22 July 2016 | Martin Read

The Building Engineering Services Association (BESA) and the Unite trade union have agreed new hourly rates of pay for operatives working across the sector.

The 2 per cent wage increase has been agreed from October this year, and will rise to 2.5 per cent from October 2017.

Further negotiations are planned to take place later this year to agree wage levels that will apply for the two years from September 2018 under the terms of the BESA National Agreement for operatives in building engineering services trades.

Unite had initially requested a four-year agreement from October 2016 as well as significant increases to wages and benefits, but BESA argued that a two-stage agreement and a stepped increase were more appropriate “in the current economic climate”.

“We enjoyed our usual robust but constructive negotiations with Unite this year,” said Peter Rimmer, BESA director of employment and skills. “Needless to say, the union argued hard for a considerably higher hourly rate, but accepted that the compromise reached was fair and in the long-term interests of both employers and operatives.

“As we enter a period of economic uncertainty following the EU referendum, it is important that businesses can plan for the future safe in the knowledge that labour costs will be maintained at a sustainable level, while also providing operatives with a fair return for the vital skills they provide to the industry and its clients.”