Overtime opportunities boost plumbers’ pay rise

Plumbers could see their wages soar as a result of a new pay deal that will reduce the number of hours they have to work before overtime becomes payable.

Under the latest settlement negotiated by the general union Unite (Amicus section) and the Joint Industry Board for Plumbing and Mechanical Engineering Services (JIB-PMES), the duration of the standard working week will fall from 43 to 41 hours next year, and again to 39 hours in 2009.

With basic pay also set to rise by 4.5% in 2008 and the greater of 4.5% or the value of the September 2008 retail prices index (RPI) the following year, the overall effect could be dramatic. Unite gives the example of a technical plumber/gas service technician working a 42-hour week (all before 8pm Monday to Friday), whose weekly income will rise from £540.96 in 2007 to £572.05 in 2008 and £612.06 in 2009 – a 13.1% increase over the two years.

Plumbers’ London-only subsistence allowance will also rise by 4.5% in each year, although other allowances will remain unchanged.

Noting that financial institutions are predicting the RPI to be at about 2.8% by the second quarter of 2008, Unite national officer John Allot said: “We welcome this pay offer for one of the most highly skilled workforces in the UK economy. This amounts to an inflation-busting offer to plumbers working a small amount of overtime and shows the bargaining power of a national agreement.–