| Disused Kent army Barracks to house Polish workers |
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They’ll arrive to build a new power station at Isle of Grain
18th February 2009: Contractors and sub-contractors building a new power station at Isle of Grain, Kent plan to use an accommodation barge and disused army barracks to house Polish workers who are due to be brought into the UK to build the station, the GMB Central Executive Council (CEC) has been told. They are construction workers including steel workers, platers and welders. The 70 metre accommodation barge will be moored at Damhead Wharf, Damhead Creek on the River Medway. The disused army barracks is at Chattenden on the Hoo Peninsula in Kent. Planning permission for the barge has already been given to Dr. C Wesolowski from Alstom Power Systems to house 200 workers between January 2009 and November 2010. The focus of the dispute about the application of EU Posted Workers directive in the UK has shifted from Lindsey Oil Refinery in Lincolnshire to two new sites of which Isle of Grain is one. New power stations are being built at the two sites, for RWE at Staythorpe in Nottinghamshire and for EON at the Isle of Grain in Kent. Both sites are being managed by main contractor Alstom. Alstom is using sub contractors FNN and Mon Presior at Staythorpe and sub contractors Remak and Zre Katowice at the Isle of Grain. Alstom told the trade unions in January 2009 that they plan to use 250 Polish workers, employed at Alstom’s own execution centre in Poland, to build the next phase of Staythorpe and that they will not be employing any UK workers. Zre from Katowice plan to bring in 120 workers from Poland and will house them in the barge and in the barracks. |
