Fairer pay wanted: The CWU are protesting outside the BT call centre in Lincoln to request fair pay for agency workers who are left over £500 short per month.
A union representing agency workers held a protest outside the BT call centre in Lincoln on Wednesday, over a loophole in agency pay which is costing local workers more than £500 a month.
The Communications Workers Union (CWU) are leading the Lincoln branch of a national protest held outside call centres across the UK on January 16.
The union believes that people working through agencies are losing large sums off their wages in some companies due to a loophole in the law.
Agency workers should receive the same treatment after 12 weeks within a job as other employees, following legislation made in October 2011.
However, a legal loophole allows companies to use Pay Between Assignment (PBA) contracts, which sign away agency workers’ rights to equal pay.
Around 1,000 workers in the country affected by PBA are undergoing work for BT/Manpower.
In Lincoln, this is leaving workers on £7.50 per hour on a 37.5 hour week £584 a month worse off. Without PBA, this would have risen to £11.38 per hour instead.
The Lincoln protest began at 7am outside the call centre on Ruston Road.
Sally Bridge, the campaign lead, was in Lincoln at lunch time to support the protest: “We’re here today to raise awareness about the fact there is a loophole in the current legislation, which allows contract to be issued that cheat people out of significant sums of pay.
“It’s not just about the permanent workers, it’s about the other agency workers as well. There’s a £500 per month difference between one agency worker and another agency worker, working side by side, doing exactly the same job.”
She added: “It’s not illegal, that’s the problem, but then again it’s morally wrong.
“Firstly, we’re raising awareness amongst our own agency members, but we’re also saying to the public that this is morally wrong, and that this is a social and economic issue they need to be aware of.
“We’re also saying to employers and agencies alike that they should stop using these contracts, and the government has to do something about this legislation.”
One Lincoln resident who knows about the loss in potential wages due to PBA is Will Buchanan.
He is an agency worker on a Pay Between Assignment contract working in a call centre in the city.
He earns £7.50 an hour for a 37.5 hour week which is £584 a month less than agency workers who achieved equal pay. He started in November 2011.
Will Buchanan said: “When I signed up with the agency they told us to sign the contract, but none of us realised what it meant. We only found out when our CWU rep told us that other agency workers were getting a pay rise and we weren’t – we’d probably still be in the dark otherwise.
“It’s legal, but it seems unethical and carried out in an underhand way. It was glossed over when I signed up. It makes you feel second class and it’s an awkward situation.”
A dramatic video shows a car engulfed in flames in the car park at Lincoln County Hospital on Tuesday afternoon.
An on-call crew from Lincolnshire Fire & Rescue attended the scene on Greetwell Road shortly before 5pm on Tuesday, April 13.
The crew used one hose reel to extinguish the fire and fortunately no casualties were reported.
The car is probably a write-off. | Photo: The Lincolnite
Dramatic pictures from the scene show the severe damage that was caused to the front of the car.
Fall in county infections but a Boston spike
There have been 50 new coronavirus cases and three COVID-related deaths in Greater Lincolnshire on Tuesday — compared to 58 cases and no deaths this time last week.
The government’s COVID-19 dashboard recorded 26 new cases in Lincolnshire, 19 in North Lincolnshire and five in North East Lincolnshire.
On Tuesday, three deaths were registered in Lincolnshire, none in North East Lincolnshire and -1 in North Lincolnshire. Fluctuations in data are usually due to some deaths in those areas being reallocated to other regions across the UK or a miscount. These figures include deaths both in and out of hospitals, as well as residents in hospitals outside the county.
NHS England has reported two new local hospital deaths at United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust hospitals.
On Tuesday, national cases increased by 2,472 to 4,375,814, while deaths rose by 23 to 127,123.
In local news, people aged over 45 can now book their COVID vaccinations on the NHS website after the government reached its target of offering a first dose to the nine most vulnerable groups.
There were recently some technical difficulties for people accessing the NHS website, but vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi said the issues have been fixed – book a vaccine online here and find out if you are eligible.
Over the weekend, Greater Lincolnshire’s infection rate has fallen, with a spike in Boston only.
Similarly, the England average has also seen a drop in infections, but still remains nearly half Greater Lincolnshire’s rates.
Lincoln has dropped by more than half over the weekend and now has one of the smallest rates in the UK, with just 9.1 per 100,000 of the population infected with COVID-19.
Here’s Greater Lincolnshire’s COVID-19 infection rates up to April 12:
Greater Lincolnshire’s infection rates from Apr 5 to Apr 12. | Data: Gov UK / Table: James Mayer for The Lincolnite
In national news, Boris Johnson has warned that the reduction in coronavirus infections, hospitalisations and deaths “has not been achieved” by the rollout of COVID vaccines.
The prime minister, speaking the day after the latest easing of lockdown restrictions, instead said it was the national shutdown that had been “overwhelmingly important” in driving down COVID rates.
England is giving out its first doses of the Moderna jab, the third COVID-19 vaccine in the nation’s rollout.
It will be available at 21 sites, included the Madejski Stadium in Reading and the Sheffield Arena.
Along with the Pfizer jab, it offers an alternative to the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine for under-30s, after concerns about a possible link to very rare blood clots.
Greater Lincolnshire includes Lincolnshire and the unitary authorities of North and North East (Northern) Lincolnshire.
58,772 cases (up 50)
2,184 deaths (up three)
of which 1,302 hospital deaths (up two)
4,375,814 UK cases, 127,123 deaths
There will be another Kill The Bill protest in Lincoln next week, rallying against a new government bill that diminishes protesting rights.
Protests have been rife across the country since the government’s proposed Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill was first discussed, with scenes turning violent in Bristol.
Over two hundred people peacefully took part in the city’s first march at Speakers’ Corner on April 3, including Extinction Rebellion activists and Socialist and Labour supporters.
| Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
Now, after a post started doing the rounds on social media, another protest has apparently been scheduled for 2pm on Monday, April 17 at the same location on Lincoln High Street, as part of a national day of action.
A poster promoting a second event has been shared across social media platforms.
Protests are lawful once again after the government eased lockdown restrictions on March 29, but organisers are required to submit a risk assessment prior to any event.
| Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
Organisers of the last protest were in close communication with police to make the event safe, and The Lincolnite has asked Lincolnshire Police if they have been made aware of another protest, but are yet to receive a reply.
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