The Leader of Milton Keynes Council and Unite’s Regional Secretary for the South East have signed a pioneering agreement that will ensure that working conditions and building standards on construction projects under the control of the Council meet the highest standards.
Cllr Peter Marland, Leader of Milton Keynes Council and Sarah Carpenter, Unite Regional Secretary for the South East signed the charter at a ceremony at the St Georges construction project in Milton Keynes on Tuesday 12th March.
Construction firms planning to work on Milton Keynes Council building projects will now need to adhere to the new Construction Charter. The charter commits to working with Unite in order to achieve the highest standards in respect of direct employment status, health and safety, standards of work, apprenticeship training and the implementation of appropriate nationally agreed terms and conditions of employment.
Sarah Carpenter, Unite Regional Secretary for the South East said: “I’m pleased to join Councillor Peter Marland at St Georges to sign this groundbreaking agreement, which will be a big boost for construction workers employed on building projects across Milton Keynes.
“The Unite Construction Charter makes a difference by helping local workers to operate in a safe environment, giving them the rights to raise health and safety issues without fear. The Charter also protects workers from bogus self-employment by ensuring construction workers are directly employed.”
Councillor Peter Marland commented: “Ensuring that people are able to work safely is highly important, but in the building industry it is a matter of life and death. The ability of employees to join a trade union, speak out on issues and be paid a fair rate for their labour is vital, and I’m proud that Labour-led Milton Keynes Council is one of the first to incorporate the Unite Construction Charter into our procurement standards.”
Pictured above from left to right are Sarah Carpenter Unite Regional Secretary, Peter Marland, Leader of Milton Keynes Council and Hanna O’Neil, Deputy Leader of Milton Keynes Council.
