UCATT Wales and South West
 UCATT Wales and South West199 Newport Road PlymouthTel 01752 481 794 |
News Archive
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UCATT calls for greater vigilance following death of Swansea construction worker
Construction union UCATT have called for building bosses to prioritise safety on sites, following the death of a construction worker in Swansea.
The man, who was working at the luxury flats development at Ferrera Quay complex at Swansea Marina, fell from scaffolding on January 22. Despite emergency treatment he died in hospital several days later.
The death of the as yet unnamed worker means that over 50 workers have been killed on construction sites this year. The figure is expected to rise further, when the reporting year is completed at the end of March. In 2006/7, 77 construction workers lost their lives at work, a 30 per cent increase on the previous year. Construction is the most dangerous industry in Britain.
Nick Blundell, UCATT regional secretary for the Wales and South West, said: “This latest death underlines the dangerous nature of construction. While it is almost impossible to make the industry entirely safe, construction employers in general could be doing far more to make sites safer.”
In recent years a variety of factors have led to an increase in construction deaths. These include:
Cuts in the Health and Safety Executive, which has reduced the number of inspections and prosecutions.
The increasingly casualised nature of the industry, which has reduced effective safety training of workers.
An increase in construction work, which has placed additional time pressures on the workforce.
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Member wins at Employment Tribunal
A UCATT member in the Wales and South West region has won £12,794.73 at an Employment Tribunal for unfair dismissal and age discrimination.
The member had worked for his employer for 6 years as a road maintenance operative and was aged 60 when they decided to dismiss him.
Before his dismissal, he had worked alongside a much younger colleague. His colleague had joined the company in approx 2001 only to leave in August 2006, and return a couple of weeks later.
On 15/9/06, the UCATT member received a redundancy notice. His younger colleague did not. He was made redundant a week later and decided to appeal. His appeal was unsuccessful, however he decided to continue his case and presented it to an Employment Tribunal. During this period his younger colleague took on all of his tasks and workload.
The Employment Tribunal concluded that:
He had been unfairly dismissed on the basis that there was no proper procedure/criteria and was awarded £8746.75
There was a separate issue in respect of travel money that had been unlawfully deducted and was awarded £832.20
He had been discriminated against because of his age. His selection for redundancy when a younger colleague had not even received a Notice was evidence of direct discrimination and was now performing his job. For this he was awarded £3215.78.
It total, UCATT ensured that the UCATT member received a total award of £12,794.73.
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Stock Transfer
The main campaign debate in the region has again been centred, around opposition to Stock transfer. The region was represented at the National Lobby of Parliament. Gloucester City Council has now established an ALMO, where our members are currently in the process of transferring, under TUPE, to Morissons, a private sector contractor. In Wales, tenants are now to be balloted in most Local Authorities later this year, to find out whether they would support stock transfer.