Dozens of workers have walked out on the project to build Aberdeen’s energy from waste incinerator in a row over unpaid wages.
It is understood as many as 60 downed tools earlier this month in the dispute onsite at the Ness project, being overseen by Aberdeen City Council.
Some are thought to be owed as much as £4,000 in backpay from subcontractor Energyco, understood to be in financial trouble.
The Slovakian firm was hired for the East Tullos work by the council’s main contractor Acciona.
It is understood 30 have returned to work onsite, while the other half of the affected group remains on strike.
Financial difficulties of subcontractor ‘unrelated’ to Aberdeen incinerator project
GMB Union claims those protesting workers are now being offered new contracts, on the basis that they accept only a quarter of what they are owed.
Last night, workers said they had been told Energyco was “going bust”.
Aberdeen City Council did not comment on the walk out.
And what were described as “difficulties” at Energyco are “unrelated” to the Ness plant, according to an Acciona spokeswoman.
She added: “”EfW Ness Ltd is working closely with the subcontractor, its staff and other key stakeholders, to ensure a resolution is reached and workers are fully recompensed for any monies owed.
“The health, safety and welfare of all personnel at site is paramount to the project and EfW Ness is continuing to assist with any welfare needs of affected personnel.”
Aberdeen waste incinerator will burn non-recyclable waste from city, Aberdeenshire and Moray
The incinerator – the centre of mass protest in the south of Aberdeen due to its proximity to a primary school – is designed to burn up to 150,000 tonnes of non-recyclable rubbish each year from Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire and Moray.
An ‘energy from waste’ plant, the burning will be used to generate heat and electricity for city homes through the district heat network.
It comes as strict new laws are introduced, aimed at drastically reducing how much waste ends up in landfills in Scotland.
Aberdeen City Council hopes the plant can be commissioned this spring and could be fully operational by the end of the year or the start of 2023.
Waste from the city, Aberdeenshire and Moray will begin arriving at the end of October.
Union chief: Aberdeen was warned about ‘exploitation’ on public energy from waste projects
But it is the means of getting to that point that has worried unions for years.
GMB and Unite penned a joint letter to Aberdeen City Council leader Jenny Laing in January 2017, warning of “serious concerns” regarding the working practices on energy from waste construction sites across Scotland.
Last night GMB Scotland organiser Dominic Pritchard said it was clear that these workers being left short of thousands “is not the first incident of exploitation” on Scottish energy from waste projects.
“And it won’t be last if councils and government continue to turn a blind eye to such abuses by leaving their procurement processes unchecked,” he told The P&J.
“The council leader has been well warned for years about the risks of undercutting hard-fought industry agreements on the Ness project, and now scores of workers are owed thousands of pounds each.
“Not only is the appointed project lead Acciona sub-contracting to firms that can’t pay their workers, but we also understand they are now proposing to undercut those same workers further by offering them poorer terms and conditions in return for just a fraction of the monies already owed – it’s an outrage.
“The public are constantly told that Scotland is a land of fair work, so when are our elected representatives actually going to start practicing what they preach, and how many workers will continue to be exploited until they do?”
His comments were put to Aberdeen City Council for comment.