21/09/2011

UCATT Takes Legal Action Over Unpaid Olympic Wages

Construction union UCATT have been forced to take legal action after Lend Lease the principal contractor on the Olympic Village refused to intervene on behalf of workers who have not been paid after working on the site.

The case involves two workers who were engaged by the employment agency James Varney (JPV Europe) to work as window fixers for Perry Bowen on the Olympic Village. The work finished at the end of July and the agency refused to pay the workers, who are from Eastern Europe, their outstanding wages of £2,500.

Despite the best efforts of UCATT both Perry Bowen and Lend Lease have refused to intervene. Lend Lease have officially said that there "is nothing they can do about this" despite both companies profiting from the Olympic Village project.

UCATT have also written to the Olympic Delivery Authority asking them to intervene in order to ensure that the workers are paid what they are owed. In the meantime UCATT are taking the matter to an employment tribunal on behalf of the workers.

Jerry Swain, Regional Secretary of UCATT’s London and South East Region, said: "I find the attitude of the contractors both immoral and highly distasteful. They are able to sit back and count all the money they have made from this project, yet the workers who actually made the job happen, get nothing."

Mr Swain, added: "The ODA need to step in and sort this mess out. This is public money and it must go to the workers and not into someone's back pocket."

(CD)

Related Northern Ireland Recruitment News Stories
Click here for the latest headlines.

16 January 2009
ODA To Create 30,000 Jobs
At the half way point between London winning the bid for the Olympic and Paralympic Games and the Opening Ceremony in 2012 the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) today released new figures showing that a total of up to 30,000 people will help build the London 2012 Olympic Park and Olympic Village over the next few years.
02 November 2016
Union Members Vote In Favour Of Merger
Ucatt and Unite are set to merge after union members voted overwhelmingly in favour of combining the two organisations. Ucatt members voted by 85.5% to 14.5% for the move, which paves the way to combine both memberships and form a "strong progressive voice for Britain's construction workers and their industry".
06 August 2015
Rise In Self-Employment Surprises UCATT
False self-employment and casualisation grew in the construction industry last year, according to figures obtained by construction union UCATT. A freedom of information request by the union revealed that the number of workers who received payments via the Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) increased last year.
15 December 2014
Former Mivan Workers Receive Payout
144 employees formerly recruited by Antrim based construction firm Mivan Limited have won a payout following a successful industrial tribunal hearing, it was announced on Friday December 12th. The workers including many members of the union UCATT were made redundant without warning when the company went into administration in January 2014.
11 November 2014
UCATT 'Disappointed' After Losing Employment Tribunal Case
Construction union UCATT has said it is "bitterly disappointed" after the union lost an employment tribunal case on behalf of 124 ex-Connaught workers based in Norwich. The workers were made redundant when the company fell into administration in September 2010.