Building Construction Workers

All workers engaged in construction of houses and other buildings, and in delivery of materials

Building a Militant Union in Construction

The IWW has a small but growing number of members working and organising on building sites and in suppliers around the UK. These include carpenters, brickies, electricians and in building materials suppliers. We are a union that refuses to pretend that workers and bosses have the same interests, and pulls no punches. We are especially well adapted for the thousands of construction workers around the UK who are employed dubiously as 'independent contractors', or work for agencies or on casual contracts - read why here. We say, in a construction industry worth billions of pounds, it is time that builders got a hell of a lot more of what they produce! We're not affiliated to any political parties, and refuse to pander to anti-immigration hysteria created by the media and government in order to divide and weaken us. Of course if there is plentiful supply of local labour then it makes sense to use them, but when employers try and weaken workers by manipulating different nationalities against each other, then it is time to fight for all our sakes.

We also encourage self-employed workers to join and fight shoulder-to-shoulder with their directly employed counterparts. Staying divided between nationalities, jobs and employment status just keeps the bosses and their lackeys in control: If workers unite and fight their true enemies - the bosses - life can be better for us all.

Not One Step Back!

Gone are the days of the militant times of yesteryear. The big unions seem content with a passive membership and often stifle autonomous grassroots action by their members. The IWW believes in defending and promoting workers' interests by all means at our disposal, and putting the fight back into the labour movement in construction. We are happy to support rank-and-file workers with solid representation and creative direct action on all sorts of issues, including health and safety, dodgy agencies, blacklisting, pay and conditions, and we are gaining a well-deserved reputation for punching above our weight. Join us today and get organising!

Building Construction Workers Contacts

London (including Thames Gateway and Olympics site): London@iww.org.uk - Polish language response available on request.

Outside of London: please visit our branches page to contact your local general membership branch.

Useful Links

IWW advice and organising pages
Hazards Campaign
Rank & File Building Workers Committee
London 2012 Games Monitor
Labour Research Department - Rights at Work
European Institute for Construction Labour Research
Construction industry news