Approximately 400,000 construction employees who operate under the Construction Industry Joint Council (CIJC) agreement will receive a two-year pay deal, effective from Monday 25 June 2018.
The pay deal, which was agreed by trade unions Unite and the GMB, will see employees receive a 3.2% pay increase as of 25 June 2018. This will take the minimum hourly rates of pay for craft workers, such as carpenters, bricklayers and painters, to £12.31 an hour and improve the minimum rate of pay for labourers to £9.26 an hour. Pay will increase by a further 2.9% from Monday 24 June 2019.
The agreed pay deal will also see employees’ travel allowance increase in line with the percentage rise in pay rates, the tax-free fare allowance rise in line with inflation and lodging allowances increase by 7.8% to £40 a night in 2018. The lodging allowance will additionally increase in line with inflation for 2019.
Industry sick pay, which is paid in addition to statutory sick pay, will rise by 6.1% to £130 a week. This will be paid for 13 weeks, compared to the 10 weeks it is currently paid for. The industry death benefit, which is applicable if an employee is killed at work or travelling to and from work, will be increased from £32,000 to £40,000.
First year apprentices will also receive a 6.5% pay rise to earn £5.50 an hour.
The CIJC is the largest agreement in the construction industry and principally covers employees working in civil engineering, as well as trade roles like carpenters, bricklayers and painters.
Jerry Swain, national officer for construction at Unite, said: “This deal is a strong step in the right direction and will give construction [employees] a well-deserved pay increase. The increases in allowances and other benefits underline the value of working under an industrial agreement and being part of collective bargaining arrangements.
“Over the next two years we will be working to further strengthen the agreement and ensure that it is brought into line with other agreements in all matters and is seen as relevant on major construction sites. Construction [employees] need to remain vigilant that employers actually pay the agreed pay rates. Too often in construction employers try to boost their profits by failing to pay agreed increases.”
Ross Murdoch, national officer at GMB, added: “Given the current climate in the wider construction industry and overall economic climate, this deal is both a recognition of a hard-working, highly-skilled workforce and a demonstration of real commitment to maintaining meaningful joint national industrial agreement.
“As further significant construction projects emerge over the next few years, this deal offers genuine hope of retaining the much needed skills for the industry, as well as attracting new apprentices, with the percentage uplift for apprentice rates further reinforcing the importance of this latter point.”