Sixty workers walk out in protest at Langage power station site
The scaffolders, all employed by Vange, downed tools on Tuesday and demonstrated outside the power station yesterday in protest over what they CLAIM are life-threatening health and safety issues at the site.
It was the second major protest over health and safety at the site since August. The scaffolders who had lost their jobs on Tuesday said that the problems ‘aren’t getting any better’.
John Gibney, Unite member who has been appointed to represent the workers, said: “We walked out on Tuesday over safety issues.
“As a result we were all dismissed – about 60 of us – because we hadn’t followed procedures by walking out.
“So we decided to put on a peaceful protest yesterday.”
Mr Gibney claimed that there is ‘unqualified labour’ working on the project, which the French firm behind construction on the site – Alstom – has said is still on schedule for completion in spring next year.
He claimed that some workers were changing the layout of scaffolding, therefore posing a health and safety risk.
Mr Gibney said: “We are worried we could end up dead or injured or crippled. It’s that bad.
“There have been a few injuries to our workers over the past few months already – and Alstom and Vange need to put a stop to it.
“If we aren’t given our jobs back then it will be really hard to find work at Christmas, but we feel that strongly about the health and safety issues and the language barriers with foreign workers.
“All the workers feel very strongly about it. We have been unjustly treated.”
Mr Gibney said that workers from NSS Scaffolding and SGB Scaffolding also downed tools yesterday afternoon and joined in the protest – and he said other companies may follow today for some early protests.
He said five Vange workers had been dismissed over the past couple of months. He also said that a delegate from the Unite trade union was expected at the site at 10am today (thu) to ‘try to come to an arrangement’.
He said: “Hopefully we will get our jobs back.”
Yesterday’s protest over health and safety wasn’t the first at the site. About 200 workers went on strike in August in protest against the jobs lost by 16 employees of Alstom – and over health and safety issues.
And last month Gary Streeter, South West Devon MP, raised concerns that under-qualified foreign workers could be endangering health and safety.
But yesterday the workers said that issues hadn’t been resolved. One scaffolder claimed that a colleague had been trapped by a falling piece of steel just over a week ago, putting him in hospital.
The scaffolder said: “The worker was badly injured. We just want a safe environment.”
Another worker said: “We want our jobs back on full pay and to work in a safe place. It’s like a deathtrap in there at the moment.”
A spokesman for Alstom said yesterday: “Health and safety concerns are our highest priority.
“The company is investigating these claims at the highest level.”
And Kelvin Short, the managing director of Vange, said he wouldn’t comment on the matter yesterday.
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