November 15, 2021 11.32 am This story is over 28 months old

‘Severely underpaid’ Lincolnshire scaffolders on all out strike

“Respect the national agreement” say British Steel scaffolders
A group of scaffolding workers in Scunthorpe have been protesting their pay, calling for a 13% increase to the nationally agreed rate. | Photo: Scaffolders United
By Local Democracy Reporter

A group of scaffolding workers in Scunthorpe are on strike against a leading infrastructure company for ‘paying 13% below the agreed national rate’.

The workers, based on the British Steel site in Scunthorpe, are striking against their employer Actavo, to fight for equal pay on a nationally agreed rate that other scaffolders across the country are earning.

There are around 60 workers currently on strike alongside Unite the Union, and they are just about to complete their sixth week of protesting against their pay.

Protestors are calling for Actavo to respect the national agreement for the Engineering Construction Industry, which sets comprehensive terms and conditions of employment for hour-paid engineering construction workers throughout the UK.

The strike is planned for 12 weeks, of which they are halfway through. | Photo: Scaffolders United

One of the workers on strike told The Lincolnite: “We the scaffolders, employed by Actavo on the British steel site in Scunthorpe, have just completed week six of all out strike action.

“The reason for this is we demand parity pay with not only all other scaffolders in the local area but also scaffolders employed on the same site by different companies.

“We are asking to be paid in line with the NAECI national agreement, on average this works out to be around a 13% increase.

“We understand on the face of it this sounds like an unreasonable request, when the reality is we have been severely underpaid for years and as each year passes, we fall further and further behind.”

The scaffolders are calling for “the correct” pay rate for their work. | Photo: Scaffolders United

This has been an ongoing issue for the scaffolding workers, who say they have been in discussions with different companies for more than two years to try to sort out their pay gaps.

The spokesperson continued: “We had been in negotiations since 2019 with our previous employer Brand energy until March 2019 to no avail. In March of this year our employment was transferred to Actavo and no agreement has yet been reached, forcing us to take this industrial action.

“We would like to take this opportunity to thank Unite the Union for their continued support and also thank members of the general public for their support and generosity.”

The Lincolnite has contacted Actavo for a statement, but are yet to receive a reply.