Construction union goes to government over concerns raised by leaked policy document from George Wimpey.

Construction union UCATT has called on the government for help after a policy document leaked from George Wimpey revealed the housebuilder’s policy of limiting site access for union representatives.

The document, seen by Building, places a series of restrictions on union involvement with site workers that UCATT believes should be challenged. It has raised its concerns with a senior government minister, and is calling for housebuilders who operate such working practices to be “restricted” from receiving public sector work.

It is understood that George Wimpey’s head office circulated the document to employees after UCATT officials claimed they should have access to the company’s sites to work on health and safety initiatives. It places a number of restrictions on union access, including:

  • No union official to be allowed on to a site without the permission of the site manager
  • Site manager to decide when union officials can be present
  • Union officials not usually to be permitted on site during working hours
  • No union literature to be displayed without company

  • approval
  • Any nomination of an employee as a union health and safety representative to be approved by the company’s managing director
  • The company may request to see the credentials of any union officer accompanying a worker to a disciplinary or grievance meeting. However, union attendance must be permitted.

UCATT general secretary Alan Ritchie said he had passed on the document to a senior government minister and was seeking further legal advice on the issue. Ritchie said he was “deeply concerned” that such policies were being adopted by other housebuilders, many of which would be involved in delivering public sector housing work over the next few years.

He said: “The companies involved appear to be placing every obstacle possible in the way of worker representation. We will lobby the government to instruct housebuilders to embrace the partnering model used so successfully at Heathrow Terminal 5.”

Ritchie added that in the meantime he would call on the government to “place restrictions” on giving public sector work to housebuilders who were carrying out prohibitive working practices.

A George Wimpey spokesperson said: “George Wimpey has yet to be approached by UCATT on this issue and is therefore not prepared to comment.”

The ODPM, the government department responsible for housing, said it could not confirm whether it had been approached by UCATT on the matter as it could not comment on documents that had not been officially released.

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