Construction workers are seeking pay rises of 12% over three years, though the proposal has met with resistance from the industry.
Trade Union SIPTU says it is looking to the Labour Court to establish a new Sectoral Employment Order (SEO) for the construction industry.
However, the Construction Industry Federation has said industry players are operating on fine margins that cannot bear the cost of the demands.
SIPTU sector organiser, John Regan, said the claim is being advanced by a number of unions.
“This claim would form part of a new SEO for the industry and is in line with other growing and profitable sectors in our economy. An SEO will give stability and clarity on pay for workers in the industry,” he said.
“At a time of huge profits in the sector our members justifiably feel that they deserve their share in the substantial gains being made by employers.
Instead, what we are seeing are attempts by employers to cap the entry-level wage for construction workers at €28,000. This is unacceptable. There must be progress on wages if the construction industry is to keep up with demand.
“The biggest problem the construction industry is facing is attracting and retaining workers. This can only be achieved by the industry providing wages which are adequate.
“A new SEO also requires employers and unions working together to create long-term stability in the sector through the enforcement of agreed conditions of employment and the adequate provision of apprenticeships,” Mr Regan said.
CIF director general, Tom Parlon, said its members are against pay rises for workers: “The Labour Court made a recommendation just about 15 months ago for a 10% increase in rates across the board.
“The industry was obliged to pay those rates, and literally 15 months down the road, there’s a further demand for rate increase and we certainly feel that this is not the time for that. So we are opposing any further increases in labor costs at this particular time.”
“The industry has employed an extra 1,500 people each month for the last 12 months. So it is growing and it pays well, and the SEO is not just about rates, it’s about a sick pay scheme. It’s about death-in-service benefit. It’s about overtime, it is about holidays, it is about the general conditions that workers have when they are on site and when they are under the SEO,” Mr Parlon told RTÉ Radio 1’s Drivetime.
He said the last SEO of 10% put ‘pressure’ on builders.
“Builders were obliged to pay it right across the board, and it was a lot more than 10% outside of Dublin,” he said.
Mr Parlon estimated the increases would see the construction price of a €300,000 house rise by €5,000: “40% of the cost of building is labour. So any increase in labour increases the cost of output very substantially. It certainly will have a substantial impact on the cost of house building.”