Securing sectoral bargaining, which involves unions and employer bodies coming together to agree minimum pay and standards throughout an industry, is a key strategy for improving conditions for contract services workers in cleaning, security and catering.
Rebuilding Catering Post Covid
In contract catering the Sector continues to engage with a group of catering employers with the aim of securing a sectorial bargaining agreement. However, this is being resisted by some of the big companies and their employer representative group.
Contract catering was one of the worse hit sectors during the pandemic, with rafts of our members losing their jobs, through redundancy, following long periods of lay off, with many only receiving statutory entitlements. This has added to the already precarious nature of the sector, which is characterised by low pay and poor working conditions, with skilled catering workers being paid the minimum wage, or just above, and catering employers in the main remaining hostile toward the Union.
Notwithstanding this, due to the hard work of our representatives and full-time officials in the sector, we continue to achieve advances in pay and other conditions for our members in this industry.
SIPTU Catering Section activist, Bernie Casey, said: “A very big issue for catering workers is the Government not even introducing the promised scaling up of the minimum wage towards the level of the Living Wage. This situation makes it even more important that work is done to secure a sector wide agreement.”
She added: “In line with the Contract Services Sector’s overall strategy of organising for strength, we are determined to develop collective bargaining in the Sector in pursuit of decent pay and working conditions for these low wage, hardworking, catering workers.”
Cleaning Sector Employment Regulation Order (ERO)
The Sector has negotiated two Cleaning Industry EROs achieving significant advances in pay and terms of conditions for cleaning workers. The current ERO provides for a minimum rate of pay for contract cleaners of €13.30 per hour effective since 1st June 2024 this was an increase from €11.90 per hour which was secured in 2023. This ERO impacts approximately 28,000 cleaners in Ireland.
Security Sector Employment Regulation Order (ERO)
Since a High Court injunction lodged by employers’ bodies preventing the introduction of a ERO in this sector was lifted in August 2023, two agreements have been reached.
An ERO with legal effect since 1st July 2024, provides for a minimum hourly rate of pay of €14.50. Service Recognitionof one day’s leave for five years plus service. Since January there is an Unsocial Hours Allowance of €16.80 per shift this will rise to €20.00 per shift in January 2026.