Unite: Government must intervene over Carillion job losses

Following the collapse of Carillion, Unite is calling on the government to take immediate decisive action to prevent further job losses.

The UK’s largest Union is calling for the Government to support sub-contractors and supply chain to the construction giant with financial aid as it is revealed that the company owed more than £1Bn to 30,000 subcontractors. These small businesses have been told by the administrators that they will receive just 1p in the pound on money owed before the company went under.

It has also emerged that at least £1Bn worth of Carillion construction projects have been stopped, with absolutely no certainty when this work will restart.

Unite assistant general secretary Gail Cartmail said: “The government needs to stop passing the buck, it can’t sit idly by and allow companies to go to the wall.

“The government has a moral duty to provide direct financial assistance as well as other support in order to ensure that sub-contractors and suppliers don’t needlessly go to the wall, with thousands of workers potentially losing their jobs.

“Pressure also needs to be applied to the banks, to give breathing space to affected sub-contractors so that they can continue to operate. The banks were bailed out when they were in trouble and similar support needs to be given to companies affected by Carillion’s collapse.”

Unite is also asking clients of Carillion to restart construction contracts as soon as possible, and ensure sub-contractors who were previously employed on these stalled sites are guaranteed work when construction projects are restarted.

Gail Cartmail added: “Construction clients were happy to accept the lowest bids tabled by Carillion and now have a moral imperative to ensure that the damage done to sub-contractors as a result of these actions, is minimised.

“If decisive action is not taken by the government and clients, then thousands of workers employed by sub-contractors and in its supply chain face losing their jobs, with vital skills and expertise being lost from the industry.”
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