UK Workers Unite
May 2009
Demonstration: Stratford Olympic Site
Wednesday, 6th May 6.30am onwards
Please support this demonstration
We need to ensure that all workers employed on the Olympic site are guaranteed
their correct terms and conditions.
Objectives:
1) Direct employment
2) NAEICI, JIB, WRA in full with correct rates of pay and terms of conditions
3) No bogus self-employment
4) Fight against blacklists
5) Trade union control over hiring of labour
Nearest station is the DLR at Pudding Mill Lane
This protest is endorsed by the London activist meeting of Unite
Meet at the Main Gate Olympic Site in Stratford
Contact 0794 225 2280
Unite London and South East Construction Branch
April 2009
Climate Camp 2009
Objectives
To shut down the European Climate Exchange for the day - the biggest carbon trading platform in the world.
To highlight the fact that carbon trading isnt working.
To take action against financial institutions in the City taking part in carbon markets.
To draw attention to the fact that the G20 wants to get the global economy back onto a model of endless economic expansion that will prevent us from taking effective action on climate change.
March 28th 2009 - British Jobs for British Workers
GMB members protest march for decent jobs and public services for all; for justice to end global poverty and inequality and for a green economy to slow climate change
1500 GMB members from all over Britain plan to be in London on Saturday, 28th March 2009 to take part in a national demonstration called for by the TUC and a number of other organisations (see note 1) to coincide with the G20 summit taking place in London next week.
The GMB contingent on the march will assemble from:
11am Saturday 28th March 2009, Temple Place,Victoria Embankment,London WC2R 2PP
The march will move off at 12 noon to a rally in Hyde Park from 2pm. Mary Turner GMB National President will be one of the speakers.
GMB members on the march will have flags, banners and placards and will be accompanied by a marching jazz band.
The demonstration is being staged to coincide with the G20 summit taking place is for decent jobs and public services for all; for justice to end global poverty and inequality and to build a green economy to stop climate change. For more information visit
Paul Kenny GMB General Secretary
“On 28 March GMB members will join the thousands of people that will march through London to demand decent jobs, a low-carbon world and a fair distribution of wealth. Be one of them.
The economy is in crisis with job losses announced everyday.
Public services are under threat as tax-payers foot the bill for stopping the collapse of the banks.
Barack Obama will join other world leaders in London for the G20 summit at the start of April.
Some want business as usual, but we need a new start. One that puts people - not top bankers’
bonuses - first.
Even before the crisis, the world suffered poverty and faced the threat of climate change.
The G20 must fight recession by making the world fairer and greener.”
February 2009
Discrimination Against Local Workers.
In Devon we have been swamped with Polish workers
They live free on site, so don't pay council tax.
They are very good workers and will do any trade but usually badly.
They tend not to put enough cement into external rendering which then cracks, the plumbing work is never tested until it leaks and electrical cables are put in casually.
They must be pretty cheap as they have no overheads.
The British government has brought in an ever expanding set of regulations as the bureaucrats obviously think they know a lot more about building than the qualified tradesmen do.
Health and safety regulations have made it impossible to work off the ground in certain situations while the PFI contracts have frozen sites when simple alterations were required which no-one will authorise.
I worked on a major contract which had been sold four times (and skimmed four times) before the final sub-contractor did the work.
PFI school contracts have attracted workers from all over Europe which is ok when we all have work.
Now there is nothing down here. Most of the sites have closed.
Self employed construction workers do not qualify for standard JSA so get nothing.
The Dept of Works & Pensions has allowed a policy to exist that discriminates against English workers.
Regulations known as Part P were introduced for English domestic electricians but not enforced against other nationalities (Poles)
Cost of registration £500.
Similarly with; Health & Safety certificates, CSCS cards, CIS cards, JIB cards, 16th edition IEE regulations, 17th edition IEE regulations, G & G test & inspect, council tax, national insurance numbers, national insurance stamps, building regulations, health & safety certificates, NICEIC registration, NICEIC regulation, fire regulations, & the relative costs incurred.
This has decreased the likelihood of locals getting any work and made the British worker more expensive to employ.
The introduction of test & inspect regulations (part P) which means that every electrical job has to be registered with a central regulating authority has increased paperwork by 20% (one day a week) and will require an army of bureaucrats and an office block in every county.to record the information.
It is planned to expand this system to industrial electricians.
Alstom
New power stations are being built at the two sites, for RWE at Staythorpe in Nottinghamshire and for EON at the Isle of Grain in Kent. Both sites are being managed by main contractor Alstom.
Alstom is using sub contractors FNN and Mon Presior at Staythorpe and sub contractors Remak and Zre Kalowice at the Isle of Grain. Alstom told the trade unions in January 2009 that they plan to use 250 Polish workers, employed at Alstom’s own execution centre in Poland, to build the next phase of Staythorpe and that they will not be employing any UK workers. GMB and Unite are waiting to hear of the company’s plans for the next phase of the Isle of Grain.
Keith Hazlewood, GMB National Secretary said, "Following the dispute at the Lindsey Oil Refinery the trade unions are pleased that our engineering construction members’ grievances are beginning to be recognised.
There is still some way to go but at least people are beginning to understand what we have been saying.
We now plan to follow this up with a series of meetings and demonstrations to get action to stop UK workers being denied work on UK projects as is happening at Staythorpe and Isle of Grain.”
We need to see the UK Government bring amending legislation to parliament to correct the botched implementation into British law of the EU 1996 Posted Workers Directive in regard to article 3.8 (see note 4) on paying UK collective agreed rates.
We also need the EU Commission and EU Member States to heed the advice of the EU Parliament, given by a 5 to 1 vote in October 08, to restore EU law back to where it was before the European Court of Justice, Viking and Laval judgements.
In the meantime, the engineering contractors like Alstom should not discriminate against UK workers on UK projects like Staythorpe and Isle of Grain."
Total Dispute
Workers voted to end the strikes at the Lindsey oil refinery yesterday after a deal was negotiated to create 102 new jobs for British workers.
MEPs
MEP's from Germany, Britain and Italy have threatened to veto this year's incoming European Commission, unless it promises to revise the Posted Workers Directive.
They write that the law must be changed to end "social dumping"
RMT Union
Bob Crow, General Secretary of the RMT railworkers' union, argues that what is needed is "a root-and-branch political challenge to the supremacy of the European Court of Justice not tinkering with EU competition laws.
Academic
Charles Woolfson, Professor of Labour Studies at the University of Glasgow, argues that ECJ rulings have created a question as to why organised labour should continue to support EU membership.
He argues that "judicial imperialism" has mauled "social Europe" and left migrant workers vulnerable, with limited chance for industrial action.
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