17th July 2017
Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise and Innovation has received a recommendation from the Labour Court for new pay rates in the Construction Sector.
The recommendation is the first such recommendation from the Court under the new framework that was put in place in 2015 to replace the Registered Employment Agreement system that was found to be unconstitutional in 2013. The recommendation must be considered by the Minister and approved by both Houses of the Oireachtas before it is given effect by means of a Sectoral Employment Order. In this instance the Construction Industry Federation made an application towards the end of 2016 to the Labour Court to review the terms and conditions of workers in the Construction Sector. Following its Review the Labour Court has now recommended the following:
Category 1 Worker: €17.04 per hour
(General Operatives with more than one year’s experience working in the Sector)
Category 2 Worker: €18.36 per hour
(Skilled General Operatives, Scaffolders who hold an Advanced Scaffolding Card and who have four years’ experience, Banks operatives*, Steel Fixers, Crane Drivers and Heavy Machine Operators)
(*Banks operatives are more generally known as banksmen)
Craft Worker: €18.93 per hour
(Craft Workers in the following trades: Bricklayers/Stone Layers; Carpenters and Joiners; Floor Layers; Glaziers; Painters; Plasterers; Stone Cutters; Wood Machinists; Slaters and Tilers)
Apprentice
(Apprentices in the following trades: Bricklayers/Stone Layers; Carpenters and Joiners; Floor Layers; Glaziers; Painters; Plasterers; Stone Cutters; Wood Machinists; Slaters and Tilers)
Year 1: 33.3% of Craft rate
Year 2: 50% of Craft Rate
Year 3: 75% of Craft Rate
Year 4: 90% of Craft RateNew
Entrant Worker: €13.77 per hour
(General Operatives who are over the age of 18 years and entering the Sector for the first time).
The Tánaiste welcomed the recommendation and thanked the Labour Court for the work it did on the Review - “I will consider the Report carefully to ensure that application and recommendation requirements of the Industrial Relations (Amendment) Act 2015 have been met and I hope to be in a position to make a decision on the recommendation as soon as possible”.
The Labour Court’s recommendations regarding the application pertaining to a Sectoral Employment Order for the Construction Sector also included recommendations in relation to sick pay, pensions and unsocial hours payments.
For more information contact Press Office ,D/Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation on 01-6312200 or press.office@djei.ie
ENDS
NOTES
Sectoral Employment Orders are a wage setting mechanism provided for in the Industrial Relations (Amendment) Act 2015.
They replace the Registered Employment Agreement system which was found to be unconstitutional in 2013.
Employers and Unions that are substantially representative of a Sector can jointly or separately ask the Labour Court to review terms and conditions in a Sector.
Such a review involves a public consultation process.
The Industrial Relations (Amendment) Act 2015 sets out principles and policies which the Labour Court must have regard to when making its recommendation.
The Court makes its recommendation to the Minister along with a Report on the circumstances around the making of the recommendation.
If the Minister is satisfied that the Court complied with the provisions of the 2015 Act a draft Order must be laid before each House of the Oireachtas and the Minister can only make the Order after a resolution approving it has been passed by each House.
Sectoral Employment Orders are legally binding on the Sectors to which they apply and their provisions are enforceable by the Workplace Relations Commission.
Where enterprises in Sectors that are covered by Sectoral Employment Orders are experiencing severe financial difficulties they can apply to the Labour Court for an exemption from paying the rates provided for in the Order. The 2015 Act sets down the type of information and documentation that must be submitted to the Court in support of such an application. Agreement of the majority of workers for whom the exemption is sought is also required by the Court before such an exemption will be granted.
To-date four other applications have been made to the Labour Court to examine terms and conditions in a Sector – one was withdrawn and one was rejected. The other two are currently being considered by the Court – they relate to the Mechanical Engineering and Electrical Sectors.
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