Construction union UCATT have sent a report of their industrial relations concerns, involving the Alder Hey Hospital Project in Liverpool, to a highly influential Parliamentary committee.
The Scottish Affairs Select Committee which is investigating blacklisting requested further information from UCATT after General Secretary Steve Murphy raised serious concerns about the industrial relations practices being conducted on the site by principal contractor Laing O'Rourke. Mr Murphy raised his concerns when he gave evident to the select committee last month.
Alder Hey is a publicly funded construction project and is currently the largest site in Liverpool. UCATT began discussions about representation on the project with the client before Laing O'Rourke was awarded the project. Once Laing O'Rourke was appointed such discussions effectively ended.
UCATT have been barred from normal access to the site and the workforce, and are only being offered very limited access to the workers at their induction. Laing O'Rourke has blocked all discussions about worker representatives, including union safety representatives.
UCATT believes that the lack of safety representatives is thought to be a major factor in a spate of accidents on the site. In the past fortnight there have been five accidents on the site resulting in injuries to workers. These include broken limbs and a worker who suffered a crushed pelvis.
In UCATT's evidence it is explained how despite there being a local labour agreement for the site, existing members of the Laing O'Rourke workforce who live locally, have been blocked from transferring to the site and instead remain on projects 100s of miles away from their homes. UCATT believes that this is because they are known to be union members.
UCATT also reports that large numbers of the current 300 strong workforce are being employed via payroll companies and are therefore officially self-employed. This means that they do not receive holiday pay, sick pay, pension contributions and can be dismissed without warning.
In a further sign of the deteriorating working environment on the project, it is understood that many of Laing O’Rourke’s permanent workforce on the site are being offered redundancy. Despite this being a four year project, many of them are accepting this offer.
UCATT have also enlisted the support of local MP Stephen Twigg and Liverpool Mayor Joe Anderson in their campaign to ensure union representation on the site. They have written a joint letter to Laing O'Rourke voicing their concerns.
(CD/MH)
Construction News
11/02/2014
Union Concerned About Hospital Project In Liverpool

16/04/2025
Pennyfarthing Homes has officially broken ground at Danes Park in New Milton, launching construction on a significant new residential development that will deliver 164 homes.
To mark the milestone, directors from Pennyfarthing Homes welcomed Councillor Steve Davies, Portfolio Holder for Housing and

16/04/2025
GMI Construction Group is celebrating the official opening of Dakota Newcastle, the North East's first Dakota Hotel, situated on Newcastle's Quayside.
The 118-room luxury boutique hotel, located at St Anne's Wharf, has welcomed its first guests and is poised to become a major addition to the region

16/04/2025
Gleeds has been named project manager for the billion-pound redevelopment of Airedale General Hospital in Keighley, West Yorkshire on behalf of Airedale NHS Foundation Trust.
The award-winning trust employs over 3,000 people and provides acute, elective, specialist and community care for a populat

16/04/2025
Morgan Sindall Construction has marked the official opening of a new Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) teaching block and a specialist hydrotherapy pool at Philip Southcote School in Addlestone, in a celebration attended by students, families and local officials.
The event brought t

16/04/2025
Bedford Borough Council has successfully completed a footpath refurbishment programme across several of its parks and open spaces.
The initiative, funded by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF), targeted key parks across the borough following a detailed review that identified areas in need of repa

16/04/2025
Wates Fit Out has announced the appointment of Phoebe Wood as Senior Business Development Manager, where she will lead the team's business development efforts and support the growth of new opportunities across the commercial fit-out sector.
With close to three years of experience in the built envir

16/04/2025
United Living has announced the appointment of Claire Kershaw as Chief Executive Officer of United Living Property Services.
With over two decades of experience in the social housing sector, Claire brings a wealth of knowledge in property maintenance, refurbishment, and regeneration. Her career inc

16/04/2025
Sempra Homes, the housing subsidiary of Basildon Council, is preparing to launch its latest 100% affordable housing development at Bowers Close on London Road in Pitsea, Essex.
The new development will deliver 31 high-quality homes aimed at increasing access to affordable housing for local residen

15/04/2025
Costain, working as part of the SMP Alliance, has completed the construction of 41 new emergency areas on the M1 motorway between junctions 28 and 35A, delivering the project ahead of schedule.
The newly installed emergency areas span a 32-mile stretch of motorway running from Derbyshire to South Y

15/04/2025
Great Places Housing Group has formally submitted plans for the first development to come forward under the newly approved masterplan for the regeneration of the Grey Mare Lane neighbourhood in east Manchester.
The proposal outlines a new affordable housing scheme comprising 82 apartments for socia