October 19th: Unite today welcomed the implementation of the construction Sectoral Employment Order recommended by the Labour Court in July, but warned that retention of the travel allowance is crucial to ensure that construction workers maintain and improve their living standards.

Commenting, Unite Regional Officer for Construction Tom Fitzgerald said:

“Unite welcomes today’s announcement that the SEO has been enacted since it provides a basis of certainty in the construction sector – certainty that has been missing since Registered Employment Agreements were declared unconstitutional in 2013.

“However, it is vital that the current travel time arrangements, providing for payment of a minimum one hour’s travel time per day for all construction workers, are retained.  In this absence of the travel time allowance, some workers could actually be exposed to a pay cut.

“As agreed by the ICTU Congress Construction Industry Committee in August, unions must now work to secure an agreement from the Construction Industry Federation that travel time arrangements will be retained”, Tom Fitzgerald concluded.