Tears flow as FCEC announces closure

Staff broke down in tears at the shock announcement that the Federation of Civil Engineering Contractors will cease to exist by the middle of November.

The 77-year-old FCEC has commenced proceedings to wind itself up after failing to persuade the 10 original members of the Major Contractors' Group who are also members of the FCEC to withdraw their notices of resignation.

The loss of the big 10, whose notice would have become effective on 31 December this year, has cost the FCEC more than a quarter of its annual budget, leaving it unable to pay staff wages or the rent on its headquarters in London (CJ 19 September).

John Hackett, director general of the FCEC, said: "We feel absolutely devastated but this was prompted by the refusal of the 10 MCG members to withdraw their resignations. We had to move quickly on moral grounds because otherwise the major share of our rent here would have had to be bourne by the remaining members and we also didn't want the possibility of seeing our staff out on the street without being paid."

The FCEC was in the middle of discussions with the Building Employers' Confederation and the MCG to merge into a single industry confederation desired by the major contractors.

Hackett said: "I'm pretty confident that we would have reached agreement on a single confederation but that's all history now."

He added that the 35 FCEC staff including himself would be made redundant on 30 September and the FCEC cease to exist in mid-November.

Jennie Price, MCG director, said: "The FCEC council was due to consider a paper on a unifiedbody and we are very sorry that rather than consider that paper they decided to dissolve themselves. But they had another option which was to approve these proposals and that option remains open to them and we hope that they will re-consider."

The BEC declined to comment.