The NFU and HTA have lambasted the latest agricultural wage agreements.

At a meeting to discuss the 2007 Agricultural Wages Order, the Agricultural Wages Board (AWB) decided to raise the rate of statutory pay for Grade One workers by 3.2 percent, in line with National Minimum Wage (NMW) increases. A 4.5 percent increase in statutory rates for workers under Grades Two to Six were also agreed upon, with the changes to come into effect on October 1.

That sees the new minimum rates as £5.52/hr (Grade One), £6/hr (Grade Two), £6.60/hr (Grade Three), £7.08/hr (Grade Four), £7.50/hr (Grade Five) and £8.10/hr (Grade Six).

However the NFU said that ‘no other substantive issues were agreed on’. “We are disappointed and believe that the final decision does not reflect the level of increases being granted in other areas of the economy or the economic situation of the sector,” said the union’s Bob Fiddaman.

The HTA’s director general, David Gwyther concurred, claiming that it is ‘past time that the AWB got real’.

“We note with considerable alarm that there’s such a high increase being imposed on the industry at a time of such commercial pressure,” he said. “3.2 to 4.6 percent is completely out of line with pay settlements in other industries and further threatens employment levels within the industry.”

The NFU estimates that the agriculture industry will be hit to the tune of around £50 million as a result of the wage rises. l

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