Labour Court recommends phased £43.70 pay rise for construction craft workers

The Labour Court recommended a phased £43.70 increase for construction craft workers on the basic rate, and an increase for basic-rate non-craft workers to the Local Authority craftsmens’ mates scale. The recommendation was signed on 10 July 1991. The Construction Industry Federation had offered the craft workers £43.70 over three years and general operatives £10, with the increases paid as supplements. The Construction Industry Committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions sought the full craft increase and a 91 per cent relationship between general operatives’ and craft workers’ rates. The Court recommended that the increases be paid as supplements at first, with the parties to agree a date to incorporate them into pay for all purposes after the third phase and before the agreement expired. It also recommended negotiations on annual holidays, subcontracting and attendance, with unresolved matters to return to the Court.