Union to use war chest to restore collective bargaining

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Manufacturing News, Source : TheManufacturer.com
Published : 30 Jun 2005 0:03
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Amicus, the UK's largest private sector and engineering trade union, said yesterday it had been successful in driving thorough a policy at the annual conference of the Confederation for Shipbuilding and Engineering Unions (CSEU) to use a £15 million war chest to bring back collective bargaining in the engineering sector.

Amicus said that there was evidence that engineering pay differentials were growing as employers compared regional pay levels with one another. The strike fund, held by the CSEU, will be used to bring back national collective bargaining for engineering companies.

Amicus general secretary Derek Simpson said: "Collective bargaining will help to restore better employee pay, skills and pensions. It will help attract more young talent into engineering which is blighted by recruitment difficulties and skills shortages. Better pay, conditions and training will also help deliver a level playing field with workers in Europe so UK workers do not continue to be the 'soft touch' they are now when multinationals seek to make job cuts."

The union said engineering companies failing to attain industry standards on pay, pensions and workplace training will be targeted and that they will work with European trade unions to co-ordinate campaigns to defend member's jobs and working conditions. It said that figures reflected much stronger pay deals for workplaces with trade union organisation, for example pay deals for aerospace, shipbuilding and motor vehicles were higher.