The Scottish construction sector needs an overhaul and unions have to do the heavy lifting, writes Davy Brockett.
According to the ABC – Associated Builders and Contractors – the UK construction industry needs to attract 546,000 new workers, just to keep up with the demand. This shortage is not just a problem for the future; it’s an urgent concern right now. Nearly one-quarter of construction workers are older than 55. The coming retirement wave will generate new pressures and priorities in terms of access to affordable housing, community development, and reinvestment in a depleted national infrastructure after fourteen years of Conservative government. Moreover, construction jobs increasingly require investment in new technological skills. So companies must upskill and retool a significant portion of the existing workforce to keep pace with modern building strategies and best practice.
The industry’s skills shortage is more than just a hiring issue. A holistic rethinking of workforce planning is required to meet growing demand for skilled workers. Instead of meeting this demand, employers have continued their ongoing drive of deskilling, their denial to workers of site-level representation, and their persistent hiring of unskilled agency labour. Addressing this significant labour shortage will require a combination of attracting new talent, upskilling existing workers, and embracing technology – a strategy that the construction union should have the vision to shape.
A recent report from Skills Development Scotland showed that 855 construction-related apprentices were recruited for period August 2023 to May 2024, and an additional 699 apprentices were recruited by Unite the Union during the same period under the STUC Fair Work Group. Over a four year period from 2017–2020 a recruitment campaign led by the Scottish Joint Industry Board and other groups resulted in the recruitment of 1400 apprentices. Yet these figures represent a shortfall against the numbers required: the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) estimates the required annual minimum to be 2,240 each year between 2023–2027. Moreover according to recent figures, 300 left training in the first year, and over the full training period 30% left without qualifying.
This highlights the enormous task the industry faces to replace an ageing workforce. The CITB taskforce report 2020 stated that the sector is facing a sharp decline in apprenticeship recruitment in the immediate term, while Skills Development Scotland’s recent report showed that construction and related services failed to achieve their recruitment target. The data on the period from April 2023 to June 2024 does not provide a good forecast for the future of the sector. With an additional 26,300 construction workers required in Scotland by 2025, an urgent response is necessary to change the trend of unmet targets and to reverse the growing skills gap crisis.
Recession and Other Excuses
The industry has lately been blighted with significant high-profile companies failing. In January, the former Scottish building company Stewart Milne group went into administration, leading to the loss of over 200 jobs and impacting hundreds of sub-contractor jobs in the supply chain as six of the company’s subsidiaries went into administration.
Towards the end of 2023, Ineos announced the potential closure of the refinery at Grangemouth; if Petroineos closes in 2025, the predicted loss of up to 500 jobs, besides another several thousand in the supply chain, will be further casualties of a construction industry at the mercy of the whims of the market and rogue bosses. Many leading construction companies have been ‘downsizing’ due to a recession-led market share loss, with the UK construction industry accounting for 11% of administrations in the first six months of 2023 – the third worst-affected sector in the UK – according to analysis by law firm Shakespeare Martineau.
The construction industry is vital to the economic wellbeing of the nation. The total number of construction jobs in Scotland is 231,000, but trade union density of just above 12% is a sad indictment of the labour movement. The gross value of Scottish construction is £14.7 billion, contributing 6% of the nation’s GDP. The public sector (including infrastructure) accounts for the largest fraction of the industry at 50%, with housing contributing 20%, industy accounting for 7%, and commerce, 10%.
All sectors, public and private, have been heavily affected by government-induced recessionary influences and high treasury interest rates, with Government budget cuts directly hitting both infrastructure and public services. The Scottish Government has recently delayed key projects like the new Glasgow Prison and Monkland Hospital Campus, and its latest figures reveal that there were decreases in new build starts across all sectors. Private-led new build starts decreased by 19% (3,017 homes), housing association new build starts decreased by 34% (1,099 homes) and local authority new build starts decreased by 50% (1,144 homes). The impact on the employment supply chain will be catastrophic. The need for a change of direction is obvious.
The new Labour Government, elected with the mantra of ‘Get Britain Working’, surely offers some hope to workers, families, and communities. There has never been a more opportune time for the UK and Scottish Governments to invest in a sector that is so vital for rebuilding our economy, giving our young people and others affordable housing, and growing the availability of secure social housing. Only a new generation of decent homes for all can finally tackle the shame of homelessness and housing waiting lists which are at their highest rate for decades.
Scotland has some of the worst housing stock in Europe. With some 60% of that stock being well below even the minimum thermal standards, a huge job awaits a rejuvenated construction industry that has the skills and workforce to retro-fit housing up to a standard that reduces fuel poverty and makes a positive contribution to the war against climate crisis.
A Modern Union Agenda
In his speech to the Labour Party Conference 2024, Keir Starmer said he would recapture the dream of homeownership with help for first time buyers and new infrastructure to support families and communities. As part of Labour’s five mission statements, Starmer promised “shovels in the ground, and cranes in the sky” to deliver “more beautiful cities [and] more prosperous towns”. “A future must be built”, he stated. “It’s time to build one and a half million homes across the country.” Now the government needs to turn words into deeds.
Now is also the time for our movement to get serious about organising construction, a sector which has been neglected for far too long, but requires a cohesive approach by all stakeholders to initially challenge why many young people are not being attracted to work in the sector, and to address the high fallout figures outlined above.
Recent wage analysis showed that the annual wage for a skilled worker in the industry (2023/4) is £42,000, compared to the Scottish median of £27,700. These wages are enough to encourage new recruits. And although the industry is not unique for poor employment practices, insecure agency work, umbrella companies, and blacklisting are all known to be rife. A more organised workplaces where workers are supported by a strong trade union presence, and where upskilling leads to real career advancement, would help change the current negative image.
The message for major employers, if they wish to engage in the sector, is that they must accept a modern agenda, accept their social responsibility through direct employment, minimise the number of sub-contractors they employ, and lead by example in terms of health and safety. Currently, contractors bidding for government and local authority funded projects simply have to claim that they will adhere to best practice. This frequently results in no more than bare minimum standards.
If key employers engage with trade unions, end bad employment habits removed, invest in their workforce, and reverse the dependency on agency labour, this could be the initial step to encourage more trainees into the sector. A sector known for secure and well-paid jobs is a real attraction. This is only achievable if parties at all levels are persuaded: Westminster and Holyrood, trade unions and employers’ federations.
From a Scottish perspective, this will require that the Scottish Government’s Fair Work Convention becomes more robust, with genuine worker-friendly policies at the heart of the agenda. It is vital that the trade unions participate in these discussions. The half-hearted and unaccountable responses of certain trade union officials requires scrutiny and forensic assessment. Unite the Union in Scotland recently refused to recognise the need for organising the sector through its largest construction branch, a proposal that would have seen workers with on-site experience engaging with thousands of unorganised workers, to begin to address the rampant unfairness in that sector. This model has proved successful in the Republic of Ireland, and is supported by Unite’s Regional Secretary and leading Regional council. Why workers in Scotland are being treated differently is for the appointed decision-makers in our Scottish Region to explain.
Beginning With the Workplace
Many construction workers are members of a trade union which is fully aware of their exploitation, yet is doing next to nothing to support change. On a recent visit to ten sites all within a mile of Unite’s Glasgow office there was not one attempt by organisers or officers to attempt to gain access to the sites in order to speak to workers or distribute literature. So whilst employers must change, our unions – Unite along with other affiliates – must also be proactive for change. Statistics show that when we have a union within the workplace, we have a more contented, safer and healthier workforce, and productivity is higher.
The trade union movement have a unique opportunity before us. If Big Government wishes to reverse the UK’s decline by investing in construction then the union movement must also be up for that task. That means deploying the proper resources and support to drag this sector into the modern age, to make it one where people are proud to work, and where a craft apprenticeship is viewed as equal to a university education, with equal rewards, future security, modern terms and conditions, and proper career advancement possibilities.
Those who do not wish to roll the sleeves up and buy into this agenda should stand aside and let those who are committed get on with the job.
Davy Brockett is a Rank & File activist and Unite Construction Branch Officer, writing in personal capacity.