by René Lavanchy
Power station and refinery workers have unexpectedly rejected a new pay and benefits offer over British workers’ access to jobs, raising again the threat of a nationwide strike in the engineering construction sector.
The deal – including a 2 per cent pay rise, auditing of contractors to ensure they would pay the national rate and the ability for union officials to trigger grievance proceedings independently – was agreed by bosses and senior officials and shop stewards at the GMB and Unite last month.
But around 56 per cent of workers who voted turned the offer down, it emerged this week. Union representatives have asked for fresh talks.
Phil Davies, GMB national secretary and a negotiator, said members were unhappy at the lack of a promise to set up a register of unemployed workers which could be used to fill vacancies. Instead, employers offered a working party to examine the issue. “The employer’s offer of working parties on the registers is seen as jam tomorrow and the members no longer trust the employers to deliver,” he said.
Bob Stokes, a regional organiser, said he was surprised at the vote, but agreed the register was a problem. “If you looked at the database you could see there were people seeking work. There’d be nowhere for the employers to hide in terms of saying ‘I’ve had to bring in labour from outside the UK’”.
Mr Stokes insisted it was not about favouring UK workers: “It’s to give them the opportunity to flag up that they are seeking work.”
