Up to 400 electricians expected to turn out to protest at Balfour Beatty station site

Up to 400 electricians are expected to turn up at a protest outside Balfour Beatty’s Blackfriars station construction site tomorrow in a dispute over pay.

The unofficial protest follows the decision of eight major electrical contractors to withdraw from the 50-year-old Joint Industry Board pay agreement between contractors and electricians.

Negotiations between electricians and employers have broken down, leading to the sector’s main contractors opting to walk out on the deal from March 2012.

The Joint Industry Board pay agreement has been operating since 1968. The current JIB agreement which came into effect from the start of 2011 froze electricians’ wages.

The protest organised by Unite officials and the rank-and-file Site Worker magazine will run from 6.30am to 8am tomorrow morning.

A statement from Site Worker magazine said future protests were planned at the Olympics, Westfield and the Media Centre in Manchester.

Balfour Beatty was unavailable for comment.

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