Unions behind Bill for workers
Posted: 07 February 2007All four construction unions - Amicus, GMB, TGWU, and UCATT - are backing a Private Member's Bill which aims to stop the alleged exploitation of agency workers by giving them the same rights as the directly employed on such issues as basic wages and sick and holiday pay.
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Housing work split 20 ways
Posted: 07 February 2007Twenty firms are to share in up to £150m-worth of housing work for Peterborough-based Cross Keys Homes and Circle Anglia Housing Association.
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Balfour buys US builder for £180m
Posted: 07 February 2007Balfour Beatty has splashed out £180m to buy Centex Construction, an American building company.
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Haymills moves into top gear with £140m turnover
Posted: 07 February 2007 New management strategy pays dividends 2008 turnover expected to jump to £175m.
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Building the case for green building
Posted: 07 February 2007If construction customers refuse to pay a premium for environmental practices, can firms still make a case for taking the green route? James Stagg reports.
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TALL ORDER: Hewden has invested
Posted: 07 February 2007 TALL ORDER: Hewden has invested £8m in 24 new Demag Cranes, ranging in capacity from 35t to 100t. The machines will arrive throughout the first half of the year and bring Hewden's crane fleet to 229. [ Contract Journal, 7th Feburary 2007, p16]
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Letters: Some frims are providing good vibration statistics
Posted: 07 February 2007Sir, With reference to your article 'Testing Times' on vibration data relating to hand tools (CJ 17 January 2007), semi-quantitive risk assessments are always a problem for the end user.
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Dutch Courage
Posted: 07 February 2007Leadbitter has a remarkable growth record. Since 1985, it has grown at an average rate of 20% a year, with turnover rising from just £300,000 to £183m for 2005. Following the £17m acquisition of Denne in the autumn - Leadbitter's first-ever acquisition - group turnover will reach a projected £254m this year.
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Amey balancing act gives perfect service
Posted: 07 February 2007 End-to-end providers should target an 80% contracting/20% consultancy split, says Amey.
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Derby rebuild takes BSF route
Posted: 07 February 2007Derby Council has gone for the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) route to procure a £16m rebuild task in the city.
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Firms told to stay out of trouble
Posted: 07 February 2007The construction industry needs to avoid entering into unnecessary disputes, with 600 construction-related wrangles running at the current time.
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Vibration level readings may be inaccurate
Posted: 07 February 2007Manufacturers' vibration figures may underestimate the actual level of vibration by more than 50%, according to a study by the Health and Safety Laboratory (HSL).
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Cemex Rugby plant protest goes to Lords
Posted: 07 February 2007Following Cemex's failure to challenge the carbon dioxide allocation to its Rugby plant in the High Court, protesters fighting for the plant's closure have won the chance to take their case to the House of Lords.
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Tata wins Corus in midnight shootout
Posted: 07 February 2007Back in April 2003, you could have snapped up Corus shares for just 8p. But last week the Anglo-Dutch steelmaker was being fought over for much higher stakes - Corus found itself centre stage as two rival bids dug into their pockets until the offer price reached 608p.
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Trade body criticises WWF's timber claims
Posted: 07 February 2007The Timber Trade Federation has slammed the WWF's "cavalier approach" to the issue of illegal timber.
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FLAT PACKED: As part of the redevelopment of pre-war
Posted: 07 February 2007 FLAT PACKED: As part of the redevelopment of pre-war housing in Edgbaston, Birmingham, Bison Concrete Products' pre-cast cross wall and pre-stressed hollow core flooring have been used in the creation of 77 new flats. Some 488 factory-made wall units were installed off the hollow core flooring, allowing the entire building to be enclosed within 16 weeks. [ Contract Journal , 7th Feburary 2007, p15]
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Kier and Connaught net Merseyside housing job
Posted: 07 February 2007Two winners have emerged from the pack chasing a £100m housing deal on Merseyside. Kier Building Maintenance and Connaught will tackle the extensive Decent Homes refurb programme for One Vision Housing, a registered social landlord, which took over Sefton Borough Councils' entire stock at the end of this month.
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Dispute avoidance
Posted: 07 February 2007Despite the considerable effort that has been made in recent years in the UK construction industry to reduce disputes and to 'Achieve Excellence', parties to the construction process continue to work in an environment where conflict is ever-present and where costly and damaging litigation is never far away...
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Cemex sees profit reach £320m in UK
Posted: 07 February 2007Cemex, the global group that established a solid presence in the UK in the spring of 2005 when it bought ready-mixed concrete producer RMC, made a gross profit of £320m in the UK last year on UK turnover of £900m.
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Letters: New asbestos regs clarified
Posted: 07 February 2007With reference to CJ 10 January 2007, the article entitled '10 Big Issues Construction Will Face In 2007' on the Control of Asbestos Regulations is extremely misleading and in places totally inaccurate...
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