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Unite calls on Balfour Beatty Engineering Services to negotiate during legal pause of ballot injunction

08 Feb 2012 17:22:00

8 February 2012

The judgement in BBES' case to injunct Unite's ballot will be reserved until early next week (beginning 13 February). Unite is urging BBES to use the next few days to return to the table and find a negotiated solution.

Commenting, Unite national officer, Bernard McAulay, said: “Balfour Beatty’s failure to recognise the strength of feeling among skilled workers is prolonging a long and bitter dispute. We will not bow down to bully boy tactics either in the workplace or the court room.

"This dispute will not be solved by Balfour Beatty’s continued attempts to undermine legitimate strike votes. The only way forward is by Balfour Beatty to actively engage in meaningful negotiations and recognise the importance of the existing collective agreements, which have served the industry well for decades.”

BBES is attempting to injunct an industrial action ballot of electricians, plumbers and heating and ventilating engineers despite an overwhelming vote of 67 per cent in favour of strike action.

The union warned that BBES has lost the confidence and respect of its long established workforce and is unnecessarily prolonging a long and bitter dispute.

BBES is the ringleader of gang of seven breakaway employers (see notes to editors) who want to tear up the long-standing Joint Industry Boards agreements and impose new semi-skilled grades. Tearing up the industry wide agreements will lead to pay cuts of up to 30 per cent and poorer terms and conditions for key construction staff.

ENDS

For further information contact Unite communications officer Liane Groves on 07793 661657, Unite national officer Bernard McAulay on 07958 514837 or Unite head of media and campaigns Alex Flynn on 020 3371 2066 or 07967 665 869.

Notes to editors:

The seven major breakaway contractors are: Balfour Beatty Engineering Services Limited; NG Bailey Building Services; Crown House Technologies; Gratte Brothers; Spie Matthew Hall; Shepherd Engineering Services (SES); and T. Clarke Plc.

Olympic ticket contract a 'kick in the teeth' for UK print industry, says Unite

08 Feb 2012 14:38:00

8 February 2012

Unite, Britain's biggest union, has branded the decision to award a multi-million pound Olympic ticket printing contract to an American firm, as a 'kick in the teeth' for the UK print industry.

The decision by the London 2012 organising committee, comes at the same time as thousands of print workers continue to lose their jobs in the UK.

Unite national officer, Steve Sibbald, said: “The commercial print industry has been struggling to survive for the last four years during this economic downturn. This contract would have been a huge boost to many businesses and their workers.

“The billions of pounds of taxpayers’ money spent on the Olympics is supposed to benefit the UK economy. I don’t see how awarding this contact to an American firm will benefit UK workers or the UK print industry.

“This appalling decision is a kick in the teeth to print workers and businesses in the UK.”

The contract has been issued to Weldon, Williams & Lick of Fort William and will have to be shipped from Arkansas to the UK.

ENDS

For further information please contact Steve Sibbald on 07860 538537 or Ashraf Choudhury in the Unite press office on 020 3371 2061 or 07980 224761.

Unite reaction to launch of banking apprenticeship scheme

08 Feb 2012 14:16:00

8 February 2012

David Fleming, Unite national officer, said: “Unite welcomes the launch of an apprenticeship programme aimed specifically at the banking sector. There is no doubt that urgent action is needed to improve the reputation of the financial services sector, Unite hopes that such a professional training programme will help with this.

“Staff across the sector will welcome the opportunity to improve the skills in their organisation. As the trade union representing employees across the industry, Unite is optimistic that employers will view this as an opportunity to nurture talent in those communities which have been particularly hard hit by the economic crisis.”

ENDS

For more information please contact Saba Mozakka, Unite the union, on 07768 693 953.

News digest 8 February 2012

08 Feb 2012 12:45:00

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Coalition not off-the hook over Bombardier

08 Feb 2012 12:32:00

8 February 2012

Unite, Britain's biggest union, has welcomed reports that Bombardier's Derby site has been secured for three years but warns that the coalition government should not be let off the hook.

Britain's last train maker needs a significant contract for the company to have a long-term future.

The plant was under review after the Tory-led government controversially awarded a £1.6 billion order for the Thameslink route to a consortium led by Siemens.

Unite general secretary Len McCluskey said: "This is good news but it should not let the government off the hook. If the coalition had done the right thing and awarded Bombardier the Thameslink contract the company would have years of work, instead of being given a brief respite.

"Britain's last train-maker needs to win a significant contract for it to have the long-term future it deserves. The government must do everything possible to support this strategically important manufacturer. Unite will keep fighting for the future of British train manufacturing."

ENDS

Ciaran Naidoo on 07768 931 315

Pressure mounts as health visitors voice their opposition to the health bill

08 Feb 2012 10:28:00

8 February 2012

The 116-year-old Community Practitioners’ and Health Visitors’ Association (CPHVA) has become the latest professional organisation to come out against the controversial and pro-privatisation Health and Social Care bill.

The CPHVA has joined the Royal College of Nursing, the British Medical Association, the Royal College of Midwives and the royal medical colleges, in opposing the bill which has reached a critical point in its parliament journey.

The CPHVA believes that ‘reforms’ will be put the financiers heading private healthcare companies in the driving seat; lead to the fragmentation of services with reduced access for the most vulnerable in society; and a much smaller workforce.

The CPHVA called for the bill to be withdrawn and that there is a period of stabilisation. It is better to stop the bill for the benefit of patients.

CPHVA chair, Alison Higley said today (Wednesday 8 February): ”As public health practitioners, providing frontline services for families and children, and for the frail elderly, we are greatly disturbed by the bill currently being pushed forward by this government.

”Our members believe the ‘reforms’ will have far-reaching negative outcomes for the most vulnerable in our society, and this is the group we have devoted our working lives to supporting.

”The radical changes and reduction to frontline providers are already biting hard and preventing our members from doing the job they came into their profession to provide.

”We have worked with GPs closely for many years and they, too, like us, do not believe that they have been listened to about their legitimate concerns about the bill.

”One of the key concerns is that the government has continually refused to make public its risk assessment on the impact of the ‘reforms’, so health visitors can’t make professional judgements about the future care for patients and clients, for example, in relation to safeguarding issues.

”The ministerial rhetoric that staff and the public will influence and chose what health provision will be provided is a mirage that will never materialise, as the financiers will hold the power as the government directs that vast savings are made.

”We can already see the impact these savings are having as the high-expertise and more expensive services get stripped out and skill-mix is introduced to save money.

”As professionals, we have genuine concerns that the efforts put into nurse education over the last decade will be in jeopardy by these radical changes being forced upon organisations to meet the requirements of the bill.

”There has been much negative press about nursing care in the last year and we fear that this will only worsen with the continued reduction in the numbers of highly skilled, well-trained frontline nurses. This will result in less well-trained, less skilled and unsupervised staff who are not monitored or performance-managed.

”CPHVA’s membership is not in favour of this bill, as we do not feel it will deliver the positive changes and outcomes that the government believes it can. All we can see is the fragmentation of services, reduced access for the most vulnerable in society, and a reduced workforce.”

Ms Higley’s statement comes as the health visiting profession celebrates its 150th anniversary. It was in 1862 that female factory sanitary inspectors started work in Salford - it was from those beginnings that the health visiting profession evolved. The organisation that has become the CPHVA was founded in 1896.

ENDS

Notes to news editors:

For further information, please contact CPHVA communications officer Shaun Noble on 07768 693940

Unfair parking levy prompts union members to consider strike

07 Feb 2012 14:50:00

7 February 2012

Hundreds of workers from the multi-national tobacco giant Imperial Tobacco’s Nottingham site, via a joint union consultative ballot, have indicated they want to move to an external ballot for industrial action over the company’s decision to make them pay part of the ‘workplace parking levy’.

In April 2012, Nottingham city council will begin charging up to £288 annually per car via the workplace parking levy – a levy on ‘employers’ that provide workplace parking. The union believes that Imperial Tobacco can easily afford to pay this levy, but is instead burdening its workforce with an extra charge - which they can ill-afford.

In the recent consultative ballot, Unite and GMB members voted 75.6 per cent in favour of moving to a strike action ballot. The unions are now preparing to conduct a full industrial action ballot at Imperial Tobacco unless it removes this unacceptable levy from its workers. Dates of the ballot will be released in due course.

Unite regional officer, Luke Primarolo, said: “The council has imposed this levy on employers and it is their responsibility – not the workers. However, we now see this mega-rich multinational tobacco company refusing to pay this parking levy and instead looking at ways to pass some of it on to its workers – this is totally unacceptable to our members.

“We have received a resounding ‘yes’ vote in our consultative ballot and preparations are now underway for a full industrial action ballot of the membership. We implore Imperial Tobacco to think again and reconsider placing this unfair levy on its workers.”

ENDS

For further information contact Luke Primarolo on 07717 787359 or Ashraf Choudhury in the Unite Press Office on 020 3371 2061 or 07980 224761

Unite warns oil industry majors – back your workforce or risk country-wide fuel shortages

07 Feb 2012 12:53:00

7 February 2012

Fuel and petrol stocks will be hit if oil distribution employers fail to end the attack on tanker drivers’ livelihoods forcing strike action closer, warns Unite, the country’s biggest union

The union, which has over 3,000 oil tanker driver members, wrote to employers on Thursday 2 February to encourage them to back a fuel oil distribution sector-wide collective bargaining forum. The forum would bring together major players from the supply industry, including oil majors Shell and BP, and haulage companies such as Wincanton and JW Suckling, to agree to the introduction of industry minimum standards, including pensions and health and safety standards.

The union is urging the new minister for energy, Ed Davey, to take seriously warnings that the fuel supply is too important to be left to market forces.

Unite says this forum is needed to restore stability to a nationally vital sector which has become worryingly volatile after a decade of contracting out by the oil majors. Drivers have become increasingly frustrated by the cost-down agenda which has seen some workers have six different employers in the past 10 years as companies fold or take over competitors.

The union says that instability is now a hallmark of the delivery of the nation's fuel supply, and that standards and public safety are being compromised.

Len McCluskey, Unite general secretary, said: “Unite has been urging the major players in the oil industry to get behind calls for the introduction of industry minimum standards for over a year. Yet, instead of working with us to protect drivers they have been turning the screws and adding to the stress of what is a dangerous job.

“We are giving the employers a last chance to act responsibly. Work with us to restore stability to the national fuel supply or risk fuel shortages over the coming months.

"The attacks have to stop. If the employers fail to do so, then we are left with no option but to ballot the entire sector for industrial action.

“Last week, Shell reported it has made billions in profits. Other companies like Conoco have seen their profits jump by 70 per cent. But while drivers are being squeezed at the pumps, tanker drivers are having their pay cut and their jobs made far more difficult.

"Enough is enough - it is about time that this industry showed some responsibility to the people who help make it so fantastically wealthy. It cannot be acceptable that these corporate giants can line their pockets yet blight the workforce and the fuel supply with insecurity.

"We urge the new energy secretary to take this call seriously too. Government must not sit this out. If it is serious about making big business behave responsibly, it can start by using its influence to get the oil companies around the table because the nations fuel supply is too important to be left to the boardroom to dictate."

ENDS

For further information contact Chantal Chegrinec in the Unite Press Office on 020 3371 2063 or 07774 146777.

Notes to editors:

Unite has been working to establish a fuel oil distribution sector-wide collective bargaining forum, and has invited the oil industry’s major players to join, including; Shell, BP, ConocoPhillips, Esso, Valero, Total.

Excerpt from Union strategy document

Please note, that Unite affirms that it never has nor will ever be the intentions of tanker drivers to stop emergency fuels from leaving terminals nationally, for the police, fire brigade, ambulance service, doctors, nurses, hospitals, livestock etc. The last time that these procedures were in place garages designated for emergency fuels were delivered to by the tanker drivers, the emergency service staff were given fuel on the production of an identification badge.

Unite reaction to Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks review

07 Feb 2012 12:50:00

7 February 2012

David Fleming, Unite national officer, said: "News of this strategic review has come out of the blue for the workforce of Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks across the UK. Unite has grave concerns about the scale of the review and over the future commitment of NAG within the UK. We have opened up dialogue with management in order to get urgent clarification as to the possible implications for the staff."

ENDS

For more information please contact Saba Mozakka on 07768 693 953.

Unite reaction to nearly 1,000 Lloyds Banking Group job cuts

07 Feb 2012 12:46:00

7 February 2012

David Fleming, Unite national officer, said: “The announcement that Lloyds Banking Group is today to cut nearly 1,000 jobs will be devastating for the workforce. Already some 28,000 employees have lost their jobs as a result of the past poor management decisions at the top of this organisation. Now staff across the LBG insurance, HR, wholesale, retail and group operations will face an uncertain future.

“Unite believes that this announcement is inappropriate as the full requirement of the group's divestment is unknown. Unite will be holding discussions with the bank with the objective of minimising the need for job cuts following this further restructuring. The organisation must do more to offer redeployment opportunities to their workers.”

The main areas impacted by this news today are: HBOS Newcastle, LTSB Scunthorpe, LTSB Dudley and HBOS Romford

ENDS

For more information please contact Saba Mozakka, Unite the union, on 07768 693 953

Unite pleased to see ongoing optimism in the UK motor industry

06 Feb 2012 15:08:00

6 February 2012

Unite is pleased to see figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders which show new car registrations have risen slightly by 0.03 per cent to 128,853 in January 2012 indicating optimism around the motor industry in the UK.

It is anticipated that the market for new cars will remain stable further into 2012, with diesel and alternatively-fuelled cars producing more significant growth in sales. For January 2012 the sales of alternatively-fuelled cars rose by 16.4 percent.

Tony Burke, Unite assistant general secretary, said: "It is encouraging to see that the motor industry in the UK is relatively buoyant, despite the challenging economic circumstances and the lack of a manufacturing strategy from the coalition government. The ongoing optimism is testament to the skills and commitment of the industry's workforce.”

ENDS

For further information contact Ashraf Choudhury in the Unite Press Office on 020 3371 2061 or 07980 224761

Unite university staff to demonstrate over ‘lousy’ pay offer on 8 February

06 Feb 2012 12:35:00

6 February 2012

University staff - members of Unite – will be demonstrating outside an employers’ high-powered seminar on Wednesday 8 February over the ‘lousy’ pay offer of £150.

Placard-waving protestors will be outside the headquarters of the Universities and Colleges Employers’ Association (UCEA) at Woburn House, 20 Tavistock Square, London WC1H 9HU between 11.00am till 2.00 pm on 8 February. UCEA is hosting a training event for HR managers.

Protesters are coming from as far afield as Aberdeen, Belfast, Bristol, Cambridge, Cardiff, Glasgow, Hull, Leicester, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Newcastle, Norwich, Reading and Swansea.

Unite, the largest union in the country, represents 20,000 staff - from professors to porters - at Britain’s Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) - and is the only union to have rejected the derisory offer of £150-a-year for all grades to run from 1 August last year for 2011/12.

Unite national officer for education Mike Robinson said today (Monday 6 February): ”The protest will bring home to the employers the strength of feeling of our members at this lousy pay offer. For example, Imperial College, London has given its staff £500-a-year more on all scales and so has Royal College of Art.

”The HEIs - represented by UCEA - can well afford to be more generous at a time of runaway household bills for families.

”Will Hutton’s ‘top’ peoples' pay inquiry found that the pay gap between vice chancellors at the top and the lowest paid staff in universities was one of the largest in corporate life.”

Unite members voted for industrial action, short of strike action, at the end of last year – and are sticking to the letter of their contracts with no working outside their contractual hours.

In a letter to UCEA chief executiveJocelyn Prudence, Mike Robinson has said: ”Unite members will also be asked to raise the profile of the low offer on pay for 2011 in their own HEIs, as publically as possible.“

ENDS

Notes to news editors:

For further information please contact Mike Robinson on 07768 931 284 and/or Unite communications officer Shaun Noble on 07768 693940

The demonstrators will be coming from Scotland (Aberdeen, Glasgow Strathclyde, and St Andrews); Northern Ireland University of Ulster (Belfast); Wales (Swansea, Cardiff).

England: Hull, Newcastle, Manchester, Liverpool, Leicester, Cambridge, Norwich Bristol, Reading, Surrey, and Sussex.

From London: Kings College, University College London, University of East London, RCA and City Universities, London.

News digest 6 February 2012

06 Feb 2012 12:13:00

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Jet fuel drivers ramp up pressure as talks break down

03 Feb 2012 15:17:00

3 February 2012

Jet fuel tanker drivers working for Wincanton have extended their strike action until Thursday 16 February in an escalation of the long running dispute over pay and conditions.

Today’s (Friday 3 February) announcement of further strike action by members of Unite, follows Wincanton’s failure to offer a meaningful solution in yesterday’s talks.

The additional seven days of action until 04.59 on Thursday 16 February will put intense pressure on petrol supplies to Jet’s 381 forecourts and will mean tanker drivers will have been on strike for unprecedented 21 days.

Tanker drivers walked out at 5am this morning after the break down of talks, mounting picket lines at depots in Immingham, Kingsbury and Stockton-on-Tees in the dispute which has already seen seven days of strike action.

Unite has repeatedly said that Jet’s owner, ConocoPhillips, and road hauliers Wincanton have generated more than enough profits to pay decent pay and conditions and warned that their greed would destabilise the supply of vital national resource.

Unite national officer, Matt Draper, said: “Tanker drivers are once again showing their determination to defend their pay and conditions. We had hoped we could resolve the dispute through the talks and offered concessions. But Wincanton’s failure to offer these highly skilled drivers security over their futures and their pay and conditions means that the supply of fuel to Jet forecourts is once again under threat.

“Wincanton needs to recognise the strength of feeling and start talking seriously about a fair solution.”

ENDS

For further information please contact Chantal Chegrinec, Unite campaigns officer, on 07774 146777 or the Unite press office on 020 3371 2065.

Notes to editors:

Unite issued the seven day notice of further strike action to the employer, Wincanton, yesterday. Members will be out on the picket line at the three locations 24 - 7.

Strike action so far:

First wave: Started Tuesday 24 January 2012 at 05.00, ended Tuesday 31 January 2012 at 04.59

Second wave: (First day suspended for talks) Thursday 2 February at 05.00, ends Thursday 9 February at 04.59

Third wave: Starts Thursday 9 February at 05.00 ends Thursday 16 February at 04.49

Picket locations:

ABP Immingham Docks, Immingham, Ocean Terminal, North East Lincolnshire DN40
Kingsbury oil terminal, Warwickshire Trinity Road, Kingsbury, Tamworth, Staffordshire B78 2EH
Stockton-on-Tees in the north east: Boeing Way, Preston Farm Industrial Estate, Stockton-on-Tees, TS18 3TE

Unite welcomes JLR intake of skilled apprentices

03 Feb 2012 14:48:00

3 February 2012

Unite has welcomed the news that Jaguar Land Rover is to recruit its largest ever intake of apprentices in its 2012 training programme.

The programme will consist of 109 advanced apprenticeships and for the first time 24 higher apprentices, which will lead towards a series of NVQs as well as a degree.

Tony Burke, Unite assistant general secretary, said: “This is great news for the motor industry in the UK and also for those young people who will be training to become the skilled engineers of tomorrow.

“Unite is especially pleased at the number of apprentices being recruited and that they will be both advanced and higher level apprenticeships.

“This is very much in line with Unite's call on the government to boost the manufacturing sector. The UK desperately needs more highly skilled workers to avoid skills shortages in the future. One way of achieving this is through the provision of high quality and gold standard advanced apprenticeships.

“With youth unemployment at a record high, we now want to see more companies and industries follow JLR’s lead and offer more quality apprenticeships for young people.”

ENDS

For further information contact Ashraf Choudhury in the Unite Press Office on 020 3371 2061 or 07980 224761.

News digest 3 February 2012

03 Feb 2012 12:53:00

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Unite demands a fair deal for York bus workers

03 Feb 2012 12:50:00

3 February 2012

Unite, Britain's biggest union, is demanding a fair deal for 29 bus workers facing redundancy at First York.

The bus company is planning to withdraw the bendy buses from its fleet in York resulting in 29 conductor jobs being at risk.

The union is in discussions to try to reduce the number of redundancies. However, for those that do face redundancy, the company is only offering statutory terms even though First York has admitted it will be saving more than £300,000 per annum by getting rid of the 29 conductors.

Unite regional officer Harriet Eisner said: "It is the York taxpayer, including our members, who paid for York's roads to accommodate the bendy buses and it is our members who are paying for First to get rid of the bendy buses. First York is going to make considerable savings but the company is not treating its workers fairly.

"These workers are the face of First buses in York and they deserve a fair deal. The company should do everything possible to find them alternative work or pay them a redundancy settlement which recognises the contribution they have made to the company."

ENDS

Contact:Ciaran Naidoo on 07768 931 315

Unions cautiously welcome Unilever’s decision to agree to talks

03 Feb 2012 12:46:00

3 February 2012

Responding to the news that Unilever management has agreed to engage in talks with conciliation service Acas, the national officers of the joint trade unions - Unite, Usdaw and GMB - made the following statement: “We welcome the fact that Unilever has at last recognised its responsibility to talk to us about a possible resolution to the dispute. We hope the agreement to talk through Acas is a genuine indication of a willingness to engage meaningfully in an effort to find a solution. However, it is very early days and the dispute will continue until proposals have been put forward that are acceptable to our members.”

ENDS

For further information contact the Unite Press Office on 020 3371 2065.

Unite wants to quiz Argos on Corby distribution hub closure

03 Feb 2012 12:34:00

3 February 2012

Unite, the largest union in the country, wants to know why Argos has decided to close one of its most efficient distribution sites, employing about 750 staff, at Corby, Northamptonshire.

Argos, the UK’s largest general retailer, has terminated its contract with haulage and storage company, Wincanton, which employs the employees at the Corby site.

Argos wants to take the staff ‘in-house’ and transfer them to Lutterworth, 30 miles away in Leicestershire when Corby closes in October.

There are about 440 staff at Corby, including warehouse staff and drivers, as well as 300 agency workers. Unite has more than 300 members at the site.

Unite’s regional officer Adrian Jones said today (Friday 3 February): ”We want to know the exact reasons why Argos has decided to close the site.

”This time last year we know that the Corby centre was the most efficient of Argos’ seven distribution hubs, so why the closure now with all the adverse affects on Corby’s economy and employment?

”There is also the issue of workers, who are not well-paid, paying much-increased transport costs to travel to Lutterworth 30 miles away.

”Many employees don’t have a car and could not afford to buy one. Also, the way public transport is structured in Northamptonshire makes getting to Lutterworth, a logistical nightmare, if not an impossibility.

”Unite wants the Corby site to remain open – that’s our main objective, which we will convey to the Argos management, when they agree to meet us.“

Unite met with Wincanton to discuss the situation yesterday (Thursday), but Adrian Jones said: ”It is Argos, which is driving this and that’s who we need to influence to change its mind.“

ENDS

Notes to news editors:

For further information please contact Adrian Jones 0n 07739 654 859 and/or Unite communications officer Shaun Noble on 07768 693 940

Unite members at Balfour Beatty vote overwhelmingly for strike action

02 Feb 2012 17:01:00

2 February 2012

Unite members at Balfour Beatty Engineering Services (BBES) have voted overwhelmingly for a second time to strike over the termination of long-held agreements and the de-skilling of construction workers.

Electricians, plumbers and heating and ventilating engineers voted by two to one for strike action which could hit high profile projects and sites such as Crossrail, Sellafield and Grangemouth.

BBES is the ringleader of a gang of seven breakaway employers (see note) who want to tear up the long-standing Joint Industry Boards agreements and impose new semi-skilled grades. Tearing up the industry wide agreements will lead to pay cuts of up to 30 per cent and poorer terms and conditions for key construction staff.

The union has learnt that the company intends to maintain a small core workforce of skilled trades and bring in semi-skilled agency labour.

Unite national officer, Bernard McAulay, said: “This high 'yes' vote for strike action indicates the resentment felt by our members. They are enraged over the use of bully-boy tactics used to try and usher in an era of de-skilling across the sector as well as massive pay cuts.

“Balfour Beatty needs to recognise it has lost the support of its employees. The company needs to re-join the industry wide agreements which have served the industry so well. Our members know that Balfour Beatty is a vastly profitable company and that it has no need whatsoever to rob them of their livelihoods so that it can increase its profits.”

Unite has given an undertaking to the court that it will not call for industrial action until after the outcome of next Tuesday’s (7 February) court hearing. The hearing follows a legal challenge by BBES to stop construction workers from exercising their right to take legal strike action.

ENDS

For further information please contact Unite communications officer Liane Groves on 07793 661657, Unite national officer Bernard McAulay on 07958 514837, or Unite head of media and campaigns Alex Flynn on 020 3371 2066 or 07967 665869.

Notes to editors:

Ballot result

Q: Are you prepared to take part in strike action?

295 voted ‘yes’ (67%)
145 voted ‘no’ (32%)
6 spoilt ballot papers (1%)

Q: Are you prepared to take part in industrial action short of strike action?

313 voted ‘yes’ (70%)
131 voted ‘no’ (29%)
2 spoilt ballot papers (1%)

The seven major breakaway contractors currently involved are: Balfour Beatty Engineering Services Limited; NG Bailey Building Services; Crown House Technologies; Gratte Brothers; Spie Matthew Hall; Shepherd Engineering Services (SES); and T. Clarke Plc.