Firms to be reported over pay

A TRADE union said yesterday it will report seven major construction firms to the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), claiming they acted in an anti-competitive way by “driving down” pay and conditions.

The move comes in a continuing dispute which has sparked a demonstrations across the country for months and which yesterday saw workers protest in Leeds.

Yesterday a protest was staged outside the £350m Trinity Leeds shopping centre, currently being built. Unite said workers for Crown House Technologies, one of the seven companies the union is in dispute with, were involved.

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Unite claim the seven companies are breaking competition law by tearing up agreements and working together to set new pay and conditions.

The Heating and Ventilating Contractors’ Association trade body said it did not believe it had broken any rules and called for talks with the union on the agreement which it has denied would lead to pay cuts.

A spokesman said it had not been approached by the OFT and was not aware of the companies being approached either. “There are strict guidelines in place concerning competition law and we do not believe that any of these rules has been broken,” he said.

Land Securities, the company behind Trinity, said it expected the protest would have a minimum impact on its building programme.

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