Regrading deal for cleaners

AROUND 4,000 school cleaners in Northern Ireland are set to benefit from a pay regrading. The workers, mainly members of the GMB general union, are currently being consulted on the deal which will move them from scale 1a to scale 1c – a rise of 83 pence an hour.

A big plus is that the deal will be backdated and the GMB estimates that about 3,500 of the current school cleaning workforce will be able to claim back pay from 1 January 2002, sharing an estimated £15 to £20 million.

Eammon Coy, GMB senior organiser, said the “watershed agreement” recognises the role of cleaners and sets “a benchmark which has been long overdue”.