Unions ready to test NAECI deal

The strength and credibility of engineering construction's NAECI agreement will be put to the test by the next round of pay negotiations, said Tom Hardacre, acting national secretary for construction at the Amicus union.

Hardacre was responding to a letter from Michael Hockey, managing director of the Engineering Construction Industry Association. This firmed up earlier hints that the employers feel the future of the agreement to be in jeopardy with many clients withholding their support. It referred to “profound and pressing concerns” about the credibility of the national agreement and the negotiating process.

It also cited a “worrying growth” in unprocedural site action. And it contended that “in 2005 the NAECI remains associated in many clients’ and employers’ minds with restrictive practices, entrenched positions, and hostility to innovation”.

The employers’ letter was timed to coincide with a regular national forum of engineering construction stewards. “The letter was discussed at the forum,” said Hardacre. “It was a precursor of the next round of wage negotiations.

“It is not the first time that this agreement, and other agreements, have been under threat. We are taking the letter seriously. We are concerned about the national agreement to the extent that we want to maintain it. Its strength will be tested in the coming negotiations.”

The Amicus chief heads the sector’s joint Amicus, GMB and TGWU negotiating team. He said the next stewards forum would be held in early September when there would be consultations on the shape of the operatives’ claim for 2006. The claim would be tabled shortly after that meeting.

• A meeting of the Amicus national executive committee was expected tomorrow to confirm the appointment of Tom Hardacre as successor to Paul Corby as the union’s national officer for construction.