Unite leader travels to Scunthorpe to support strike at British steel

When: Wednesday 1 December 2021 between 6.30am and 7.30am
Where: British Steel main gate on Brigg road, Scunthorpe, DN16 1UN

I stand with @unitetheunion members at @Actavo_HQ, we will escalate this dispute if needed - @Actavo_HQ and @BritishSteelUK cannot abdicate their responsibilities and must pay the rate. My interview with @RadioHumberside 👇 #JobsPayConditions pic.twitter.com/NVBMjicxMo

— Sharon Graham (@UniteSharon) December 1, 2021

This morning I stood with members in dispute at Actavo in Scunthorpe - we cannot allow national agreements to be ignored, both @Actavo_HQ & @BritishSteelUK must pay the rate for the job. We will escalate this dispute to make sure that workers get the rate. #JobsPayConditions pic.twitter.com/NcRxMoQbav

— Sharon Graham (@UniteSharon) December 1, 2021

Sharon Graham, the leader of Britain's leading union Unite, will join striking scaffolders employed by Actavo at British Steel in Scunthorpe this Wednesday (1 December) to show ‘steadfast support’ for the workers.

The Unite leader will also call on British Steel, which has the power to intervene, to end this long running dispute.

The 62 workers have been on continuous strike action for 9 weeks in a long running dispute with their employer Actavo (UK). They are significantly underpaying their workers. This breaks a national agreement which sets fair rates for the job and prevents a race to the bottom for construction workers. But Unite says that the client, British Steel, must also take responsibility for this long running dispute.

Unite General Secretary, Sharon Graham said:  “The workers on strike have their union's steadfast support. My priority is to defend Unite members’ jobs, pay and conditions. Actavo and British Steel need to stop playing pass the parcel by blaming each other for underpaying the workers. It’s clear British Steel now needs to come to the negotiating table and resolve this dispute.

"Unite will not allow employers to break national agreements and erode workers' pay for greater profits. We are prepared to fight tooth and nail to stop the race to the bottom."

The dispute, which began in 2019, is a result of the scaffolders not being paid in line with the National Agreement for the Engineering Construction Industry (NAECI). The rates for the workforce are currently between 10-15 per cent (depending on specific roles) below these rates. The workers maintain 500 scaffolding structures at the British Steel site.

ENDS