by René Lavanchy
THE London Olympics will give unions unprecedented powers to oversee different aspects of the games’ delivery and running, under an agreement signed last week by organisers and the Trades Union Congress.
The agreement calls on both sides to honour the national agreement for engineering construction workers who are currently building the site, in a move hoped to avoid the allegations of undercutting that sparked the wildcat strikes in that sector earlier this year.
It also charges the organisers to ensure that goods and merchandise are not sourced from sweatshop labour, volunteers are not over-used and the games are environmentally sustainable. Union representatives will be allowed to visit the site, and union organisers will be allowed access to recruit members.
However, the agreement – which is not legally binding – still does not commit the Olympic Delivery Authority, which awards contracts to supply goods and services for the games, to forcing companies to pay the London living wage of £7.45 an hour. Instead, it will only be an “important consideration”.
TUC general secretary Brendan Barber, who signed the agreement alongside the ODA’s John Armitt and Sebastian Coe of the London organising committee, said: “The principles set out our shared commitment towards training and apprenticeships, equality and positive industrial relations. We want London 2012 to be an unforgettable experience for athletes, spectators and workers alike.”
He was excited by the prospect of the Olympics providing long-term jobs and housing, he added.
Speaking to Tribune this week, the TUC’s Mike Smith, who is liaising with organisers, explained how the agreement had come about: “The idea, which we took from the experience of the Australians in Sydney in 2000, was to establish overarching principles and that for world class games we’re looking for world class employment standards through the supply chain, right through to legacy.
“Virtually every sector is going to be involved in some way. We’ve got the construction phase, then transport facilities are going to have substantial involvement. There’s the whole service sector going to be involved, and the media and broadcast unions.”
Construction unions such as UCATT had hoped that the agreement would encourage building contractors to directly employ their workforce, to remove the practice of bogus self-employment which allows employers to evade paying tax and National Insurance.
The text of the agreement commits both sides to the “ethos” of direct employment, but says agency and self-employed workers also have a role to play. UCATT general secretary Alan Ritchie has said that employers had to be forced “kicking and screaming” to accept even this.
But Mr Smith defended the agreement: “Figures for the construction phase show about 76 per cent direct employment, which for construction in London I think is pretty much at the top end of the scale. The construction unions would regard that as a success.”
“This is one of the major problems in construction – what they regard as being bogus self-employment. This was an attempt to make sure this wasn’t the case at the Olympics. In terms of other sectors, there’s a different tradition”.
The TUC and organisers will meet every six months to review how the agreement is being met.
