Unite exposes power station contractor for underpaying workers
19th January 2010
An in-depth investigation, called for by the Unite trade union,
has revealed that non-UK workers at Staythorpe power station in the
East Midlands have been losing out on thousands of pounds in pay
due to a subcontractor paying them significantly below the agreed
rates for the engineering construction industry.
An auditor’s report has revealed that some workers employed by
Italian subcontractor CMN at Staythorpe power station have been
underpaid by an average of 1,300 euros a month. Last year the power
station was the focus of demonstrations by qualified workers who
had been excluded from applying for work at the site. An unofficial
dispute at Lindsey oil refinery over the same issue also spread
across the country last year.
Unite, the biggest union in construction, has consistently
warned that UK workers, and contractors who play by the rules, were
losing out to contractors who exploited non UK workers and flouted
the national agreement for the engineering and construction
industry.
Unite's assistant general secretary, Les Bayliss, said: "The
underpayment of these workers is outrageous. We have demanded that
the workers are paid back in full. These revelations are proof that
construction workers have genuine concerns which the industry has
consistently tried to deny existed.
"Some workers at Staythorpe were losing out on thousands of
pounds in pay that they were rightly owed. Unite will not allow
employers to get away with breaking agreements and underpaying its
workers, regardless of nationality.
"The UK is on the brink of a major programme to build new power
stations. The actions of contractors like CMN are putting
contractors who play by the rules at a serious disadvantage when
bidding for work. The main contractors and auditors at engineering
construction sites across the country need to do more to ensure
these practices are not being repeated elsewhere.
"Unite was able to expose the underpayment because of the
national agreement for the engineering construction industry. The
agreement is essential for workers and employers alike, without it
the industry would not be able to function."
The audit was conducted by Global Project Audit Services
Limited. During the period between April 2009 and December 2009 an
average of 17 workers a month were being underpaid by an average of
1,300 euros per month. The peak number of workers being underpaid
was 24 during August and September. The contractor has agreed to
correct the underpayments including paying back pay.
Alstom has been contracted by RWE to build the Staythorpe power
station, a gas-fired power station near Newark. CMN is one of
the subcontractors at the site.
ENDS
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