UCATT to hold Midlands Safety Conference in Derby

Ucatt General Secretary Steve Murphy, left,
 who will be addressing tomorrows conference

Construction union UCATT are holding their first ever regional health and safety conference this Friday (March 23^rd). The conference which is titled Changing Lives, Saving Lives will be held at Derby County FC’s Pride Park stadium and will involve over 50 of UCATT’s regional safety representatives and partner organisations.
Construction is the most dangerous industry in the UK. In 2010/11 a total of 50 construction workers were killed at work, 6 of those deaths were in the Midlands.

The conference will allow UCATT representatives, to discuss their experiences, identify the training they need to improve their knowledge and work with employers to secure safer workplaces It will also lead to the establishment of a regional health and safety forum.
Speakers at the conference will include: Glenis Willmott MEP, Steve Murphy General Secretary of UCATT, Rob Johnson Regional Secretary of the Midlands TUC, and a representative from Families Against Corporate Killing.

Steve Murphy, General Secretary of UCATT, said: “Safety reps are at the frontline of keeping construction workers safe. This conference is about ensuring that they have the appropriate skills to perform that role.”

Cheryl Pidgeon Regional Secretary for UCATT Midlands Region, said: “This conference is a starting point to improve workplace safety throughout the Midlands. If the life of a single construction worker is saved as a result of this conference it will have been more than worthwhile.”

For Further information contact Barckley Sumner on 0780 2329235

Congratulations to Steve Murphy, new UCATT General Secretary

Many congratulations to former Ucatt Midlands Regional Secretary Steve Murphy (above) on his election to the post of General Secretary of his union.

Steve is a  former member of the Midlands TUC Regional Council and Executive and we wish him every success in his new role.

UCATT conference calls for campaign against public sector cuts in the building sector.

UCATT, the building and construction workers union, held a packed conference on Friday 17th November, looking at the effects of public sector cuts in their industry. The cancellation of the Building Schools for the Future programme was just one act of a government determined to push through cuts against any opposition.
The conference, held in Derby, heard form keynote speaker and UCATT General Secretary, Alan Ritchie, on the impact of the cuts and what UCATT had been doing to avert the damage that would be delivered to the public sector.
Steve Muphy, UCATT Regional Secretary for the Midlands added that the union would need to win back the workplace, "And start where we are strong - by organising!".
The contribution from Midlands TUC Regional Secretary Cheryl Pidgeon highlighted the social impact cuts would have at a time when house building was in the doldrums, housing benefit was being cut and jobs were few and far between.
Workshop sessions highlighted the need to campaign to get the union's message out wider than just to members; community mapping to see where the union could best get involved locally; further the union's political education; and ensuring that the UCATT message was heard loud and clear within the Labour Party.
In closing, Steve Murphy said, "This conference is just the start, we have to get out there and convince people that these cuts of mass destruction are an attack on all our communities".