Migrant workers are being employed on UK building sites on poor pay and conditions in a modern form of slavery, claims a union leader.
George Brumwell, general secretary of the UCATT trade union, hit out at employers using cheap labour while speaking at the Trades Union Congress in Brighton.

Employment agencies advertise cheap migrant workers on their books, said Brumwell. These workers are often getting paid less than half the wages of a British worker. Others have had wages illegally deducted for accommodation and safety equipment.

"Some are here legally, others illegally, having been smuggled in," said Brumwell. "Once here, their papers are often held by their gang-masters and the migrants are virtually trapped."

UCATT officials intervened on the new Scottish parliament building in Edinburgh when they found that Romanian workers were being paid less than the UK staff.

Source

Electrical and Mechanical Contractor