Heathrow’s Terminal Five, Britain’s biggest construction site, has been hit by an industrial relations dispute following demands by m&e operatives over the travelling time taken to get to the west London site.

M&E union Amicus has threatened to ballot its members for industrial action unless a dispute can be resolved over the issue of travel payments at BAA’s Heathrow Terminal 5 project.

As EMC went to press, Amicus and contractors’ representatives were due to hold emergency talks to attempt to resolve the dispute over travelling time payment demands by operatives on the site. The union has presented T5 contracting companies, including Amec, Crown House, Balfour Kilpatrick and Hotchkiss Ductwork, with evidence of delays and difficulties that buses transporting m&e workers are experiencing due to congestion around the UK’s largest airport.

Amicus’ m&e engineers at T5 want the same reimbursement as building and civil engineering workers on the project, who receive a £25 per day payment outside of their national agreement for the additional travelling time. Ballot procedings could swing into action if no agreement can be found during talks.

Initial meetings were cancelled as employers waited on confirmation that the union would follow dispute resolution guidelines set down in the M&E Major Projects Agreement. Under the terms of the MPA, Amicus is committed to no industrial action being taken without entering into and completing the project’s disputes procedure. Equally, employers are committed to use the disputes procedure to resolve problems.

Amicus union national officer Paul Corby said: “We will uphold all agreements in respect of dispute procedures and while I have not received a request for a ballot for strike action so far, that may happen if agreement cannot be reached over the next week. If the building and civils workers are getting this hybrid payment of £25 a day, then there is no reason why the m&e union shouldn’t get the same payment.”

At a meeting on 11 February, employers provided a detailed analysis of the systems in place for car parking, bussing and security and described a number of measures being introduced to alleviate congestion and reduce delays. Amicus decided to continue with its claim, which was to be heard at an MPA panel hearing on 16 February.

Costs on the scheme will escalate if the travel payments are introduced. Estimates put the additional costs at £14 million.

Source

Electrical and Mechanical Contractor