SIPTU has today called on the Construction Industry Federation to ensure its members are fully compliant with the Sectoral Employment Order (SEO), and Collective Agreements. The union is warning employers that they cannot avoid full compliance during the pandemic crisis. John Regan, SIPTU Sector Organiser for the Construction Sector said that, “There is emerging evidence that some employers who are using the temporary wage subsidy scheme are not topping up payments to meet the legally binding gross rate of pay for construction workers “We have written to construction employers today”, he said, “reminding them of the fact that where employers are in receipt of the temporary wage subsidy scheme, this does not relieve them of their own legal obligations to pay the full rate for the job. If a worker does not receive the appropriate gross hourly rate, as a minimum, it is a breach of the SEO. We are actively investigating SEO compliance and will hold employers to account should they fail to ensure the full, legally binding rate is paid, both currently and retrospectively. Karan O Loughlin, Divisional Organiser for the Transport, Energy, Aviation and Construction sectors within SIPTU said that in some cases employers have ceased recording hours on the payslip. “This is not acceptable, as payslips need to be very clear on the hours worked and the hours paid. This should be a ‘red flag’ issue for any construction worker. If their employer is not recording hours properly on a payslip then they need to take advice from their union immediately. There is absolutely no justification for this.”
SIPTU calls on CIF to ensure members availing of state subsidy scheme are paying workers full rates
