Union Action Halts Electricians De-Skilling Plans

Unite the union have welcomed confirmation by contractors Balfour Beatty and N.G. Bailey that they remain committed to the existing Joint Industry Board (JIB) agreement and the training of fully qualified electricians. 

The union said it had raised concerns about de-skilling earlier this year after it emerged that the two companies working on the Somerset Hinkley Point C project were seeking to introduce  training standards for a new position of 'electrical support operative'.  The union warned that the new role amounted to de-skilling of electricians and had not been discussed with Unite. The proposals led to widespread protests  by Unite electricians across the UK. Jerry Swain, Unite national officer for construction said: "Unite would oppose any efforts to weaken the skills set and training of electricians.

This is not the first occasion where there has been efforts to introduce dilutees into the electrical contracting industry and to undercut the wages of skilled electricians. During pay negotiations in 1997-1999, between the AEEU and Electrical Contractors Association (ECA), the employers demanded the introduction of a new semi-skilled electrical grade of 'Skilled Mechanical Assembler' (SMA), despite JIB policy stating that only qualified electricians should carry out electrical contracting work.

In  2011 eight of the largest M&E contractors decided to withdraw from the JIB and unilaterally set up new terms and conditions for the industry called the 'Building Engineering Services National Agreement' (BESNA).  The new agreement would have allowed unqualified workers to carry out work currently done by skilled and qualified electricians and cut the JIB rate from £16.25 p.h. to £10.00 p., a 35% pay cut under BESNA.

***********************************************************

Hinkley Point: Deskilling Dispute & Dodgy Training

by Brian Bamford

ON THE 1st, March this year Construction News reported on the deskilling dispute at Hinkley Point in Sommerset, that the creation of two training standards at the nuclear plant would according to the Unite union ‘undermine’ the role of electricians.

There is an industrial conflict which is ongoing at the Hinkley Point C plant after it was discovered that two training standards had been introduced by the Engineering Construction Training Board (ECITB) that would undermine the role of electricians, without Unite, the UK’s construction union, input or agreement.

The matter has been raised directly with the client of the French company EDF, who have reacted to Unite’s concerns. All training in this area has been postponed until the problem is resolved.

Dilutees & Sub-standard Training

The disputed training standards relate to cabling and containment work, which is ‘bread and butter’ work for electricians on new build construction projects.

Unite was alerted to the substandard training standards at an early stage. There are no electricians working at Hinkley Point C, currently undertaking cabling and containment work, as this phase of the project is yet to start.

Owing to the rapid intervention of Unite, the training of any worker or apprentice at Hinkley has not been disrupted as no one has begun to be trained on the ECTIB’s defective training standards.

The Unite general secretary, Len McCluskey, has said “The undermining of the role of electrician has been attempted for more than 30 years, most recently in 2011/12 when eight of the major mechanical and electrical (M&E) construction companies promoted the use of non-electrical personnel to carry out skilled electrical tasks under the so called BESNA agreement.

“Unite defeated the BESNA agreement then and we will defeat this latest attempt to deskill electricians.

“Our message to the industry is clear. Unite and its electrical membership will oppose any and all efforts to weaken the skill set of the trade which will undermine the industry by introducing non-skilled operatives.

“Any deskilling of electricians would result in a race to the bottom and would be highly damaging to industrial relations across the sector.”

From the last week in March there have been weekly pickets outside Balfour Beatty’s offices in Bromborough, on the Wirral. Balfour Beatty has been contracted with EDF on the Somerset nuclear power plant. And another implicated contractor NG Bailey, has had its offices in Salford picketed on Fridays, and its sites at Manchester University and Manchester Town Hall have faced demonstrations by local activist electricians from the Manchester Contracing branch of Unite.

An Unholy Alliance of cheap-jack training

EDF and its partners are building the Hinkley C nuclear power plant in Somerset. The firms there have introduced new installer grades that undercut industry terms and conditions.

The bosses’ MEH Alliance at Hinkley Point C is a consortium made up of Altrad, Balfour Beatty Bailey, Cavendish Nuclear and Doosan Babcock. It is calling the new rate-busting grades Electrical Support Operatives (ESO) and Engineering Construction Operative.

Their grand plan is to run short courses for electricians on how to install containment or cabling. There are 9,000 km of cable and 404 km of containment to install on the Hinkley project.

Hinkley Point C is due to open in June 2026—a year late and so far at a cost of £23 billion, some £5 billion over budget.

In February,Simon Basketter in the Socialist Worker wrote:

'Unite has enthusiastically supported the building of the nuclear plant. While it was proud to sign up to an agreement for apprentices which appears to have been broken, it also seems to have sleepwalked into the creation of ESOs.

'The dispute has echoes of the electricians’ Besna dispute in 2011. Originally eight companies had planned to impose a new agreement and grade on workers to undercut wages and organisation.

'That [dispute] saw an escalating campaign of direct action on construction sites. Electricians protested, occupied and struck unofficially for six months.'

The contracting electricians will have to be on the ball to fight off this assault on standards in the industry.

**************************************************************

Stop Deskilling: Liverpool Message of Solidarity

MESSAGE OF SOLIDARITY FROM UNITE LIVERPOOL 0538 BRANCH TO ELECTRICIANS PROTESTING AGAINST DESKILLING.

Unite Liverpool 0538 Branch offers full support and solidarity to the electricians who are protesting against deskilling.

If bosses get their way. 70% of work currently undertaken by skilled electricians will be carried out by ESOs (electrical service operators). Instead of a 4 to 5-year apprenticeship, there would only be a 3 to 5-week training programme. So instead of 10 qualified electricians being employed there will be 3 electricians and 7 ESOs, which would start a race to the bottom.

Workers protesting against this deskilling deserve our total support.

In solidarity,

Unite 0538 Branch

********************************************

Unite members have won the first battle in their war against deskilling electricians.

BLACKLIST SUPPORT GROUP:

When was the last time you heard of employers’ proposals for a training course leading to UK wide direct action led by the workers themselves?

Big contractors at Hinckley Point nuclear power station want safety critical electrical work to be carried out without the need for a qualified electrician. Sparks have got other ideas.

*************************************

UNION NEWS:

The UNITE union stepped in after it was discovered two training standards had been introduced at Hinkley Point by the Engineering Construction Training Board (ECITB) that would undermine the role of the electrician, without the union’s input or agreement.

Rank-and-file members occupied the offices of EDF Energy, and threatened to blockade the Somerset nuclear power station site. As a result of the protests, EDF has announced it has put the plans on hold.

A statement from Unite’s Electrical and Mechanical Combine said: “We welcome the news from Hinkley Point that all training courses will cease until our dispute has been resolved. We also appreciate the statement of support from our general secretary, Len McCluskey. This does not mean that this dispute is almost over, far from it.

“Our focus now turns to NG Bailey and Balfour Beatty Kilpatrick. We will be targeting these companies on a weekly basis at their offices, their sites, their supply chain and their governance, both here in the UK and overseas.

“We demand that a statement is sent out from Baileys and Balfours with a clear and unambiguous proclamation that they will withdraw from the training standards CPSO1 and CCSO1 at Hinkley Point, and that they will cease their immediate attacks on the skillset of electricians and other trades immediately and forever.

“For over 30 years we have had to endure the deskilling agenda of major electrical contractors. Each time we have responded and each time these companies have been forced into retreat. But they keep coming back.

“We will not tolerate these attacks any longer. If this statement is not unequivocal, then Balfours et al will become legitimate targets for further indiscriminate actions. We will not go away.”

*******************************************