Union-powered pay deal

Following a Unite organising campaign, 6000 workers at Western Power Distribution have secured an inflation beating pay deal of an extra ÂŁ1260 a year on average for each worker, followed by another inflation beating deal in 2019.

The deal means thousands of Western Power employees working across the South West, Wales and the Midlands will benefit from the certainty of two consecutive years of above inflation (RPI) pay.

Workers will receive a 4.2 per cent pay increase from April 1, 2018 followed by an increase set at 0.5 per cent above the retail price index from April 2019. Workers are guaranteed a minimum of 3 per cent in 2019.

The deal represents a massive vote of confidence for their unions which negotiated an industry leading pay deal at a time when official figures show average total wages were up by just 2.5 per cent across the economy.

“This is a union powered pay deal for thousands of energy workers,” said Unite regional coordinating officer Matt Tipper. “The deal means two years of inflation beating pay increases for thousands of workers based across the South West, Wales and the Midlands.

“A worker on an average salary will get an extra £1260 in their pay packets this year, followed by another inflation beating increase in 2019. The deal is clear proof of the benefits of having Unite in the workplace to power your pay.”

Western Power Distribution is the company responsible for electricity distribution in the Midlands, South West and Wales. The business serves over 7.8m customers and employs over 6,000 workers.

Over a thousand workers at Pirelli Tyres also received an inflation busting 4.5 per cent pay increase this month (February) which means an extra ÂŁ1,500 for a typical production worker.

Unite has launched a powerful online tool to help workers secure a fair share of company profits. Unite’s new online tool will mean that in just a few minutes, union reps can generate a professional pay claim.

At the click of a mouse the tool allows union reps to gather the latest up-to-date information from Companies House, the Office for National Statistics and the union’s own database containing the details of tens of thousands of pay deals.

The Pay Claim Generator was designed as part of Unite’s industrial strategy entitled Work, Voice, Pay which is about empowering union members by giving them the tools and support in the workplace to help them win at work.