UCATT

Employer attacks on workers' pay is the main issue at stake.

Teachers in the NUT are walking out over their pay deal which was supposed to be revised when inflation rose, but the government refused: effectively cutting their wages.

Council workers will be protesting against the new pay and grading system imposed by Birmingham council last week, affecting 40,000 staff.

UNISON has branded the structure discriminatory. Though it was designed to end wage inequalities, some workers will lose up to half their pay.

Building workers met in London on Monday evening 27th Nov to discuss possibilities for union organising during the preparations for the 2012 Olympics.

Members of all four unions associated within the construction industry were present at the meeting called by the newly-formed Building Workers Rank and File Committee.

1) The fact that eastern European workers got involved. So far capital has more or less managed to use the eastern European countries as a large pool of labour force which could be mobilised for short term projects like large construction projects or the seasonal work in the harvest.

The week before Mechanical Installers and Pipe Fitters working for Dahl Jenson found that cheques for the last three weeks work had bounced. With massive amounts of overtime being worked some workers had lost as much as £2,000, although these figures were the exception as the workers calculated that the £55,000 in total owed was split between almost 100 workers.

Workers have rejected Laing's offer of 67p/hour bonuses, demanding the £1 awarded to other workers on the site some time ago.

An overtime ban has been in force since 28th January. This is the most recent of a series of strikes at Terminal 5, and will be a joint action by members of the GMB, TGWU and UCATT unions.

BACKGROUND
* Heathrow building workers set to strike again

Nearly 1,000 workers building a £4. 2bn terminal at Heathrow airport went on a 24-hour strike today (16 Dec ). Picket lines were set up at Terminal 5 (T5) from before dawn as workers from three unions took action over bonus payments.

“More than 900 people have stopped work today,” said Steve Kelly, construction branch secretary of the GMB union, who was on a picket line.

The first strike days have been confirmed as starting at 6.45am on Friday 16th and ending 6.45am on Tuesday 20th December, an overtime ban will start at the same time, and further strikes are planned between the 20th and 23rd of January. The dispute is primarily over a £1/hour increase on bonuses which other contractors on site have agreed to.

Under the new contract or 'contrick' as it has been renamed by workers, pay will be halved, bonuses will be decided by management, a day off must be planned 40 days in advance and holiday pay could be cut by £20 per day for each worker. Management has told workers they will be sacked if they do not sign.