Construction workers have always faced the brunt of the employers’ attacks. In an industry directly linked with the booms and busts of the economy, construction bosses have always sought to squeeze as much profit out of the workforce at every opportunity.

Today, the bosses of eight construction companies, all part of the JIB (Joint Industry Board) national electrical and plumbing agreements, as well as the Heating & Ventilating blue book national agreement, have colluded to attack the terms of conditions of sparks, pipe fitters, plumbers and related trades. The companies involved are Balfour Beatty, N G Bailey Building Services, Crown House Technologies, Gratte Brothers, Spie Matthew Hall, Shepherd Engineering Services, MJN Colston and T Clarke. Under pressure, Colston has since stepped back from the intended changes.

In effect, these companies are acting together as a conspiracy to impose their cost-cutting agenda onto the workforce. They are using the excuse of a downturn in the industry to go onto the offensive with pay cuts in the region of 35%. Despite the millions in profits they have made over the years, (Balfour Beatty reported increasing profits by 32% in 2010) all the existing negotiated and agreed wage rates are to be scrapped and replaced by worse terms.

Everyday life on the sites has always been hard. If they were able get away with it, bosses have always tried to impose worse terms and rates of pay. Regarded as “cowboy” employers, every effort have been used by them to divide and splinter the workforce through the use of sub-contract and agency labour. This pyramid-like structure of agencies acts like parasites at every level by feeding off the labour of workers. Their whole approach is to keep “costs” (wages) down by dividing workers against each other. Workers are constantly urged to ditch PAYE and enter all kinds of dodgy schemes to avoid tax. These schemes are not there in our interests, but are run by these same agencies, determined to get their extra pound of flesh.

Blacklist

The construction employers wanted to create a docile and atomized workforce prepared to accept almost anything. That is why they used the Blacklist to weed out and sack all those who were prepared to stand up for their fellow workers. The Blacklist is used extensively in the industry today. Such practices must be stopped. Unfortunately, even Labour governments have turned a blind eye to this dirty practice. In reality, the trade union leaders have behaved no better. It should have been their top priority to root out this cancer from the industry. But they kept quite about it - until the pressure was brought to bear by the rank and file. Belatedly they are pursuing things through the courts. But the campaign must be more than this. Companies must be forced to give Blacklisted workers jobs on the main sites.
While it is clear that the bosses are acting together in this conspiracy, Balfour Beatty, the biggest construction company in Britain, is being used as the stalking horse. Balfour Beatty has unilaterally announced that terms and conditions for its employees are to change in a matter of weeks. There is no negotiation or consultation. These changes will be imposed on employees – take it or leave it!

Balfour Beatty is to introduce new contracts on 7 December. They have also issued 90-day redundancy notices to all workers, demanding they sign new contracts. This is holding a gun to our heads. UNITE has correctly urged all workers not to sign the new contracts. But this is not sufficient to win. Action is needed, including the occupation of the sites. Without this, workers will be left defenceless. If this means breaking the law, then so be it. Whatever the outcome of the ballot for industrial action, by Balfour Beatty workers, you can be sure the building companies will run to the courts to block it. That being the case, unofficial action would be the only option open to us.

We are all aware that this is a showdown. The fight was inevitable. The employers have been biding their time. Now they have thrown down the gauntlet. We have no alternative but to respond with decisive action. Already, protests have happened in London, Manchester, Newcastle, Scotland, Nottingham and other areas. These are being stepped up in the run up to the 7th December deadline.

Leaders

Unfortunately, this struggle, rather than being prepared in advance, has taken the union leaders by surprise. They have been content to bury their heads in the sand for years. They sat back while the industry was deregulated and splintered by sub-contractors and agencies, allowing it to become a plague. Britain has more agency workers than the rest of Europe put together! This morass has severely weakened shop-floor organization. The union leaders were content as long as the employers played ball with them and paid over the union dues through the check-off system. Instead of building up a strong rank and file site organization, they relied on the good will of the employers. They even ignored the Blacklisting that was taking place. Scandalously, some were involved in it.

Predictably, the bosses have reneged on their agreements. They have led the union leaders a merry dance with their cushy relationships and cups of coffee. They lulled them to sleep with their quiet chats and agreements, without the involvement of the rank and file. Union stewards, instead of being elected, were largely appointed by full-time officials, not to represent the workers, but keep the peace. This was especially so under the leadership of Sir Ken Jackson, but also continued under Simpson in Amicus. All this played into the bosses’ hands. Then, when the time was right, the employers took the initiative to scrap the sweet-heart deals. To start with they refused to implement the check-off system. As a result, given the weakness of site organization, there was no means of collecting union dues and union membership fell by tens of thousands.

These years of complicity with the bosses have weakened our struggle. In the past, the union relied on key workers on the sites. On the Jubilee site, for example, rank and file organization allowed the workers make big gains. It was a model of rank and file trade unionism. But the Blacklisting has largely put a stop to this. These union militants were systematically rooted out from the sites over the last 10 years, with the cooperation of the union tops. The union leaders, who wanted a quiet life, saw these workers as trouble-makers, rather than the bedrock of the union.

War

This is not a one-off fight. Whatever the outcome of this dispute, this is only one battle in the war. There will be other battles in the coming period, which we need to prepare for. Building workers are at the sharp end. With government cuts, building companies are not getting the contracts as before. House building is the lowest since 1923. The bosses want the workers to pay for this with worsening pay and conditions. Even now workers are being forced to work 9 or 10 hours, for face the sack. This all means that we need to be getting our own house in order.

Not only must we resist the employers’ offensive, we must start to turn the tables. The unions must start to get serious about defending their members. That is why we set up the rank and file National Committee, elected by a national meeting of rank and file activists. In addition, areas committees have been established in London, Manchester and Newcastle, with more planned. This is very important development. It can form the basis of a rank and file organization in the industry, which can bring pressure to bear within the union as well as take initiatives where necessary.

It is good news that UNITE has given official support to the recent protests, especially in London. There must be no more sweet-heart deals with employers behind the backs of the workers. The rank and file must be fully involved and take the final decision on any proposed deal. This must go hand in hand with a drive to rebuild the rank and file organization on every site. No appointed stewards – they must be elected and accountable to the rank and file. No more Black-listing! All those Blacklisted must be guaranteed a job on the major sites, starting with the Crossrail project. If the companies refuse, then we must put trade union picket lines on those sites, with the full involvement of the unions concerned.

Only in this way will we build up trade union membership and show workers that once again unions are relevant to them. We must launch a mass campaign to end agency work and sub-contracting. We must also commit the TUC and Labour Party to this policy. Our unions have the muscle, so let them use it!

Unions

In addition, we need democratic fighting unions that carry out the wishes of the rank and file. That means the fullest union democracy, involving the election, not only of stewards, but all trade union officials. No to careerism! That means all trade union officials should be on the average wage of a skilled worker. No privileges! When our wages go up, their wages go up too. If ours go down, so do theirs. This will give them the incentive to fight!

At the end of the day, we need a government that will represent working people. We need a real socialist Labour government that will nationalize the building companies, starting with Balfour Beatty, under workers’ control. All hiring should be under the control of the trade unions. In that way, the Blacklist will be confined to the dustbin. If this were part of a socialist plan of production to put an end to boom and slump, all workers would receive a decent job with decent pay and conditions.

These current attacks will shake up all workers. Now is the time to get involved. Now is the time to get off our knees and fight back.

Stop Press:

In the latest protest 500+ electricians and supporters blockaded the Balfour Beatty buiding site at Blackfriars Statio. A 3 hour stand-off saw clashes between pickets and police with site entrances closed, roads blocked, goods deliveries stopped by order of the City of London police and hundreds of workers from the project refusing to go into work.