London mayor backs Unite’s ‘construction charter’

London mayor Sadiq Khan has thrown his weight behind a leading trade union’s construction charter which spells out its opposition to poor practices in the industry.

The charter has been pulled together by Unite, which has run a years-long campaign against blacklisting of construction workers on building sites across the country.

As well as seeking to outlaw poor construction, Unite said its charter led the way in best practice, “ensuring building contractors and subcontractors under the control of local authorities provide apprentice training, a safe working environment, and the industry rate of pay to workers”.

Peter Kavanagh, Unite regional secretary for London and Eastern, said the charter “gave workers the right to speak out on issues and to be paid a fair rate for the job”.

And now the London mayor has said the charter will apply to major City Hall development projects, starting with the St Ann’s hospital site in Haringey (pictured).

Last week Khan announced he was looking for a development partner to build up to 800 homes, 60% of which would be “genuinely affordable”, on part of the hospital’s grounds in Haringey, north London.

James Murray, deputy mayor for housing, said: “We are proud to back Unite the Union’s construction charter, which leads the way on world-class employment standards for construction workers across London.

“The charter means that workers and residents can be confident that projects we are involved with will follow best practice on conditions and pay for construction workers, and I urge other authorities to join us.”