Mandelson set for construction productivity review

Business secretary Lord Mandelson is set to announce a review of how the country's engineering and construction industry can achieve higher productivity to beat off foreign competitors today.

The review, which will look at skill shortages in the British engineering construction industry, will last three to four months, according to the Guardian.

It will be conducted by Mark Gibson, a senior official in the Department of Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR).

The announcement of the review comes as the conciliation service Acas today announces the result of its inquiry into the causes of the week-long dispute at Total's Lindsey oil refinery at North Killingholme, Lincolnshire, the third largest oil refinery in the UK.

The Unite and GMB unions claimed that Italian workers from subcontractor Irem for client Total were paid below the nationally agreed rate and worked excessive hours.