Labour's housebuilding targets will 'crumble to dust' if brick factories aren't given energy relief, GMB Union has warned.
Brick builders across the UK are currently sat idle, with stockpiles rising, because the cost of production is prohibitively expensive.
Perversely, mortar is including in the Government's 'supercharger' scheme to help energy intensive businesses - but bricks themselves aren't.
Charlotte Brumpton‑Childs, GMB National Secretary, said:
“You don’t need a bricklaying apprenticeship to see the problem here.
"Mortar on its own doesn’t build houses. Bricks and tiles do and right now the Government has left those workers out in the cold.
"The brick and ceramics industry is one of the UK’s most energy‑intensive and supports thousands of skilled, unionised manufacturing jobs, many in communities that depend on these plants staying open.
"Backing the glue but not the bricks is nonsensical.
"If Ministers are serious about housebuilding, they need to get the foundations right, before more kilns go cold and more workers pay the price.”
