‘Significant commitment’

Corby Borough Council is throwing its weight behind a Unite construction charter that seeks to ensure that conditions for workers on construction projects under local authority control in the borough meet the highest standards.

Tom Beattie, leader of the council and Unite regional secretary for the East Midlands, Paresh Patel signed a charter at a ceremony at the Corby Cube in Corby this morning (November 12).

The charter commits to working with Unite in order to achieve the highest standards in respect of direct employment status, health & safety, standards of work, apprenticeship training and the implementation of appropriate nationally agreed terms and conditions of employment.

The charter will cover important local authority construction projects including the council’s ambitious house building programme.

“It’s great news for Corby’s construction workers that the council is on their side,” said Unite regional secretary for the East Midlands Paresh Patel. “The council is making a significant commitment to construction workers at sites under local authority control.

“Unite’s construction charter will help local workers to operate in a safe environment on construction sites,” he noted. “The charter also ensures that workers will be directly employed and that they can raise health and safety issues without fear.”

Tom Beattie, leader of Corby Borough Council added, “We are very pleased to be signing up to Unite union’s Construction Charter. Corby is one of the fastest growing places in the country and with our ambition to double our population by 2020 it is important to ensure that we do all we can to work with construction companies that meet these high standards for their workers.”