'We've been robbed,' says UCATT chief

"There is a very real feeling that we have been robbed," said Alan Ritchie, general secretary of UCATT, as he confirmed that his union has rejected revised terms and conditions for construction workers employed by the National Health Service.
Ritchie said UCATT had lost faith in the Agenda for Change process, which proposed a new system of health service pay.
A membership ballot last year had already rejected the plan and union counter proposals appeared to have been ignored.
Ritchie said: "Our principal concern has been the inequitable treatment afforded to the grades we represent on the issue of recruitment and retention premia (RRP).
"There is no rationale behind Agenda for Change excluding building craft workers from these RRP payments, while at the same time paying them to maintenance craft workers.
"In such circumstances you have to wonder what deals have been struck to warrant such unfair application of RRP payments," Ritchie said.