Speaking at the Scottish TUC meeting this week, Ritchie said companies exploited foreign workers. He said: "The tender price for this contract was 拢40m. As we all know, the price has escalated to more than 拢400m. The money certainly hasn't gone to the Romanian workers brought in by agencies."
Ritchie added that when he had tried to speak to Romanians on the site they were too scared to discuss their wages or conditions. However, he learned that they had had flights and accommodation deducted from their pay.
Ritchie added that when he contacted Bovis Lend Lease, it promised an investigation, but he has not heard anything since then. He said: "Months have passed, and despite correspondence from us, there's no response. What's there to hide?"
In a statement issued to 好色先生TV, Bovis said Alan Ritchie had made several allegations last year about supposed breaches of the general working rule agreement on the Scottish parliament. As a result, it said, Ritchie had gone on site and met senior project staff from Bovis Lend Lease to discuss his allegations.
The Scottish parliament escalated to 拢400m. That money didn鈥檛 go to Romanian workers
Alan Ritchie, Scottish regional secretary, UCATT
The statement added that the allegations were subsequently investigated by Bovis and that it had received full co-operation from the contractors concerned.
No comments yet