New strikes have broken out in engineering construction similar to those at the end of January and the start of February this year.
According to Contract Journal (19 May), the dispute started with 50 laggers walking out at the South Hook Liquified Natural Gas terminal in Milford Haven.
Utility Week reports (20 May) "around 200 workers... picketing the South Hook liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal at Milford Haven. They include some from the nearby Dragon LNG terminal".
Walk-outs in solidarity are reported from:
- Laggers and thermal insulation engineers at Aberthaw power station in the Vale of Glamorgan.
- Subcontractors at the Fiddlers Ferry power station in Widnes.
- A number of contractors at the ConocoPhillips Humber refinery in North Lincolnshire,
According to an unofficial engineering construction workers' website, on the morning of 20 May "around 800 protesters were blocking roads near the [ConocoPhillips] refinery at South Killingholme. Meetings were being held at other sites to decide whether hundreds of workers would continue with the unofficial action".
GMB general secretary Paul Kenny is reported as sympathising with the strike in Milford Haven. "We understand that an agreement to give work on these large projects to local labour has been breached". We know of no statement yet from Unite, the other major union in the engineering construction industry.
The January and February strikes combined two elements:
- Resistance (in the form of strikes defying the anti-union laws) by workers under the national union agreement which covers Britain's engineering construction industry to the undercutting of that agreement. They were also combatting the displacement of workers already on site who would normally expect to get jobs on later sub-contracts. This resistance was sparked by the main contractors bringing in subcontractors employing "posted" workers from other EU countries. Even if these subcontractors (like the non-union Italian-based subcontractor at the focus of the January-February strike at Lindsey) said they were paying the same rates as the national union agreement, the workers did not believe them, and had no reliable way of checking. Subsequent reports, for example in the big business paper the Financial Times, indicated that employers did indeed see breaking union strength as a key motive in using these subcontractors with "posted" workers.
- Broad-brush nationalist agitation (of a dangerous sort) for "British Jobs for British Workers".
A report from 2007 that construction workers at the South Hook site struck (illegally, but successfully) against racist harassment of one of their number, Omar Mohammed, suggests that there is much more than just nationalism to their current strike, but we do not know the balance between the elements in the current action.
Comments
Report from Fiddlers Ferry by Elaine Jones.
Went to Fiddlers Ferry, spoke to Frank Roberts, GMB steward, briefly.
He said they came out in support of colleagues in Wales where "the unscruplulous, greedy employers tried to break the national agreement by bringing in Polish workers. They use these workers to break agreements on pay and conditions."
I asked about the use of the "British jobs for British workers" slogan and racism, and if the BNP had been on site. He said he didn't see it as a racist strike; it was about breaking agreed terms and conditions.
He said they felt sorry for the Poles as they got paid less, couldn't go home to see family etc. He also said there were health and safety issues. People on non union contracts not being properly trained could result in serious accidents.
He also said the employers don't bring in new apprentices, as they have to give them 3 years work, but these workers can be got rid of quickly.
The BNP have not been on site and would have been turned away if they came. He said it wasn't a racist strike but about foregn workers being used to undermine pay and conditions. He agreed he unions should be linking up across Europe for same pay and conditions.
250 workers walked out. They are contracted to build the extension to the plant. The contract there is nearly finished.
Comment from Martin Smith
Martin Smith, a leading GMB organiser, spoke to Dan Randall from AWL about the dispute.
"It's a failed attempt at union busting and exploitation, basically.
The employer attempted to break our members' agreements on pay and conditions by bringing in Polish workers to exploit them.
Our members reacted and demanded full rates for the Polish workers. We did not demand their removal from the site
But the employer is now victimising these workers by shipping them elsewhere. We are in contact with the Polish workers through our Polish members' organisation, and are working to organise them to stand against being used as part of this kind of union-busting tactic and exploitation in future.
Our members reject the 'British jobs for British workers' line. It's a dead end and the only thing waiting for us down there is the BNP".
Deal at Milford Haven
21 May: according to the BBC, the strike at Milford Haven has finished, with the contractor, Hertel, removing the subcontractor and agreeing to employ directly for the job.