Materials Matter 

Unite members and officers travelled to Parliament yesterday (October 12) to join with fellow unions and industry bodies in calling on the government to protect the UK’s vital construction materials and products sector.

Unite is working with the GMB, the Trades Union Congress (TUC), the Construction Products Association (CPA) and the Mineral Products Association (MPA) on the “Protecting and Growing the UK Construction Products Sector” campaign, and the briefing for MPs highlighted the important role the sector plays in delivering the Government’s ambitions for housebuilding, infrastructure and economic growth. 

Adam Oakes, Unite national officer for construction, introduced the briefing event in Committee Room 5, and welcomed MPs saying, “We are here today to highlight our serious concerns about the future of UK construction products manufacturing, including the impact of cheap imports on jobs, skills and our ability to deliver the Government’s housebuilding and infrastructure ambitions.

“We are campaigning for a stronger, more resilient UK manufacturing sector, with investment in good jobs, apprenticeships, domestic supply chains and cleaner production.”

The campaign briefing was hosted by James Naish MP and drew in a number of MPs from constituencies which have employers in the sector to learn about why the sector needs support and hear first hand experiences from workers.

What they heard was shocking.

James explained that British Gypsum is a large employer in his consistency, saying, “It is an important time to be discussing this issue. This will have an impact on house building targets, and we need to see the sector grow to achieve the social and housing the country needs.

“The sector faces a challenging situation and it is important that MP’s are here for workers. This campaign is something they can understand, with five succinct elements to the campaign, and the appetite is there to support the industry.”

Trade union reps gave examples of many companies across the sector who are reducing hours, mothballing plants and cutting jobs – this despite government plans to build thousands of new homes and develop large scale infrastructure projects.

Much of this is down to the import of cheap production materials

Unite acting national officer for construction Joe Clarke explained that in 2010 the UK imported 1.2 million tonnes of cement, last year it was 5.5 million tonnes – mainly coming from North Africa and Turkey, mainly through Chinese companies.

Joe said, “Good quality, highly skilled jobs, producing good materials and supporting local economies are on the brink due to imports.

“We are not here to ask that imports be banned, but that we should prioritise UK products, and top up with imports as and when required. If not we will be losing jobs hand over fist across the sector.”

Peter Caplehorn, Chief Executive of the Construction Products Association, said that “Products are the DNA of the construction industry. Every month we review the supply chain, and this has shown that the market is shrinking, and the rate that it is shrinking is increasing. 

“There is a lack of orders, a lack of investment everywhere – and it’s getting worse. We are concerned about the future of the industry in the UK.

“Union and employer organisations are aligned on this issue and calling for the preservation of a UK national industry that employs well paid, highly skilled, good quality jobs.”

TUC Project Officer for Futureproofing Industry Ste Smith said that the TUC would be producing a paper soon to raise public awareness of the problem, saying that, “We want to run this campaign with MP support, but time is of the essence.

He added that local communities are at risk if nothing happens and that, “when good jobs go, they aren’t coming back. And this leaves communities open to despair, losing hope and turning to alternatives who offer false promises in future elections.”

“We want to make sure we save this industry.”

Unite reps explained their concerns. Many companies are facing shutdowns for weeks, sometimes months, on end and young people are not entering the industry as they see no future in it.

David Evans, senior rep at Tarmac Cement in Aberthaw said, “At Tarmac we are seeing ongoing redundancies due to restructuring. I’ve spoken to colleagues in north Wales and they tell me that the Heidelberg plant is being mothballed for months at a time due to imports.”

“We face seeing skilled jobs that will be lost forever if we do not do something soon.”

Unite rep Lewis McAulay works at British Gypsum in East Leek, he told MPs, “You can see how closely our campaign is to the work the government says is vital, but we fully expect business in the UK to reduce capital expenditure and there will be job losses.”

“We are looking down the barrel of a gun, of a period where we face losing thousands of members and a process of deindustrialisation.”

Lee Barron MP agreed that it was important to get the message out so that people understand the issues, saying that for the “reindustrialisation agenda is increasingly important and it is vital to invest in UK made, quality, products, and for the government this a no brainer.”

Lee thanked those at the briefing saying that, “if unions weren’t running this campaign nobody else would be.” 

Leigh Ingham MP is a member of the House of Commons business and trade select committee and discussed how the campaign could be moved forward. 

Leigh noted that all of the industry within the sector is represented within the room, and that she would raise the issue with the select committee.

Other MPs who dropped into were given a background to the industry and that often, when it comes to housing and infrastructure projects, builders delivering projects are listened to but manufacturing is just as important and that the supply chain needs to be included.

They were reminded that the construction products sector directly employs around 396,000 people and generates approximately £63 billion in annual turnover and told that the campaign is putting forward five recommendations :

Andy McDonald MP said he represented an area in which the biggest reindustrialisation site in Europe is being developed – Teesside – which is made up of 4,500 acres of former steelworks land and Freeport status.

Andy thanked the organisers for setting up the briefing and said, “The government is serious about reindustrialisation and regeneration, and stopping people feeling left behind.

“This campaign is critically important for the sense of hope in communities feeling abandoned.”

Andy thanked the organisers for setting up the briefing and that he would be taking it forward in his region.

As the MP’s drifted out into the corridors of power and the organisers packed up, Adam was positive about the way it had gone, saying, “It was a good meeting, and we are getting MP’s to understand the issues that the sector faces, but this is just the start and we will be contacting more MPs over the coming weeks and building the campaign to protect the essential products and materials industry across the UK.”

“The Minister for Reindustrialisation, Blair McDougall MP, has agreed to meet us before the Autumn Budget – and we are looking to discuss these issues with him.”

Unite Live will be following the campaign, and keep an eye out for developments here.

By Keith Hatch

Photos by Mark Thomas