Unite secures better pay for NI agricultural workers

Unite secures better pay for NI agri workers

The Northern Ireland Agricultural Wages Board (NIAWB) has agreed increased hourly rates for over 10,000 agricultural sector employees, including many migrant workers.

This follows a Unite led a united campaign to defeat plans to scrap the Board by the Northern Ireland Assembly Rural Affairs Minister Edwin Poots and the Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU).

The previous six-grade system has been reduced to five and Agricultural Wages Board (AWB) rates range from £8 for trainees to £14.44 for agricultural managers, which represent increases of 4.1% and 8% respectively.

Agricultural, lead skilled and multi-skilled workers now earn £13.30, £13.66 and £13.89 an hour respectively. Whilst £13.30 an hour exceeds the government’s legal minimum of £12.71 an hour for workers aged 21 and over it falls short of the higher, voluntary National Living Wage (NLW) of £13.45.

The 15p an hour less that AWB grade 2 workers are now earning below the NLW means they miss out on around £6 a week and over £300 annually. A sum they should be rewarded with.

“We had hoped to achieve, at least, the NLW but the UFU were determined to block this and they succeeded. It remains our ambition, especially as some jobs are highly skilled,” explains Unite regional officer Joanne McWilliams.

The 15 members of the NI AWB, which is the collective bargaining mechanism for private sector works, consists of six reps each from UFU and Unite plus three independent members who, in the face of UFU intransigence, stopped shy of agreeing a new rate that equalled the NLW.

The UFU also blocked Unite’s attempts to ensure overtime rates would now be paid at the same hourly rate as standard working hours.

Joanne McWilliams said: “The UFU consistently complains of its members not having monies and of being expected to maintain ‘unfairly high standards … compared to other industries.”

Even Margaret Thatcher maintained the AWB across the UK during her time as the prime minister, but thanks to the Tories and Liberal Democrat government of 2010-15, England no longer has an AWB after the Cameron and Clegg coalition scrapped it.

Unite’s research has shown that by leaving English farm workers at the mercy of their employers they have struggled to get a pay rise whilst some have even missed out on sick pay.

“The same situation would happen here if the UFU had their way,” explains McWilliams. “So it is good that the AWB remains to provide a negotiating forum to represent workers who are often isolated. We will fight to support its retention for workers to continue seeking much better pay and working and living conditions for those residing on site.”