WEDNESDAY, JULY 06, 2005

VANCOUVER… BC construction unions have congratulated London on its successful bid for the 2012 Olympics and urged labour in England to work with Olympic organizers to conclude a labour accord in order to bring stability to the construction phase of the Games. In a letter to the head of the largest construction trade union in the U.K. the Executive Director of the BC Building Trades has offered to share the BC experience with his British counterpart, Alan Ritchie, General Secretary of the Union of Construction, Allied Trades and Technicians United Kingdom.

In the letter Peppard says that the Sidney, Australia 2000 Olympics offer a model that maximized the social benefits of trades training, occupational health and safety, stabilized labour markets and labour relations and delivered on-time, on-budget construction. Peppard laments that the Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee has not adopted the Sydney model by entrenching these objectives through a labour accord and in construction tendering documents.

“Labour instability and shortages are already contributing to an estimated 40% increase in construction costs,” Peppard said. “An accord could have brought labour stability and certainty to costs, training, safety and a host of other social benefits.”

Peppard is hoping to open a dialogue with his British counterpart to help ensure that the London Games deliver the best value for the British public and the best benefit for British workers.

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For further information contact 

the BCYT-BCTC office:  604-291-9020

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