Unions to submit petition to emergency cabinet meeting after maintenance firm collapses

HULL Council leader Carl Minns is coming under pressure from trade unions to safeguard jobs at the collapsed social housing group Connaught Partnerships.

Union representatives are aiming to put 4,000 names on a petition which will be submitted to an emergency cabinet meeting next month.

A demonstration and march was held at the weekend in support of five members of staff who were made redundant when the group went into administration earlier his month.

Just over 120 others are in limbo after Hull Council served notice to terminate the Connaught contract and made alternative arrangements with its two other repairs and maintenance contractors.

The move had had a knock-on effect for suppliers and subcontractors who did electrical and other work.

Hull Council has invited Kier and KWL, two companies which already carry out work on the council’s behalf, as well as Lovell Partnerships, to put in a business case for the remainder of the contract, which the unions estimate is worth between 5m and 8m.

The secretary of the Hull City branch of the public sector union Unison, Mike Adamson, said the worst case scenario would be if the council decided not to award the contract to Lovell and won the argument that workers did not have to transfer to a new employer under the same terms and conditions as their old job.

Unions are also fighting for the reinstatement of the five female workers. One of them, regional coordinator Angie Dawson, was told she was losing her job in a conference call with 300 other Connaught staff around the country.

Mr Adamson said: “Former Connaught workers have only ever given excellent service to the public of Hull, whether they were working for Connaught or before privatisation when they worked directly for the council.

“It is wrong that a failure in the private sector could now jeopardise their terms and conditions, including pay, pensions and sickness.”

Coun Minns accused trade unionists of playing party politics. He said they would not know about the impact on jobs until the bids were on the table.

He said: “I personally think the trade unions are using this to play party politics which I find quite reprehensible when people’s jobs are at stake. I don’t think they are communicating the fact that there have been at least five meetings, three with me, and I don’t think they are passing back the information they are getting from these meetings back to staff.

“My number one concern is to make sure that the council houses the council is responsible for are up to decent homes standard and the ongoing repairs and maintenance service is good quality.”

Labour Group leader Coun Steve Brady said: “Carl Minns fought hard for the caravan workers – he should show the same strength of purpose with Connaught workers.

“They should take on the people who have been laid off. They should have a commitment to people – there’s still plenty of work to do and I think it is absolutely cruel the way they have been treated.

“Most of these people worked for Hull Council for up to 40 years. They out their trust in Hull Council that they were being transferred to a financially stable company and within three years they are losing their jobs.”

Hull Council outsourced its housing repair work three years ago. As a result a third of the council’s housing workforce moved to Connaught.

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