The start of next month will see approximately 16,000 security staff statewide receiving pay increments as confirmed by the Minister of State for Business, Employment, and Retail who is due to authorize the latest Employment Regulation Order (ERO) for the industry. As a result of this change, the basic rate for these employees will grow from €12.90 to €14.50 per hour, adding an additional €62.40 to a 39-hour working week.
This adjustment will rectify a previous issue where their salary was just 20 cents above minimum wage following the last ERO, signed into law by former minister, Neale Richmond, in August of the previous year. This previous adjustment, which saw pay rates increase from €11.65 to €12.90 per hour, was the first improvement for these largely contract-based workers had seen in four years.
Trade union representatives indicated that rates in this industry had been left trailing behind other sectors over this period, which had led to recruitment and retention difficulties.
They further made the case that the personnel deserved compensation for the training and job responsibility they undertook. Due to the prior ERO being delayed by a year due to a court case brought by three companies within the sector, negotiations on the current order had begun, though the Minister was not in a position to formally approve this for a minimum of six months after the implementation of the previous order.
On Friday, Emer Higgins, announced the new ERO where she stated that she deeply valued the challenging yet vital work carried out by security industry personnel. “These workers often face significant personal risk to ensure public safety. I also recognise that this is a sector which has undergone significant professionalisation in recent years which requires security workers to have training and qualification requirements to complete their roles.”
The Minister reaffirmed her support for the state’s standard wage negotiation and collaborative bargaining processes and gave thanks to the members of the Joint Labour Committee for Security and the Labour Court for their efforts in delivering this ERO. The newly instituted ERO also enhances conditions within the industry, outlining an unsocial hours payment of no less than €12.60 per shift and a plan for ongoing enhancements in the sector throughout the next year and a half.