Construction workers could receive an increase in their wages after unions submitted a claim to boost pay by ten per cent.

They wrote to the Construction Industry Joint Council (CIJC) to ask if all workers in the sector could be covered by its minimum wage agreement. Currently, it has set a level of pay for workers in civil engineering and the ‘biblical’ trades.

Instead, the unions want all construction employees to be protected by the agreement and for their wage to increase by the same percentage.

Jerry Swain, national officer for construction at Unite, said: “For this industry to succeed and attract new entrants then pay rates must reflect workers’ skills and living costs.”

Without the sector offering competitive salaries, it is at risk of losing potentially valuable workers. This could damage the industry, which is already suffering from a skills shortage.

Unite has put forth the argument that construction output is worth £110 billion per year. Therefore, there is no reason why developers cannot afford to pay workers a salary that helps them keep up with rising living costs.

If the industry fails to offer higher wages for construction workers, it will suffer from the “continuing failure to attract new starters”.

Sharon Graham, general secretary at Unite, stated: “Construction workers are highly skilled and are essential to the UK’s future prosperity. But they are fed up with years of wage attacks. So with growth across the sector now forecast, we’re simply asking that our members get their fair share of rewards.”

She noted the call for higher wages would simply “restore this workforce’s pay to at least a level that matches inflation”, adding: “We will not accept anything less.”

The Unite spokeswoman stated the union will be taking “radical measures” to achieve fair pay for construction employees, which it believes will not only protect workers but also save the industry.

Mr Swain noted that without such changes, there is decreasing relevance of organisations such as CIJC and its agreement.

If it does not help to create a benchmark for pay and conditions in the construction sector, this will result in “questions being asked about the relevance of the CIJC”. This is despite the CIJC being the largest agreement in the sector, currently protecting the wages and employment conditions of around half a million people.

Following the submittance of the pay claim to the CIJC, negotiations regarding construction salaries will be held throughout the spring. It is expected any changes to pay will then take place at the end of June.

In addition to an increase in general wages, Unite wants improvements to be made to the industry’s sick pay and holiday entitlement.

It has called the CIJC to bring these in line with other construction agreements, as poor terms and conditions, as well as minimal pay, is being reflected in the low number of new employees.

Brexit and Covid-19 have also brought challenges to the sector, with the former resulting in fewer foreign workers being able to bring their skills to the UK. Construction Week argues this is resulting in a skills shortage, as the sector is missing these valuable employees from the workforce, reported Lancashire Business Review.

Additionally, the publication states the pandemic has worsened the skills gap due to the reduction in projects at the height of the lockdowns. As workers with more experience in the field were being prioritised for these roles, there was a lack of incentive for apprentices to pursue a career in construction without jobs at the end of their training.

Furthermore, employers lacked the time, money and resources to train prospective workers, meaning there are now people who want a career in the sector but do not have the knowledge, experience or skills to apply for jobs.

PBC Today noted that “2021 was a turbulent year for the construction industry”, as a result of supply chain problems, shortages of materials, and pressure from COP26 to become more sustainable and environmentally conscious.

However, 2022 could be the opportunity to turn things around by introducing new initiatives that ensure safety, supply chain and environmental problems are avoided.

The publication suggested new technologies could be the answer, helping firms make more informed decisions about their projects by using intelligence from the data. By using digital tools to communicate this information to stakeholders, this can avoid supply chain problems and give construction managers the chance to manage project schedules and clients’ expectations at the earliest opportunity.

When it comes to sustainable practices, project management technologies can help. These would hold construction companies accountable for their energy usage by being easily able to see the data, identifying issues of inefficiency and waste better and highlighting areas where improvements can be made.

Technology can also help support the safety of workers, by giving teams visibility of project safety measures through self-documenting construction platforms.

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