Construction Workers in Pay Limbo Over Royal Funeral Bank Holiday

THOUSANDS of construction workers have been left in limbo over whether they are required to work or if they will be paid on Monday 19 September due to the State Funeral bank holiday, says construction union, Unite.

On 14 September, the employer’s side of the Construction Industry Joint Council (CIJC) refused to agree the trade union proposal that an additional day’s bank holiday be agreed in respect of Her Majesty the late Queen Elizabeth II.

In a statement, employers said: “Taking all relevant factors that apply into account, it be will for each business/employer to determine how they will view the day, and whether time off, paid or unpaid, will be given.”

Unite says it has already received an email from a joint venture company on HS2 indicating that they do not require their contractors to pay workers holiday pay on the day of the Queen’s funeral, unless additional bank holidays, such as the Jubilee, are covered in their agreements.

Unite General Secretary, Sharon Graham, said: “Following pressure from Unite, workers on major construction projects such as Hinkley Point and the Silvertown tunnel are being paid for the bank holiday for the Queen’s funeral. These employers have taken the correct decision. It is to say the least inexcusable that the CIJC has not followed suit.”

Bank Holiday

The CIJC has previously honoured all additional bank holidays. It blames a lack of warning about the date of the late Queen’s funeral for its decision.

The union says the employers’ decision is at odds with almost all other construction agreements and is hard to see as anything other than a ‘snub’ to the memory of the late Queen.

Unite National Officer for Construction, Jerry Swain, added: “The CIJC has abdicated its responsibility and left thousands of construction workers in limbo, not knowing if they are required to work or if they will be paid.

“This is a hugely disrespectful act to the Queen and the Royal Family. These CIJC employers’ federations have brought shame on the construction sector, disrespected the Royal Family and ignored the mood of the nation.

“The cost of paying a worker an additional bank holiday equates to just seven minutes pay for every year that the Queen loyally served our country. It is peanuts for these construction employers.

“The construction trade federations and their members should be hanging their collective heads in shame. The federations now need to take a long hard look at who they have representing them. It is clear they need to appoint representatives who have a grasp of what is taking place rather than simply sending messengers who have failed the industry and the nation.”

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