The latest round of pay negotiations for M&E workers on the Heathrow Terminal 5 site has hit problems, with unions and employers failing to reach agreement on a number of issues
Amicus, the union for M&E workers, met employer representatives last Thursday to negotiate the terms of a deal known as the special projects agreement.

M&E unions have been under pressure to reach an agreement for T5 since the start of the year, but talks has so far ended in deadlock.

In January, contractor Laing O'Rourke struck a landmark deal with skilled building workers, who secured 拢55,000 a year and advantageous employment conditions. This led to predictions of a knock-on effect on other trades (好色先生TV, 31 January).

A project source said: "The union side is looking for parity with what Laing O'Rourke workers are being paid on the building side of the project. The M&E sector will not be deemed second-class citizens to general builders."

The source said that in the latest round of negotiations, a special projects agreement had been reached for the M&E workers but that a "failure to agree" notice had been placed on certain aspects of the deal, including the issue of travel expenses. The source added that the union was asking for back pay for workers who had been on the site since before the deal was agreed in January.

The M&E sector will not be deemed second-class citizens

T5 project source

The source added that Amicus was also looking for a clause to secure parity with building workers if Laing O'Rourke's bonus rates improved.

It is understood that client BAA will now decide whether to force both the employers and unions to renegotiate the points that they have failed to agree on.