Pay rise agreed for construction workers 

Construction workers operating under the Construction Industry Joint Council (CIJC) agreement will receive an increase in pay rates next month. 

The deal, negotiated by trade unions and employers, will see workers receive an immediate increase of 6% and then a further 1.5% increase from 1 January 2024. This represents a compound increase of 7.59%. 

Additionally, the general operative (labourer) rate, which is the lowest pay rate, will increase by 8%, with the entire increase being introduced immediately. 

The CIJC is the largest of the construction agreements and predominantly covers civil engineering. Around 500,000 workers’ terms of employment are affected by the agreement. 

Sharon Graham, general secretary at Unite, said: “This is an important deal that not only increases workers’ wages but also establishes a pathway for improved conditions for a huge number of construction workers.” 

In addition to the pay increase, the taxed travel allowance will increase by 6% from July and then a further 1.5% from January.  

The untaxed fare allowance will increase by 10.1%. The subsistence allowance will increase to £49.08 per night. 

Industry sick pay, which is paid in addition to statutory sick pay, will increase to £154.02 per week from July, and then to £156.33 from January.