Deal at National Grid worth 12.5%

A staged pay deal worth 12.5% for 2,000 industrial gas workers in the National Grid Operations Field Force includes substantial non-consolidated payments, including an immediate £1,500, and accompanies a change to a new computerised workload management system, as part of a drive towards increased efficiency and improved customer service.

Gary Smith, GMB national secretary for energy, told Workplace Report: “We would have liked to see more of the money going onto the basic rates but the industry is under huge regulatory scrutiny at the moment and we always knew it was going to be a difficult pay round”. The settlement comes on the back of previous pay rounds that had seen considerable amounts of overtime consolidated.

The new deal starts on 1 July with a pay rise of 1.25% coupled with an immediate £1,500 non-consolidated payment. A further £500 non-consolidated payment will be due in April 2012, followed by a 3.0% pay rise in July 2012. The previous settlement was for three years (2008-2011) with rises of 1.25% each year plus the opportunity to earn more money when working “off patch”.