Speaking at the Construction Confederation’s annual dinner on Tuesday, Sir Martin said rejoining the pan-European group would enable the confederation to engage in critical “social dialogue” between government, industry and trade unions, the main mechanism through which European legislation is agreed.
Sir Martin said: “There are moves afoot to extend the process to individual industrial sectors. If this takes place – and now there is probably about an even chance that it will – we must make sure that we are at the negotiating table. That can only be through membership of the ECIF.” Sir Martin added that the group has transformed itself into a more efficient, user-friendly organisation since the Construction Confederation pulled out. He acknowledged that rejoining the group would involve paying substantial subscription fees, but said the investment was crucial “if we want a truly first-class trade association for our industry”.
