CONSTRUCTION workers are staging a second protest in a row over changes to pay and conditions.
The GMB union has organised the demonstration outside the Urenco nuclear site in Capenhurst, accusing the firm and its contractor, Jacobs, of undermining the National Agreement for the Engineering Construction Industry (NAECI).
Workers staged a protest on February 20 and are planning to take further action today.
The NAECI has been in existence for more than 30 years and sets terms and conditions for construction workers.
Urenco is building a huge storage facility for the containment of nuclear waste at the Capenhurst site.
Unions claim the project was scheduled to be completed under the NAECI terms and conditions but this is no longer the case.
Urenco and Jacobs have issued a joint statement, which said the firms were “surprised and disappointed” by the industrial action.
The statement reads: “Jacobs and Urenco ChemPlants have given assurances to abide by all national industry collective agreements which are appropriate to the type of work.”
The companies said they met with unions on February 4 and had agreed to meet again next month to try to resolve any differences.
But GMB regional officer Albie McGuigan said the firms were not treating the build as a new project, meaning workers would lose out.
He said union leaders were prepared to meet with the companies as soon as possible in order to secure the build as a new project.
He said: “The meeting suggested for March was supposedly to introduce the trade unions to the new contractors and not, as Jacobs and Urenco claim, to continue discussing the outstanding issues.
“Jacobs and Urenco were made aware that the site would attract demonstrations once it became clear to our members that NAECI would not be applied in full. These will now gather pace.”