Even after the initial profit warning thefinancial regulators could have stepped inbut failed to do so.

It is imperative that the TUPE laws arechanged to better protect workers. It isentirely wrong that if a company isforced into liquidation that blamelessworkers can be transferred withoutwarning onto contracts with lower payand longer hours.

Finally the construction industry needs tobe reformed. Critically the culture ofundercutting and of ever squeezed marginsneeds to end, as there is no capacity for costoverruns if problems arise.

Workers deserve pay and conditions set bynegotiation and an even break means directemployment as the norm. This means if theworst occurs they will at least receiveredundancy and notice pay and not just betossed on the scrapheap.

The challenge for Unite is to ensure thesemeasures are acted upon.

For information on Carillion’s apprentices go topage 16-17

CARILLION IN NUMBERSCarillion owed over £2 billion

Carillion employed 19,500employees

30,000 sub-contractors are owed £1 billion

Over £1 billion of construction work isstalled

Carillion’s biggest asset was £1.57billion of goodwill

Carillion did not pay invoices for 120days

The government awarded Carillion £2 billion of work even after it issuedprofit warnings.

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Construction, AlliedTrades and Technicians15 Spring 2018

HEALTH BY ROB MIGUEL UNITE REGIONAL OFFICIAL

Prostate cancer is the most common typeof male cancer in the UK. Every year27,000 men are diagnosed with prostratecancer and there are 10,000 deaths.

Despite those stark figures there is still ahuge amount of ignorance about prostatecancer. Many men remain uninformed ofits dangers or the warning signs. If moremen were aware of the symptoms and ifthose over 45 had regular medical checkups then fewer people would die fromprostate cancer and even if you diddevelop it the disease can be managed.

The sad fact is that that if prostate canceris caught early then it can be cured or atworst kept in check for many years.

If untreated the disease in its latter stagesspreads to the bones which can be bothpainful and terminal.

With construction remaining a maledominated industry prostrate disease andprostrate cancer will be a major issue formany workers. However given the machoculture of the industry it is somethingthat workers will be reluctant to talkabout it and deny they have a problem,storing up greater problems.

Many men would struggle to locate theirprostate gland or describe what it does.The chestnut sized donut shaped gland isjust behind the bladder. It helps tocontrol the flow of urine and produces thefluids which make up semen. Without ithumans would not exist.

While the symptoms of prostate cancerare listed, even if you experience any ofthese it does not mean that you haveprostate cancer.

It could mean that you are suffering fromprostatitis an infection of the prostategland or by Benign Prostatic Hyperplasiawhere the gland enlarges can occur laterin life. Both these conditions are painfulbut treatable.

There are two types of tests for prostatecancer, which all men over 45 shouldspeak to their GP about. They are a urine

test for Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA)which checks protein levels and canindicate a problem, or a digital rectalexamination a bit uncomfortable andembarrassing but not painful.

If either test is positive your GP will thenrefer you to a specialist.

The Prostate Cancer Charity offerssupport and information to anyoneconcerned about prostate cancerwww.prostate-cancer.org.uk

Symptoms:

The following could all be symptoms ofprostate cancer:

A frequent need to urinate especiallyat night

Difficulty of starting to urinate or inholding back urine

Weak or interrupted flow of urine

Pain or burning during urination

Difficulty in having anerection

Painful ejaculation

Blood or urine insemen

Frequent pain orstiffness in the lowerback, hips or upperthighs.

IMPORTANT:If youexperienceany of theabovesymptomsconsult adoctor.

ALARMING FACTS FOR MEN

2.5 million men have symptomsdue to prostate problems

1 in 3 men will have prostateproblems during their life

1 in 12 men develop prostatecancer

Over 10,000 men die annually

Just 49 per cent of men survivemore than 5 years.

If you have any symptoms ofprostate cancer you need to phoneyour doctor.

PROTECTINGyour Prostate

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For Stuart Grice securing anapprenticeship as a bricklayer was lifechanging. “I have a trade for life, I canwork anywhere in the world.”If he hadn’t secured his apprenticeship,the situation would have been verydifferent: “I probably would haveended up at Brush Generators ( a majoremployer in Stuart’s home town ofLoughborough which is currentlyfacing closure) where my Dad andgrandparents worked, but I wouldn’thave stuck it being cooped up inside. Ilike working outside even in badweather. ElectricianPaulaStephensalso valuesher

apprenticeship; unusually she was amature apprentice becoming anelectrician in her mid-30s after havingworked for British Gas for 10 years. “Itwas about a new career and a new start.To have the opportunity to learn andretrain and to be able to do something Iwanted to do was exciting.”

Given Paula and Stuart’s positiveexperience why is there a deepeningskills crisis in the industry?

The Construction Industry TradeBoard (CITB) estimates constructionneeds 31,600 new entrants everyyear. Yet for the current academic

year 2017/18 just 10,750 peoplehave begun a CITB

apprenticeship, the most recentcomplete year 2016/17

shows 21,210 starts.

The figures for actualcompletions is lower themost recent figures are for2015/16 which saw 9,510completing a CITBapprenticeship.

One of the greatestmyths which must bedispelled is that

people

(principally young people) are notinterested in a career in construction.

This is not the case. In 2015/16 anincredible 192,500 were enrolled oncollege based construction courses.

These are often described as dead endcourses the vast majority are not linkedto a work placement and therefore thestudent has no way of achieving anNVQ, the only recognisedqualification in the industry.

It is a similar tale for the industrytraining boards. The CITB, which isprincipally concerned with civilengineering, reports that between2010-17 had on average 35,000applications a year and foundplacements for 6,000 apprentices (17per cent of applicants).

For the JTL, which undertakestraining for electricians, the figureswere even starker. In total between2010-17, 134,200 people applied foran apprenticeship but there were just15,188 starts.

Unite’s research has found it is evenmore difficult for women and blackand ethnic minority (BAME)candidates to secure an apprenticeship.Just five per cent of women applyingto the JTL secured a start, while thefigure for BAME candidates was littlebetter with just seven per centsecuring an apprenticeship.

UNDERPINNING CONSTRUCTION SKILLS

APPRENTICESHIPS BY BARCKLEY SUMNER

Construction, AlliedTrades and Technicians16 Spring 2018

Oreg

on d

epar

tmen

t of t

rans

port

atio

n

It is particularly difficult for

BAME and women to get a

start as an apprentice.

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Construction, AlliedTrades and Technicians17 Spring 2018

The problem is construction isincapable of long-term thinking andtraining the workforce for tomorrow.This will become an even greaterproblem after Brexit when recruitingeastern European workers is no longeran easy option.

The demise of Carillion has alsoimpacted on apprentice training.Carillion was involved in training1,400 apprentices. Within a month ofthe company’s collapse the CITB hadalready found placements for 821 and alarge number of employers had showninterest in recruiting displacedapprentices. It is hoped that the vastmajority of Carillion apprentices willbe able to continue with their training,thanks to the CITB’s intervention.

The challenge will be ensuring otherproviders fill the void left by Carillionin future years.

It had been hoped that theintroduction of the apprenticeship levylast year would have boostedapprenticeships; this does not yetappear to be the case.

Under the apprenticeship levycompanies whose payroll is over £3million a year pay 0.5 per cent of theirpayroll as a levy. They are thenencouraged to use this money to payapprentices, with unused money goingto the Treasury to be spent on otherapprenticeship training.

The apprenticeship levy began in April2017, the boost in apprenticeshipnumbers has not occurred and in factnumbers are down.

Richard Clarke Unite’s NationalApprenticeships and Skills Officer(construction) said: “The change infunding rules has it can be said had animpact on intake (or at least is a factor),coupled with a fragile economy.”

Much of the apprenticeship trainingin construction is undertaken bysmall and medium enterprises (SMEs)who do not qualify for theapprenticeship levy. However, theway construction apprenticeshipworks, although complicated, SME’sshould be able to access fundingwhich makes apprentice recruitmentcost neutral.

It is hoped that a change in the waythe apprenticeship levy is applied fromApril 2018 will boost apprenticenumbers. As major contractors don’temploy construction workers they areoften reluctant to train apprentices.

From this April the apprenticeshiplevy will allow them to transferfunding to other employers, whichmeans they can use the levy to fund thetraining of apprentices for companiesin their supply chain. Hopefullycontractors will be persuaded to usethe levy to boost apprenticeships ontheir projects.

Unite is at the forefront of lobbying andworking with employers to boostapprentice numbers. On Hinkley Pointthe union secured a commitment for aminimum of 500 apprentices on boththe civils and mechanical and electricalsections of the project. Unite is workingto secure similar commitments on otherhigh profile projects.

On all the national agreements Uniteis involved in, apprentices are always akey issue. Under the electricalcollective agreements the JIB andSJIB, Unite’s hard work means thereare currently 12,200 apprenticesregistered in training.

Details on how members can ensuretheir company is recruiting bona fideapprentices can be found atwww.unitetheunion.org/apprenticeshisand details on how to bargain forapprentices in a workplace can befound at https://tinyurl.com/y7v5s79w

The long-term answer is that thegovernment has to implementmeaningful procurement and contractcompliance rules throughoutconstruction. Companies have to becompelled to recruit apprentices, withthe message if you don’t recruitsufficient apprentices you can’tundertake public sector work.

To make this happen political will isrequired and that will require a changein government.

APPRENTICES INNUMBERS

31,600 new entrantsneeded every year

21,210 starts in 2016/17

9,510 completedapprentices in 2015/16

192,500 people onconstruction collegecourses in 2015/16

1,400 displacedapprentices followingCarillion’s collapse

There will be a particular demand

for apprentice carpenters in the

next five year.

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HOUSING BY JOHN HEALEY MP

Construction, AlliedTrades and Technicians18 Spring 2018

After eight years of failure, theConservatives have no plan to fix thehousing crisis, and no alternative to thehuge housing pressures faced by millions.

Home-ownership is at a 30 year low,rough sleeping has more than doubled,and the number of new homes for socialrent has fallen to a record low. Fewer than1,000 new government funded homes forsocial rent were started last year, downfrom over almost 40,000 in Labour’s lastyear in government. And more than amillion people turned to foodbanks lastyear after 13 separate cuts to housingbenefit since 2010 – including thepunishing bedroom tax.

Theresa May says housing is now her‘personal mission’ but in truth it is 'carryon Conservatives', with no seriousattempt to fix what has gone wrong since2010 and to help families on ordinaryincomes. At least ministers now admitthe housing market is broken, but theywon’t do what’s needed to fix it – a biggerrole for councils, stronger regulation ofthe private market, greater governmentinvestment to build new low-cost homesand higher legal standards – from safetyto energy efficiency.

When the country needs a governmentthat will step in, they have stepped back.

And many of the decisionsthat the Conservatives havemade on housing since2010 are making theproblems much worse.

The truth is the Tories havewashed their hands of theirresponsibility to fix thecrisis by failing to build thehomes affordable to familieson ordinary incomes. Worsestill, they’ve accelerated thefire sale of the genuinely affordable homeswe do have. New discounts of over£100,000 on some right-to-buyproperties mean thousands of homes are

being sold every year, anddespite a promise of one-for-onereplacement, only one has beenbuilt for every five sold off.

We can't go on like this. Weneed to draw a line under thefailings of the past eight years,and the shortcomings of thelast 40 years. Under Labour weneed a bold, long-term plan forhousing that demands more ofthose who can help fix ourhousing crisis, and offers moreto those who we are currentlyfailing.

That’s why we’ve said we’d set up a fully-fledged new department for housing forthe first time to spearhead our new deal onhousing and tackle the housing crisis. It'llgive our measures to tackle the housingcrisis a priority in government thatBritain's not seen since the decadesstraight after the Second World War.

We'll kick-start a big new programme ofaffordable housebuilding, with 100,000genuinely affordable homes a year by thefinal year of the next Parliament. At theheart of this will be a new era of councilhousebuilding with the biggestprogramme in more than 30 years, and

councils set free to build thehomes that their communitiesneed.

We’ll also stop the haemorrhageof councils homes by suspendingthe right-to-buy and ensuringcouncils replace all homes, one-for-one and like-for-like.

We'll back first-time buyers on ordinaryincomes with 'first dibs' on new homesbuilt in your area and we will build100,000 new discounted FirstBuyHomes linked to local average incomes.

We'll help private renters with newrights, require landlords to bringproperties up to scratch, make three yeartenancies the norm, and put a cap onrapidly rising rents.

And we'll deal with the most damningresult of the last eight years of failure onhousing – rapidly escalating roughsleeping, which has more than doubledsince 2010. We will launch a new nationalmission to end rough sleeping within thenext Parliament with action to tackle theroot causes of rising homelessness, startingwith 8,000 homes for rough sleepers.

We know that tackling the housing crisismeans tackling long-running problemsin the building industry, and investing inthe workforce. So as a Labour governmentwe will require new apprenticeships as acondition of receipt of any public moneyfor housing, and champion theimportance of a skilled workforce, localrecruitment, trade unions and rights atwork. After eight years of Tory failure,Labour’s plan will transform thehousing market to work in the interestsof the many, not the few.

The country needs anew deal on housing

John hEALEy MP is

Labour’s shadow secretary

of state for housing

Labour will build100,000 genuinelyaffordable homes ayear by the end of thenext Parliament

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Construction, AlliedTrades and Technicians19 Spring 2018

Everything wrong with the UK’shousing system can be seen at theBattersea Power Station redevelopmentin south London.

The multi million pound developmentwill see 4,239 homes luxury apartmentsbuilt which are expected to fetch up to£4 million.

Initially just 636 homes, 15 per cent, ofthe development was going to be‘affordable housing’ with theseproperties let for 40 per cent of theaverage market rent.

However the Battersea Power StationDevelopment Company and its Malaysianinvestors persuaded Conservative

controlled Wandsworth council toreduce the number of affordable homesto 386, nine per cent of the total, arguingthat otherwise the project could becomefinancially unviable.

One of Unite’s conveners on the projectDeclan Murphy, is proud of theworkmanship on the project, thequality of training and safety standardson the site and the level of Unite’sorganisation. However he is dismayedabout the lack of affordable housing.“It is an injustice. I worked onWembley and the Olympics and I havebeen back to enjoy those facilities. Veryfew people working at Battersea willever be able to come back and enjoywhat they built.”

Gunde Odgard general secretary of theDanish building union, visited Battersealast year and is equally unimpressed:

“In Denmark municipalities [councils]can demand that private developers setaside up to 25 per cent of flats in a newdevelopment for affordable housing. Inthe bigger Danish cities, especially inCopenhagen, this option is being used tocreate a better mix of housing and tocombat rising prices.

“The private developer will worktogether with a social housing company.The social housing company then takesover at a price laid down in legislation,as there is a maximum price per sqm. fornew affordable housing.”

HOUSING BY BARCKLEY SUMNER

HOUSINGIN BATTERSEA –A DOG’S DINNER

The Battersea Power station redevelopmentwill contain few affordable homes

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Construction, AlliedTrades and Technicians20 Spring 2018

Most payroll and umbrella companies are

parasites that are feeding off tens of

thousands of construction workers.

They exist to enable employment agencies

to create the illusion of not officially

employing the workers they recruit and

instead force them into various forms of

bogus self-employment; a highly cynical

move in order to boost their profits.

For workers payroll and umbrella companies

are now simply a tool used to exploit them,

with large deductions being made from

hard-earned wages and agencies not paying

for many basic worker’s rights that they

should be providing.

Unite is fighting back against this

exploitation on behalf of our members. Last

year the union created a Strategic Case Unit

to take on the legal fight to tackle bogus

self-employment.

The first appeal case that the Strategic Case

Unit took was on behalf of Russ Blakely, a

pipefitter who was employed on the

Broadmoor hospital project in Berkshire

from January to May 2016. The main

contractor was Kier and Russ was recruited

for the mechanical contractor Fascel, by their

agency On-Site Recruitment Solutions Ltd.

On-Site informed Russ that he needed to

contact the payroll/umbrella company

heritage Solutions Ltd for payment of wages.

Russ had to pay Heritage a weekly charge of

£18 for his wages (described as a

management company margin). He was also

charged the employer’s national insurance

contributions. In total during his

employment he was charged £324 in

management fees and £726 in employer

national insurance contributions and paid no

holiday pay.

Contract IssuesRuss was not asked to sign any form of

contract until he’d been working for two

months when, in March 2016, he was asked

to sign a ‘contract for services’ which said

that he was neither an employee nor a

worker. It stated that Russ was not entitled

to the most basic worker rights; no holiday

pay, sick pay or entitlement to the auto-

enrolment pension.

Russ was required to pay class 1 national

insurance contributions (for the employer)

under the contract and, in a sinister move,

there was also an indemnity clause which

sought to prevent him from pursuing any

legal claims and barring him from raising

his concerns with HMRC.

Russ refused to sign the contract, even

though he was threatened with not being

paid if he didn’t.He continued to work in

this manner until May 2016, when he went

on holiday, and he was not asked to return.

With the support of Unite Legal Services

Russ took an employment tribunal case for

unlawful deduction of wages for the

management company charges and

employer’s national insurance contributions.

He also claimed for accrued holiday pay. The

case is worth around £2,500.

The case was originally heard at Reading

Employment Tribunal in November 2016,

which wrongly dismissed the claim on the

grounds that he did not have the

employment status of a worker. Unite’s

Strategic Case Unit appealed the case to the

Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT), which

is the appeal court that deals with

employment cases. The appeal was heard in

December 2017 where Russ was represented

by Thompsons Solicitors and Stuart

Brittenden of Old Square Chambers.

Although the Judge ruled in our favour on

the day of the hearing, we did not receive

the written judgment from the EAT until

the end of January 2018.

This was the first time that the EAT had

considered a case of bogus self-employment

involving the use of a payroll/umbrella

company and found decisively in Russ’

favour.

Binding DecisionAs the findings were made at the EAT, this

is a legally binding on employment

tribunals throughout Great Britain and

must be applied to other cases that are

brought in the future.

The EAT ruled:

The employment tribunal had been

wrong to decide that Russ Blakely was

not a worker.

When determining whether there was a

contract, a tribunal must consider the

intentions of the worker and all

surrounding circumstances, not just the

intentions of the employer.

There was a contract between Russ

Blakely and On-Site (the employment

agency) and the use of the payroll

company did not avoid this relationship

Russ Blakely (and other agency workers in

the same situation) could be a worker of

the agency, the payroll company or both.

The fact that the EAT has ruled that it is

possible to be a worker of more than one

body paves the way for Unite to

dramatically reduce the amount of umbrella

and payroll company rip offs being

experienced by members.

The case has now been returned to the

employment tribunal, which must rule who

was Russ’ employer; was it On-Site,

Heritage or both and award the

compensation he is entitled to. That hearing

has now been set for 16 May 2018.

After the case Russ told his local paper the

Portsmouth News: “Without my trade union I

wouldn’t have had a leg to stand on. I hope

this verdict can help others and I hope it

gives construction workers in similar

situations the justice they deserve.”

Winning against umand payroll compan

unite Legal

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Construction, AlliedTrades and Technicians21 Spring 2018

mbrella nies

Game changerHoward Beckett, assistant general

secretary, said: “This is a ground breaking

victory in the fight against bogus self-

employment. The fact that a worker could be

jointly employed by two organisations is a

game changer in the campaign against bogus

self-employment.

“It blows a hole in the way employment

agencies hide behind payroll and umbrella

companies and pretend that they are not

responsible for the employment of the

workers they recruit.

“This decision sends out an unequivocal

message to all those involved in bogusly self-

employing workers, Unite and our Strategic

Case Unit are on your case.”

BY ALYS CUNNINGHAM, SOLICITOR, UNITE LEGAL DEPARTMENT

WHAT MEMBERSNEED TO DO

If you believe that your case is similar to Russ Blakely’s, you need to contact yourUnite Regional Officer or Regional Legal Officer for further advice

It is important that you locate:

(i) all contracts or other terms you have been given, whether you signed them or not

(ii) the payslips or other payment records issued to you, showing what you received and any deductions made

(iii) any job offer letter

(iv) the job advert you applied for, if there was one and you kept a copy

Don’t delay in contacting Unite, as if you have a possible legal claim, there are strictthree month deadlines on taking cases forward to employment tribunals.

Russ Blakely’s legal victory is a game changerin the fight against bogus self-employment

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unite Recommends

Construction, AlliedTrades and Technicians22 Spring 2018

BooksLong Road From Jarrow: Ajourney through Britain thenand now by Stuart Maconie,£16.99 (hardback), £8.99 (paperback)Ebury Press

On 5 October, 1936, a group of 200 began a300 mile march from Jarrow to London. Thegroup, was headed by local MP EllenWilkinson (Red Ellen as she was known), theywere marching in protest at the destruction oftheir towns and industries which some

calculated had resulted in almost 80per cent unemployment.

There were many hunger marchesduring the 1930’s as ex-servicemen, communists, strikers andthe unemployed in places such as Rotherham, Sheffield,Bolton marched under banners demanding reforms – withlittle or no success. None of these marches engender as muchemotion, or have remained as significant in working classlegend as Jarrow.

Stuart Maconie, well known as a writer, broadcaster andjournalist set off exactly 80 years later to follow as closely as hecould in the footsteps of Wilkinson and the Jarrow marchers.This book is not an attempt to re-document the events of1936 but rather, in Maconie’s’ own words “to compare theEngland of now and then, to see if the shadow of 1936 did fallacross 2016,” during and post the Brexit vote. In reading thisbook you can decide for yourself whether he succeeded.

Michael Nelson

The Fire and Fury: Inside theTrump White House by Michael Wolff£20 (hardback) Little Brown

Michael Wolff’s insight into the Trump WhiteHouse shot straight to the top of the bestsellerlist early this year, following publication ofexcerpts from the book.

In truth as is often the case the newspapers took the best and mostinteresting of Wolff’s observations, what is left is very dense andprobably of interest just to obsessives of United States politics.

That does not mean the book is without merit Wolff confirmswhat we already knew and feared. Donald Trump is entirelyunfit to be President of the United States and never actuallythought he would win.

In particular it is somewhat shocking to learn that Trump doesnot read and gets his information almost solely from television.In fact Wolff explains how his senior aides had to put majorissues such as the Syrian government’s chemical attack on itsown people into picture form before he was interested.

Much of Wolff’s book concentrates on the power strugglesbetween Trump’s senior advisors and their jostling to win hisfavour, he paints a picture of an entirely dysfunctionalworkplace which would be funny if it was not so serious.While you don’t need to read this book as its contents havebeen so widely covered, you should be very scared.

Barckley Sumner

This page is a counterpoint to the mainstream media and reviews

important pieces of work for Unite members.

Your RecommendationsUnite members are encouraged to send ideas for future recommendations. We will cover film, television, DVDs and books. Theonly stipulation is a recommendation needs to be easily available. If you would like to write your own reviews please do but keepyour contributions to 250 words. Send recommendations and reviews to [email protected]

Ellen Wilkinson MP leadingthe Jarrow marchers

Donald Trump is entirelyunfit to be President

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Page 23: The Usual Suspects - unitetheunion.org Worker Spring... · Usual Suspects The. ... 3 Trades and Technicians Spring 2018 ... up holiday pay, saving jobs and winning a landmark case

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Unite fights for our members’ interests through political and industrial campaigning on issues affecting you –

from pay, pensions, and broader workplace rights to housing, equality issues and our NHS.

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Year 4

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I sup

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Page 24: The Usual Suspects - unitetheunion.org Worker Spring... · Usual Suspects The. ... 3 Trades and Technicians Spring 2018 ... up holiday pay, saving jobs and winning a landmark case

WORKERS’MEMORIALDAY28 April 2018

Remember the deadand fight for the living

For events in your region go to https://goo.gl/RMvqVjor contact your regional office

www.unitetheunion.org @unitetheunion unitetheunion1

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