GMB calls on RWE, Alstom to provide 'fair access' for UK workers

Londoin – The GMB trade union has called upon RWE N-Power and Alstom to ensure fair access to the 2,000 engineering construction jobs about to come on stream at the new Pembroke gas fired power station site and that all subcontractors adhere to agreed terms and condition for this work in the UK. It is also seeking full trades union representation on the site, no blacklisting and that laws on tax and national insurance are adhered to.

Engineering construction work is about to commence on the construction of what will be the largest power station built in the UK since Drax was completed in 1986 and will provide enough power for 3 millions homes. The main contractor is Alstom. Civil construction began in 2008 and work will last until 2012.

In the past year, GMB claims to have uncovered overseas workers being underpaid by sub-contactors on Alstom power station sites at Isle of Grain in Kent and Staythorpe in Nottinghamshire. This discrimination against UK workers led to an official vote for strike action which was averted in November 09 when the employers agreed to advance auditing for new projects to ensure no underpayment or discrimination.

GMB believes that SOMI, an Italian sub-contactor who last month was found to have underpaid overseas workers at Staythorpe by £1,000 a month, is being lined up to work at Pembroke. The union is seeking a meeting on the site to ensure that the following principles and practices are established and followed on the site.

John Philips, GMB senior organizer for Engineering Construction, said: “GMB do not want to see any re-occurrence of what happened at Alstom at Staythorpe on the Pembroke site. The new procedure, agreed in November when the national strike was averted, needs to be proactively followed on this site to deal with the issues GMB identified above. GMB is seeking a meeting on the site to ensure that these principles and practices are established and followed on the site.

“There are major public policy issues here that RWE N-Power and Alstom need to answer. The local meeting which was due to take place last week and which was aborted when the employers questioned who should represent GMB was a very poor start to dealing with these matters. GMB will seek another meeting to make progress.”