Olympic Delivery Authority and unions on verge of signing agreement on direct employment to build London Olympic stadium

A deal on employment conditions for the London 2012 Olympic Games project has been ratified by construction unions, according to reports.

Negotiations between the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) and unions over the issue of direct employment have been dragging on for months.

Unions have warned that failure to use direct employment on the Games building project would result in the excessive use of cheap foreign labour, and lead to increased health and safety risks on site.

However, some construction experts have claimed these demands could send the estimated £3bn wage bill rocketing by as much as 20%.

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Now Personnel Today’s sister title Contract Journal reports that a formal signing on a memorandum of agreement is “pending”.

Bob Blackman, national secretary at Unite, told Contract Journal: “The memorandum of agreement provides a full commitment to the ethos of direct employment. It represents an agreement that the trade unions believe will be of benefit to all parties.”