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Doug Waters
“The committee must have considered the impact on the local infrastructure. The M25 will need to divert because of the new runway. Plus, all these extra articulated lorries from other counties coming in to service the contract.
“I live under the flightpath (through choice) and I have to leave the area every day for work, I know how congested it already is. Why wasn’t Gatwick, with its roads and rail links, selected for an extra runway – perhaps open fields for hundreds of acres were more important than destroying a small village and its community?”
Martyn Archer
O’Rourke ties up huge offsite deal with Stanhope (13 Feb)
“I find it disconcerting that the words quickly and cheaply are used so often in this and other similar construction articles, very rarely mentioned by other sectors. Does this equate with best value and the legacy this generation is leaving?”
Tony Callaghan
“Sounds like a good way forward, but the quality of design must be outstanding if this is to be a flagship OSM project. Let’s try to avoid “egg-box” design and build a harmonious sensitive infrastructure that people actually want to be part of. Sustainable socially effective design, please.”
Steve Townsend
Carillion collapse (30 Jan)
“As a small company we have been the victim of late payments for many years from large companies. There is no care about the people that supply the skills and materials to deliver these projects.”
Gary Smy
“Carillion Canada was able to operate under the Canadian payment terms for subcontractors and suppliers – which are far tougher than the UK – for nearly 20 years. It often had to provide both 50% labour and material payment bonds as well as a 50% performance bond. This is the norm for the Canadian industry. The UK appears to be still in the dark ages.”
Roger Ward
“To outlaw retentions would leave main contractors with a far greater problem when a subcontractor’s work was found to be deficient.
“The subcontractors who will really suffer as a result of the collapse of Carillion are those poor souls who have just sent in their initial invoices. What will they be paid by the receivers, a few pennies in the pound if anything?”
Marcel Cooper
Bricklayers and carpenters in short supply (23 Jan)
“There is no incentive to become a bricklayer or any tradesman as there is no holiday pay, pension sick pay or loyalty.
“Having been a bricklayer for 20 years, prior to working in the warranty business, I have witnessed first hand how difficult it is to get by financially being self-employed. Umbrella companies appear to take a percentage out of your wages without giving back any of the aforementioned benefits.
“The industry needs a regulator and all tradesmen should be on PAYE with full benefits. The only people making money are the contractors and subcontractors – the site men are not getting a fair deal. There are limited opportunities to learn a trade, which is affecting workmanship on site.”
Richard Simmons
“All this talk of steep wage rises is laughable. As a bricklayer, considering the shortages, I should be on megabucks but we only get wage rises at irregular intervals. Our last one was three years ago and that did not get us back to the pre-crash years.
“We work in appalling conditions, safety is a joke, and all the site agents are interested in is getting roofs on to get their bonuses. The main brickie contractor is now whinging his profits are not enough.
“Apprenticeships are an excuse to get a cheap labourer – these onsite NVQs are a joke. We have just got an apprentice in his second year and he has hardly laid a brick before joining us.
“So show us why we should encourage youngsters into this industry, when the last time an agent spoke to me was to tell me brickies were two a penny. I have been bricklaying over 20 years and all the men I work with agree that workplace conditions are getting worse.”
Richard New
