Minimum rates of pay for workers in the construction and electrical contracting sectors are set to rise by 2.7% in the autumn.

Minister Pat Breen (pictured) said that he will make an Order to impose minimum rates of pay for building workers and electrical contractors, effective 1 October 2019 to 30 September 2020:

• Craftsmen: €19.44 per hour - Bricklayers/Stone Layers; Carpenters and Joiners; Floor Layers; Glaziers; Painters; Plasterers; Stone Cutters; Wood Machinists; Slaters and Tilers.

• Category A Worker: €18.86 per hour - Scaffolders who hold an Advanced Scaffolding Card and who have four years’ experience; Banks operatives, Steel Fixers; Crane Drivers and Heavy Machine Operators.

• Category B Worker: €17.50 per hour - Skilled General Operatives who have worked in the sector for more than two years.

In Association with

• New Entrant Operative Workers: €14.14 per hour To apply for two years to new entrant operative workers over the age of 18 years and entering the sector for the first time.

Breen added that the following minimum rates of pay shall apply in the electrical contracting sector from 1 September 2019:

• Category 1 (Newly qualified electricians employed in the sector) €23.49 per hour.

• Category 2 (qualified electricians employed in the sector with effect from the commencement of their 3rd year of employment after qualification as an electrician) €23.96 per hour.

• Category 3 (Electricians employed in the sector with effect from the commencement of their 6th year of employment after qualification as an electrician) €24.34 per hour.

Sectoral Employment Orders are a wage setting mechanism provided for in the Industrial Relations (Amendment) Act 2015. SEOs are legally binding on the sectors to which they apply and their provisions are enforceable by the Workplace Relations Commission.

The Construction Industry Federation said the wages increase will put pressure on regional construction companies

Director General Tom Parlon commented: “Our regional contractors and housebuilders are reporting low levels of activity in the regions already. This wage increase will put more pressure on these companies making the delivery of essential housebuilding, infrastructure delivery and job creation in the regions even more parlous.”

Small Firms Association director Sven Spollen-Behrens stated: “Due to the high demand for tradesmen on building sites across the country, service providers in the construction and electrical sector are finding it difficult to compete against these labour rates, and to retain and attract tradesmen.

“It is discouraging that the debate on terms and conditions in the construction and electrical sector continues to revolve around one single number and does not take the broader package on offer into account.”