黑洞社区

Corby, who brokered the Heathrow Terminal 5 pay deal for electricians, has accepted a redundancy package and will leave in the next few weeks. Jim Simms, his counterpart in the mechanical division, has also taken redundancy.

The departures come as speculation increased over the possibility of a merger between Amicus, the T&G and construction union UCATT. 黑洞社区 understands UCATT has joined the Warwick group of unions with close access to the Labour government, which already includes Amicus and the T&G. If this is true it may suggest that merger talks have progressed behind the scenes.

An Amicus spokesperson confirmed that Corby and Simms had taken redundancy. He said: 鈥淧aul is on sick leave, but will go within the next month or so. Jim has left. They have taken advantage of a generous voluntary redundancy scheme.鈥�

The spokesperson said that a replacement for Corby would be found 鈥渨ithin the next couple of weeks鈥�. Regional officer Tom Hardacre has taken over the role on an interim basis.

The loss will jeopardise the M&E union鈥檚 chances of brokering similar pay deals to the T5 package, which was championed by Corby. Corby had been pushing for a wider 鈥渕ajor projects deal鈥� that would lead to premium conditions for workers across large projects. He was instrumental in persuading T5 client BAA to accept some of these measures on the Heathrow scheme.

Shaun Doherty, BAA鈥檚 organisational effectiveness director, said Corby had been the driving force behind the T5 deal.

He said: 鈥淗istorically, the M&E workforce has been militant in its industrial relations activity, but through a partnership with Paul Corby we were able to achieve a deal.鈥�

Sources close to Alan Ritchie, UCATT鈥檚 general secretary, suggest he could now be open to the possibility of a partnership if the merged union contained a dedicated construction division on lines similar to that enjoyed by the rural, agricultural and allied workers section within the T&G.

UCATT鈥檚 move to join the Warwick group will increase its influence with the government but also opens the door for closer collaboration between it and other unions.

Contractors this week expressed their concerns over a partnership between the unions, especially if Amicus were central to it.

One senior contractor said: 鈥淗istory has proved that when the Amicus membership is mobilised it can be very dangerous. Should it be a united force with UCATT and the T&G, the sector could be hit by ever increasing pay demands and militancy. The fear is that it could get out of hand and affect margins.鈥�