On 19 October, Minister of State with special responsibility for Trade, Employment & Business, Pat Breen TD, signed into law an Order entitled “Sectoral Employment Order (Construction Sector) 2017”. This Order fixes the statutory minimum pay, pension and sick pay entitlements for craftsmen, construction operatives and apprentices employed in the construction sector.
The Sectoral Employment Order (SEO) gives legal effect to the terms of a Labour Court recommendation which the Minister accepted in July. The revised terms and conditions for the construction sector take effect from the date of the Order i.e. 19 October 2017 and will apply to almost 50,000 workers in the sector. The Order will result in pay increases in the order of approximately 10% in the construction sector. This is the first SEO successfully passed under the new legislative framework which came into force in August 2015.
The SEO provides for the following pay rates:
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 Rate
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 SEO also includes recommendations in relation to sick pay, pensions and unsocial hours payments.
More information and a copy of the full SEO can be found here. If you require further advice contact Ciara McGuone, SFA Executive, on 01 605 1668 or ciara.mcguone@sfa.ie.
