Formation UCATT was formed in 1971 following the merger of the
Amalgamated Union of Building Trade Workers (AUBTW), the
Association of Building Technicians and the Amalgamated Society of Woodworkers and Decorators, which had itself been founded the previous year from a merger of the
Amalgamated Society of Woodworkers (ASW) and the
Amalgamated Society of Painters and Decorators (ASPD). The merged union was initially known as the
Amalgamated Society of Woodworkers, Painters and Builders, but changed its name later in the year. Its first general secretary was Sir George Smith, formerly general secretary of the ASW, who was directly elected by the membership. Its Executive at the time incorporated paid officials who had been selected by an electoral process within the industry.
National strike of 1972 In 1972, shortly after its formation, UCATT along with the
GMWU and
TGWU, two sister unions involved in construction and civil engineering, was involved in a major national joint industrial dispute. For the first time in the building industry, workers all over the country went on strike, demanding a minimum wage of £30 a week and abolition of the '
Lump Labour Scheme', which institutionalised
casual cash-paid daily labour without employment rights. The 12-week stoppage affected many major sites, effectively forcing employers to negotiate. The
Building Workers' Charter was actively involved in organising the strike.
The 'Shrewsbury Two' Unionised workers used
flying pickets to seek support from workers on the lump. On 6 September 1972, UCATT and TGWU bussed members from
North Wales and
Chester to picket building sites in
Shrewsbury. Despite confrontations with site management, the police made no arrests on the day. Five months after the strike, at a time when some of the strikers' aims had been largely settled, several building workers were investigated for alleged sabotage and vandalism during the dispute. Some were subject to high-profile police investigation, under pressure from major contractors and politicians anxious to suppress the emergence of
organised labour in the building industry, and 24 building workers were convicted at
Shrewsbury Crown Court and six jailed as a result of their picketing activities. The longest sentences were given by judge
Hugh Mais to
Ricky Tomlinson, a plasterer and TGWU strike leader, and
Des Warren, a
steel fixer and leading lay official of UCATT, who became known as the "Shrewsbury Two". The 'Shrewsbury Two' refused to testify against fellow strikers at Shrewsbury Crown Court. Charges of affray were dropped, but they were found guilty of "
conspiracy to intimidate" under the Conspiracy Act 1875, which had not been used for 98 years. Warren was sentenced to three years in prison, and Tomlinson to two. Des Warren subsequently developed serious health problems, which Tomlinson attributes to the medication he took whilst in
solitary confinement. In 2013 a paper petition was launched, alongside the existing e-petition, for an
Early Day Motion by MP
John McDonnell to be brought. In May 2020, the
Criminal Cases Review Commission referred a number of convictions relating to the Shrewsbury dispute, including that of Ricky Tomlinson, to the
Court of Appeal. UCATT, however, began a revival under the leadership of
George Brumwell, its new general secretary. He led a turnaround in the union's fortunes by 2001, following cost-containing measures including strategic redundancies and closure of several local offices. This programme all but eliminated the deficits, and built a smaller, but more readily sustainable UCATT. The union ran a 'Safety Culture' campaign across the industry, promoting construction and regeneration, which became part of the strategy of the New Labour government following its
election victory in 1997.
2000–2017 In 2006, UCATT, T&G and GMB, the successors to the joint unions of 1972 ran a seven-day strike on the construction of Heathrow Terminal 5 in pursuit of £1.00 on bonus, and back pay. The employer was
Laing O'Rourke the successor to John Laing Ltd, one of the big employers of 1972. After the dispute was resolved the strikers received 80% of their original aims and substantial back pay. UCATT represented the views of site workers on the government/industry body, the
Strategic Forum for Construction, from 2001 to 2015. Membership continued to dwindle; in December 2012, it had 84,377 workers in construction and allied trades. In May 2016, UCATT's conference voted to seek a merger with
Unite the Union, though this would only proceed if approved by a vote of all members. The decision followed a decline in UK membership (from almost 112,000 in 1999 to 54,644 at the end of 2014, plus a further 6,585 in the Republic of Ireland), and mounting financial troubles (it incurred a net deficit of over £3.5 million in 2014 and at year-end had net current liabilities of more than £1 million, leading to "significant doubt about the union’s ability to continue as a going concern"). The merger, approved by 85.5% of members in November 2016 and taking effect from 1 January 2017, spelt the end of a separate or independent construction union but was expected to force employers to negotiate with a larger and more powerful union. UCATT's members in the
Republic of Ireland voted to instead transfer to the
Technical Engineering and Electrical Union. ==Election results==