UCATT Response to Queen’s Speech

Construction union UCATT have given a cautious welcome to much of today’s Queen’s Speech.

The announcement of a draft Bill to reform apprenticeships coupled with the announcement that there will be legislation which will require young people to remain in education or training until 18, is welcomed.

However UCATT believe that the widening skills gap in construction will not be reduced unless high quality craft apprenticeships, based on workplace training, are maintained and strengthened. As opposed to the Government’s attempts to use the sticking plaster of Programme Led Apprenticeships to meet the industry’s needs.

More work needs to be undertaken to ensure that young people can secure suitable work once they complete their training.

Alan Ritchie, general secretary of UCATT, said: “The Government is slowly starting to recognise the vocational needs of the economy. To meet these needs it must provide high quality training for young people. The Government must ensure that it is not hoodwinked into supporting second rate apprentice schemes which do not adequately prepare trainees for the world of work and which lead to a deskilling of the industry.”

UCATT believes that the Government’s proposed Employment Bill needs serious rethinking. The union is opposed to proposals to abolish the statutory disciplinary and grievance procedures. This will be a huge backward step for industries such as construction where many workers have previously been denied access to dispute resolution mechanisms.

Greater enforcement of the National Minimum Wage and employment agency standards are to be welcomed. However UCATT does not believe these are sufficient to deal with problems of exploitation in construction. The extension of the Gangmasters Licensing Act to the construction industry would be far more effective in reducing the high levels of abuse and exploitation.

Alan Ritchie, added: “In a casualised workplace like construction, we need greater regulation in order to ensure that workers receive the rights that they are entitled to. The abolition of the statutory disciplinary and grievance procedures is a severely retrograde step.”