THE Labour Court has recommended that more than 6,000 electricians in the construction industry be awarded a £33 a week pay increase. There is provision to backdate some of the increase to January 1st this year.
Two weeks ago the Technical Engineering and Electrical Union threatened a national strike over the refusal of employers to pay the increase, the criteria for which was agreed by a joint union-employer working party in 1994. The union agreed to defer strike action after the Labour Court intervened.
It is still unclear, however, if electricians will accept the award given the delay in processing the claim. The employer body, the Construction Industry Federation, will consider it shortly. The TEEU executive considered the award last Thursday and wilt be discussing it with union representatives over the coming days. "Members are extremely angry about the delays in concluding something agreed in 1994 for implementation," the TEEU assistant general secretary, Mr Finn Lawless, said yesterday.
The 1994 Report of the Electrical Contracting Industry Joint Working Party recommended in
May 1994 that basic rates for electricians in the building industry be set with reference to selected employments in the private and public sectors.
However, reviews of pay have been bedevilled by delays on the part of some employers in releasing figures and by disagreements between unions and employers on calculating average earnings.