Councils aim to kill craft agreement, say unions

Industrial action by up to 40,000 council building workers has come a step closer following a claim by union leaders that the local authority employers are set on killing off their separate national craft pay agreement.
The union assertion comes as negotiations on a 2004 construction pay settlement are set to resume on 9 November - more than six months after the current deal was due for renewal.
The unions have reiterated their warning that failure to reach an early agreement is bound to lead to a national ballot on industrial action.
Lead negotiating union UCATT commented: "It has come to the attention of the joint negotiating committee trade unions that the employers' negotiating
team, that now carries a Tory majority following the last local government elections, has declared that it is the intention to prioritise the end of the craft agreement.
"Such statements should concentrate our members' minds on exactly what we are facing."
The union has told its members that the early pay settlement this year by the local authorities services group has lead the employers to take a more aggressive line with the smaller industrial groups such as construction workers. The employers are seeking a single agreement for all council workers.
"We will, of course, protect the craft agreement by all means necessary," a UCATT spokesman declared.