Pay rises of up to 8 per cent have been agreed for half a million construction workers from next month.
A one-year deal agreed between unions and employers at the Joint Construction Industry Council (CIJC) will see an 8% increase in the general operating rate from 10 July.
For all other fares there will be a two-stage increase: a 6% increase from July 10 followed by an additional 1.5% increase from January 1, 2024.
The deals will see the general operating rate rise from its current level of £10.42 an hour – the national minimum wage – to £11.25 an hour.
The new wage agreement is part of the work rule agreement negotiated by unions and employers at the CJIC. The latter has published the agreement on its website and the National Federation of Builders (NFB) confirmed the arrangements in its newsletter to members. GMB and Unite also confirmed the pay deal.
Increases in the sector’s sickness allowances and per diems and travel allowances have also been agreed.
Unite said that, in addition to the pay agreement, “the employer side for the first time has made a genuine commitment to modernize the agreement and is committed to a significant review with Unite to improve existing holiday entitlement rules , sickness benefits and pensions”. .
The union’s general secretary, Sharon Graham, said: “This is an important agreement that not only boosts workers’ wages, but also sets a path to better conditions for a large number of construction workers.”
In April, the CIJC was forced to raise the operating rate outside of normal wage negotiations in order to meet the new minimum wage level, a move Unite described as “deeply humiliating” for employers.
In March, the union’s national construction manager, Jerry Swain, said: “It is a dark spot in the construction industry that employers now think so little of workers … that they are only willing to pay them the minimum wage”.
The NFB said members should make every effort to implement the increases by July 10. But he said the CIJC has advised that “if a company finds the implementation date difficult, it should make the changes effective from July 17 at the latest”.
A five percent across-the-board pay rise was agreed last year.
The CIJC represents a large number of building and civil engineering unions, and governs the wages and conditions of some 500,000 workers, mainly those in the civil engineering and clerical trades.
