Talks between the GMB and Unite unions and the Engineering Construction Industry Association have broken down as a rash of unofficial strikes have broken out over major construction sites all over the country. There has been action at South Hook liquefied natural gas terminal near Milford Haven, at Lindsey oil refinery in Lincolnshire and at Stanlow refinery on Merseyside.  These strikes are completely illegal under the anti-union laws.

The national shop stewards’ conference on June 5^th called for a national ballot of construction workers in Unite and the GMB. The issues put before the membership will be a pay freeze the bosses want to impose from next January, and protecting jobs. It is the latter issue that looms large in the minds of the workers. Employers all over the land are hiring workers and trying to undercut the agreed rate and conditions. There have been walkouts all over the country on the jobs issue. The unions want to uphold the NAECI agreement for all workersso we all get the rate for the job. It’s a lie that the argument is about ‘British jobs for British workers.’

Phil Willis spoke to Socialist Appeal about the coming battle.

“We know it will take 6 or 7 weeks to organise a strike. We know what we want. We want a vote for an all out strike, not just an overtime ban. There is one big issue and that is jobs.

“The problem is that there is no database of our members.  So the first thing is for the shop stewards to go out there and get the data. We’ve been trying for this for months.

“At the Isle of Grain I’ve only been there a few weeks and I’ve already got five shop stewards in place. One of the stewards represents the Polish workers. We’ve also got four safety reps and a proper safety committee. These are proper stewards elected by the workers. I have my doubts about the union just parachuting people in.

“Alstom came to me even though I had a case against them. I insisted on being elected as a rep. I had to have the support of the workers. We need a collective database including a register of unemployed construction workers. I think they’ve picked the wrong time to have a fight with the workers. Our livelihoods are at stake. The unemployed will demonstrate alongside us. In the present economic situation, if we don’t fight and win, we’re done.

“They want to break the NAECI agreement and just turn it into a code of practice. In the construction industry, we’re the ones who’ll have a fight. The main contractors have got to keep their noses clean if they want to get all the nuclear power plant work. There are 3 lever arch files sitting there at the Isle of Grain with the CVs of construction workers – people who have always had a job up to now.”