Unite has compiled a highly comprehensive 32-page document in response to the planned move from Bircham Newton in Norfolk to Peterborough.

In a business plan released in April, the CITB proposed reducing the organisation’s headcount from the current level of 1,370 to just 484 people by 2020, through redundancies and outsourcing, and is currently engaged in a staff consultation process.

The workforce had originally intended to make alternative proposals for the relocation. However, according to the union, they found the CITB’s process to be so severely flawed that: “the only conclusion that can be drawn from this analysis is a vote of no confidence in the process, dissemination and accuracy of all data.”

Their response document asserts that the proposed move to Peterborough was in the document’s view not the best option, even when using the CITB’s own criteria, with other towns and cities coming out more favourably.

The document, which has been presented to the CITB’s board, contains four main criticisms of the board’s proposals.

The document:

Unite regional co-ordinating officer, Mark Robinson, said: “The CITB’s plans to move from its headquarters in Bircham Newton to Peterborough have been eviscerated.

“The process has been exposed as so flawed that it is not even appropriate to make an alternative proposal. If the CITB’s board wishes to maintain an iota of credibility it must restart the process of evaluating and consulting on the options for moving the head office.”

Mr Robinson added: “We urge the board to look at this document. Staff and management representatives have already expressed concerns about the lack of constructive and meaningful consultation regarding the head office move and fear a similar fate, if and when, the divestment of the national construction college services commences later in the year.

“It is not too late for the board to think again before it seriously damages, not only the lives of hundreds of dedicated CITB employees, but also the training so desperately required in the construction industry. The CITB needs to urgently go back and consult the industry it is supposed to represent.”

A spokesperson for the management representatives’ staff association said: “This report should have given the executive food for thought and it is hoped this report will give the CITB the opportunity to establish a truly robust process which allows industry and employees to play a constructive part in shaping an onward thinking, flexible and innovative platform for the CITB’s future.”