Union UCATT has received confirmation from the Olympic Delivery Authority that workers on the Olympics project will continue to be directly employed and receive full employment rights.

UCATT wrote to the ODA, seeking reassurances about working practices after the Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC) claimed that there was a need for a “flexible workforce” on the Olympic Games.

The union quotes an REC press release in which Simon Noakes, chair of REC’s construction division, said: “With landmark projects such as the Olympic games… there is currently over 5,000 construction operatives working in Stratford alone. Projects of this stature make the need for a flexible workforce greater than ever.”

In response to UCATT’s letter, the union says the ODA told them they will continue to run its “audit programme”, to ensure that workers are directly employed and where “an audit identifies non-compliance, the employer concerned is required to take corrective action within a defined period of time”. The ODA added that there are “very high levels of direct employment” on the Olympics.

Alan Ritchie, general secretary of UCATT, said: “It is very important that the ODA has rebuffed any suggestion that casualised employment practices will be allowed on the Olympics in the final months of the project. The directly employment rules have ensured that workers have not been exploited, accident levels are low and the project will be completed on time. It is highly regrettable that REC have sought to diminish these achievements.

“Rather than talking about flexibility, it is important that the government and the major construction contractors learn lessons from the Olympic Park project. By treating workers properly and not denying them standard employment rights, construction projects can be delivered, fairly, safely, on time and on budget.”

The REC told Recruiter that it would be issuing a response in due course.