Employers Altrad and Jenkins & Davies Engineering have agreed to increase bonus payments from 15 pence an hour to £2.06 an hour to workers that are employed under the terms of the National Agreement for the Engineering Construction Industry (NAECI).
The Unite union, representing the workforce, had been pushing for £2.37 an hour and took the workers out on strike last year.
The increase in bonus pay for approximately 130 construction workers at the Valero refinery represents a pay increase of 10.6% for skilled workers and nearly 25% for the lowest paid apprentices.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “This was an important victory for our members employed at Valero. They demonstrated that by being prepared to take strike action and acting in unity, the employers found the money for a significant improvement in their wages. This is further evidence that Unite’s forensic focus on jobs, pay and conditions is delivering substantial financial benefits for members.”
While the Valero dispute has been concluded, there are ongoing national negotiations to resolve similar dispute affecting other NAECI sites, Unite said. If those talks decide a higher bonus payment should be made, than the Valero workforce will receive the higher amount.
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