Unite statement on unofficial strike action

The press and media have been portraying the unofficial walkouts in the construction engineering industry as "anti foreign worker". Here is press statement issued by Unite today.


Unite has today proposed a three point plan for dealing with the current wave of unoffical strike action
2 February 2009

Derek Simpson, joint leader of Unite has today proposed a three point plan for dealing with the current wave of unoffical strike action taking place across construction sites in the UK.

Derek Simpson, joint leader of Unite said: "Unite is proposing a three point plan that the UK government should follow to resolve the wave of unoffical unrest gripping the UK. There needs to be a systematic aproach which deals with the immediate problem of the current unoffical strikes and then addresses the root cause of the discontent. "

1. Resolve the immediate problem that exists at Total's Lindsey oil refinery. Reach an agreement which gives fair consideration for UK labour to work on the contract.

2. Carry out an investigation into the practices of contractors and subcontactors in the engineering and construction industry. Follow by action from the government which will insist that companies applying for contracts on public infrastructure projects, sign up to Corporate Social Responsibility agreeements which commit to fair access for UK Labour.

3. Overturn European legal precedents which allow employers to undercut wages and conditions. A European Court of Justice precedent gives employers a license for 'social dumping' and prevents unions form taking action to prevent the erosion of UK workers' pay and condition (see notes to editors).

Mr Simpson continued:

"The government is failing to grasp the fundemental issues. The problem is not workers from other European countries working in the UK, nor is it about foreign contractors winning contracts in the UK. The problem is that employers are excluding UK workers from even applying for work on these contracts.

The flexible labour market is a one way street that only benefits the employers. We are now seeing the backlash as the recession bites. The government must ensure that employers do no not raise barriers to UK based labour applying for work. There should be a level playing field for workers who wish to apply for work on Britain’s engineering and construction projects. No European worker should be barred from applying for a British job and absolutely no British worker should be barred from applying for a British job."

The Viking case concerned the re-flagging of a Finnish ship to Estonia with the aim of applying lower standards to the seamen on the ship; The Laval case concerned the application of Latvian wages and working conditions on Latvian workers employed by a Latvian company on a Swedish construction site.

More information on the ECJ Judgements can be found at:

http://www.amicustheunion.org/lavalvikingruffert/