‘We will not stand by’

One of the greatest problems afflicting construction workers is the problem of undercutting.

Greedy bosses look to boost their profits by exploiting workers by paying them below industry agreed rates.

Undercutting creates a toxic environment in any industry but is especially destructive in construction. The nature of the industry means that work is not permanent and workers are constantly looking over their shoulder, worrying about the next job and fearful that their rates will be cut.

Unite has been at the forefront of the campaign against undercutting and the union’s focus has always been on the real villains the companies that are undercutting and exploiting the workers.

The union’s campaigning is becoming increasingly sophisticated, looking to maximise the pressure placed on the companies and clients involved in the undercutting.

It is for these reasons that Unite is taking its ‘Pay the Rate’ campaign to Denmark next week.

Danish firms and investors are currently at the forefront of undercutting construction pay rates in the UK. Rates are being undercut on two energy from waste plants in Rotherham Yorkshire and Sandwich in Kent.

In both cases the companies are not complying with the NAECI agreement, which covers large mechanical engineering projects.

The work at Rotherham is being undertaken by Danish firm Babcock & Wilcox Volund. The company sub contacts work to the Croatian company Duro Dakovic which uses a Croatian workforce and it is understood that it only pays them the minimum wage of ÂŁ7.20 an hour. This is 61 per cent below the NAECI rate of ÂŁ16.97 an hour plus a bonus of ÂŁ2.37 an hour.

The project in Sandwich is being undertaken by a separate Danish company Burmeister & Wain Scandinavian Contractors. The company refuses to allow unions onto their sites to meet workers (but claim they are not anti-union!). They also refuse to follow the NAECI agreement as they don’t pay the bonus, industry sick pay, enhanced holiday pay, travel and accommodation allowances.

Danish finance

Both projects are being financed by Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners the investment arm of Pension Denmark. Pension Denmark has strict corporate responsibility rules which apply to companies and their supply chains domestically and abroad but these rules are not being complied with on their UK projects.

This is why on Monday April 10 Unite alongside the GMB will be protesting outside the offices of Pension Denmark in Copenhagen.

Unite national officer for construction Bernard McAulay, said: “Danish companies involved in undercutting wages and exploiting workers are rightly being named and shamed. It is the height of hypocrisy when companies turn a blind eye to allow the exploitation of workers to boost profits.”

The practices the companies are involved in would be entirely illegal in Denmark as Denmark properly interprets the European Union’s Poster Workers Directive and all companies have to abide by agreed industrial agreements. In the UK companies only have to pay the minimum wage in order to comply with the Posted Workers Directive.

Pressure is being applied directly to the Danish government, a petition calling on them to launch an investigation has already received thousands of signatures in just a fortnight (add link) and has already made the companies involved feel decidedly uncomfortable.

McAulay added, “The Danish government cannot stand idly by and allow companies to continue to conduct these practices when they know that if they promoted the same policies at home they would be prosecuted.”

Unite is also working with Danish trade unions who are putting pressure on Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners to force the companies to end their exploitative practices.

The Danish protests are the first part of a series of planned demonstrations and actions to highlight the problems and place greater pressure on the companies to ‘pay the rate’.

What these companies and others involved in similar practices need to understand is that Unite is not going to stand idly by and allow these practices to go unchallenged. Or in McAulay’s words, “Unite will use all its industrial power and influence to ensure that workers are not exploited and undercutting is ended in the construction industry.”

Sign our #PayTheRate petition and help end the undercutting of wages at UK construction sites here.