- We will continue to provide our customers with a safe and reliable gas network throughout any action
- Less than 45% of operational field force voted in favour of industrial action
- Pay offer of 6.08% over two years, whilst giving our newest workforce significant changes to terms & conditions following feedback from operational field force
- We have honoured our commitment to pay entry level colleagues a minimum of £10 per hour, to ensure they are paid above the Real Living Wage, despite the pay offer not being accepted
Martin Rimmer, Chief of People stated:
“We are disappointed that an agreement was not reached with the GMB regarding the balanced whole package pay deal we have offered our operational field force.
“We would like to assure our customers that we will continue to provide them with a safe and reliable gas network throughout any action.
“Whilst the GMB has concentrated on asking for a higher pay increase, more than the 6.08% pay increase over two years that we have offered, they have not taken into consideration the whole pay package. Especially the pay increase to our lowest paid colleagues to a minimum of £10 per hour, ensuring that they are paid above the Real Living wage. We also gave £750 lump sum payment in January to our field force and have offered significant changes to the terms & conditions of some contracts based on colleagues’ feedback.
“We believe in fair and decent pay. In 2021, on average our operational Field Force colleagues earned over £44,500, with our qualified engineers earning over £47,000. Had the pay offer been accepted, based on our 2021 information, qualified engineers would earn on average over £50,000.
“The pay review and negotiations had been productive over the past 18 months, with the majority (c. two thirds) of our workforce agreeing the pay increase, and this has been paid to them.
“Despite the rejection of the pay deal, we have implemented the pay increase to our lowest paid to a minimum of £10 per hour, ensuring that they are paid above the Real Living wage. We believe this is the right thing to do.
“Whilst all of our colleagues will receive a 6.08% pay increase, the impact of the £10 an hour minimum wage means that 37.5% of colleagues on our new contract will receive more than a 13.9% pay increase over the two years from June 2021, if the pay deal is accepted. This is in addition to the £750 lump sum payment made in January 2022 to our field force and staff colleagues.
“It is disappointing that an agreement could not be reached on the fair pay deal and the broader package offered to colleagues.”
Cadent’s pay deal
1. Measurable increase in base pay of 6.08% over two years for the entire operational field force population as a minimum, equivalent monetary value between £1,495 and £3,227 increase.
2. Significant increase in base pay for the lowest paid colleagues ensuring a minimum of £10 per hour from April 2022 increasing to £10.40 in July 2022. (This is significantly more than the Real Living wage of £9.90 and National Living wage of £9.50.)
3. We have listened to our colleagues on our newer contract and significant changes have been made to the terms & conditions based on their feedback.
4. As part of the pay deal we made the commitment to pay £750 to our colleagues in recognition of the hard work and dedication. This was paid unconditionally in January 2022.
What does this mean to the operational field force salary?
Based on 2021 figures, the average gross pay of a qualified engineer in 2021 was over £47,000. On acceptance of our pay deal from 2022 (fixed & variable pay rates), the average gross pay of our qualified engineer would be over £50,000.
Taking into account the pay offers for 2021 and 2022, all operational field force colleagues will receive 6.08% as a minimum increase over the two-year period. The two-year pay offer in January 2022 provides 37.5% of colleagues on the new contract a minimum of 13.9% pay increase over the negotiating period.
Significant changes have been made to the new contract’s terms and conditions following feedback from colleagues.
ENDS