Construction Workers March On Liverpool

Hundreds of unemployed construction workers from across the north west will rally in Liverpool city centre on Saturday 21st March calling for fair access to jobs on UK engineering and construction projects.

Unite, Britains largest Union, is concerned thst UK workers are being refused work from important engineering and construction projects in the UK. The union believes there should be a level playing field for workers who wish to apply for work on UK construction contracts. It also calls for overseas workers to be paid agreed UK rates.

Ahead of the rally, Unite national officer, Tommy Hardacre, said: “We are calling on all construction workers to get involved in this rally so we can send a powerful message to employers that as a union we will not stand by and let rogue employers exclude UK workers from applying for jobs to build British power stations. Neither will we keep quiet when employers exploit workers regardless of their nationality and attack the terms and conditions of our members.

“Without the protection of our national agreements, workers will continue to be exploited on these sites. We need to protect these agreements and it is time the government set the standards for all workers in the construction industry.”
Unite is calling on the government to insist that companies applying for contracts on public infrastructure projects to sign up to Corporate Social Responsibility agreements which commit to fair access for UK labour.