NI workers worst off
News in from our colleagues in Northern Ireland – not only are Northern Ireland workers being paid less than their UK counterparts but those in rural parts of the country are even worse off.
Median gross pay in the wider UK was £2,274 in July but for Northern Ireland workers it was only £2,103.
That’s a 7.5 per cent increase on the year and which was behind both the increase in UK median pay (7.8 per cent) and the Retail Price Index (RPI) of 10.7 per cent. Rurally, things are even worse. The lowest pay is to be found in the southwest, in Fermanagh and Omagh District Council, where median pay is only £1,958 a month (7 per cent below the NI average). The next lowest is the unemploy- ment hotspot of Derry City and Strabane where median pay is only £1,981.
The labour market in these areas has a largely rural, non-unionised economy. Unite has led the successful opposition to the scrapping of the Agricultural Wages Board that covers 11,000 agricultural workers including many migrant
Browns meat pay victory
Unite confirmed in October that around 350 workers based at the Dumfriesshire food manufacturer Browns have secured a 13.2 per cent wage rise bringing the dispute to an end.
Unite’s production, distribution and maintenance members based in Kelloholm, Sanquhar, voted to accept a 13.2 per cent increase for 2023. The deal comprises the implementation of the real living wage backdated to April 2023 plus a £250 one-off payment. As part of a three-year deal, Unite also secured the commitment for real living wage increases for 2024 and 2025.
6 uniteLANDWORKER Winter 2023/24
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said, “Unite’s members at Browns have secured an excellent wage deal. The pay increase of 13.2 per cent this year was only achieved through the brave stance our members took in taking on their employer through strike action. Unite will always stand up and support our members fighting back for decent jobs, pay and conditions.”
The Brown’s workers participated in several rounds of industrial action during August and September. The Dumfriesshire based firm specialises in the production and manufacturing of quality cooked and sliced meats for a large range of businesses, supermarkets and schools.
workers. The AWB is the final NI collective bargaining mechanism with a responsibility for private sector workers. But there’s still much to be done.
Commenting, Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said,
“These statistics are clear – workers in Northern Ireland continue to be paid even less than workers elsewhere in the UK. This is simply unacceptable. Trade unions remain especially vital during a cost-of-living crisis that government is doing little to solve.”
Alamy
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