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Ucatt to claim unfair dismissal against Costain
00:00 05 Aug 1998
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by James Atkinson
Ucatt is to take Costain to court over the dismissal of its safety rep at the Tesco site at Goodmayes in Essex (CJ 29 July).
The union has lodged a claim of automatic unfair dismissal for Health and Safety activities under Section 100 of the Employment Rights Act. It believes Dave Smith, an engineer on the site, was dismissed on 24 July because of his union activities, two weeks after becoming a Ucatt safety rep. Smith had submitted two safety reports highlighting concerns about safety and welfare conditions, including the possible presence of asbestos on the site.
Costain argued last week that Smith was not sacked, simply that he was employed by an agency and that his job as an engineer had finished.
A Costain spokesman said: "In our view it is a frivolous and vexatious act. Smith was not employed by Costain. He worked for us to cover a short period of time. We even phoned his agency to see if they had any other work to put him on to and they said they did."
The union does not accept that engineering work was complete. It says that the job had only been running 6 to 7 weeks and that less than 30 per cent of the drainage, foundations and structural slabs are complete.
Ucatt regional organiser Ron McKay says he had a meeting on 27 July with Costain project manager Clive Kraus in the presence of a Metropolitan Police Inspector and was told by Kraus that the safety reports were the reason for Dave Smith's dismissal. Kraus categorically denies he said that.
George Brumwell, Ucatt general secretary and recently appointed TUC health and safety commissioner, commented: "This case raises so many issues about bad employment practice in the industry. Costain seems to think that the use of agency staff allows it to opt out of having to treat its staff in a fair way. It can't opt out of safety rights as and when it choose.
"Building workers have a right to be represented by a union-appointed safety rep from the minute they walk onto site. The fact that he was an agency worker is neither here nor there, he was a Ucatt safety rep. When they sacked him we believe they broke the law because there was still work on that site for an engineer."
Ucatt is to take Costain to court over the dismissal of its safety rep at the Tesco site at Goodmayes in Essex (CJ 29 July).
The union has lodged a claim of automatic unfair dismissal for Health and Safety activities under Section 100 of the Employment Rights Act. It believes Dave Smith, an engineer on the site, was dismissed on 24 July because of his union activities, two weeks after becoming a Ucatt safety rep. Smith had submitted two safety reports highlighting concerns about safety and welfare conditions, including the possible presence of asbestos on the site.
Costain argued last week that Smith was not sacked, simply that he was employed by an agency and that his job as an engineer had finished.
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A Costain spokesman said: "In our view it is a frivolous and vexatious act. Smith was not employed by Costain. He worked for us to cover a short period of time. We even phoned his agency to see if they had any other work to put him on to and they said they did."
The union does not accept that engineering work was complete. It says that the job had only been running 6 to 7 weeks and that less than 30 per cent of the drainage, foundations and structural slabs are complete.
Ucatt regional organiser Ron McKay says he had a meeting on 27 July with Costain project manager Clive Kraus in the presence of a Metropolitan Police Inspector and was told by Kraus that the safety reports were the reason for Dave Smith's dismissal. Kraus categorically denies he said that.
George Brumwell, Ucatt general secretary and recently appointed TUC health and safety commissioner, commented: "This case raises so many issues about bad employment practice in the industry. Costain seems to think that the use of agency staff allows it to opt out of having to treat its staff in a fair way. It can't opt out of safety rights as and when it choose.
"Building workers have a right to be represented by a union-appointed safety rep from the minute they walk onto site. The fact that he was an agency worker is neither here nor there, he was a Ucatt safety rep. When they sacked him we believe they broke the law because there was still work on that site for an engineer."
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