Master Electricians slams ETU wage claim

The Electrical Trades Union (ETU) is seeking a wage increase of 18% over three years which will cover 10,000 Victorian electrical contractors.

However, Master Electricians Australia says the wage claim will “cripple” the electrical contracting industry, leading to job losses.

According to Jason O’Dwyer, Master Electricians’ manager of workplace relations, an 18% pay rise would add close to $27,000 to the cost of employing an electrical worker on a construction project over the three years of the proposed deal.

The pay increase would place a burden on small businesses without improving productivity, Master Electricians says.

According to Master Electricians, the proposed claim would see an annual salary of $140,868 increase to $167,776 (based on a 36-hour work week with 10 hours’ overtime).

“This is an outlandish and irresponsible wage claim from the ETU which can only be viewed as a political ploy designed to spark a fight with the recently elected federal government,” O’Dwyer said.

“The only possible outcome from a claim such as this would be that businesses were forced to lay off personnel in order to make ends meet. The unions clearly want to get tough in their dealings with the federal government and cause as much political pain as possible. But they should not use business owners and their staff as pawns in that fight.

“A small business with just 15 workers would be hit with an increase in wages costs of more than $400,000 per year as a result of this ridiculous claim. Most businesses in that situation would have no option but to cut their staff numbers to make ends meet.”

Master Electricians is calling on the ETU to forego its current campaign in favour of one with a “sensible, sustainable claim that includes a realistic wage increase and avenues for genuine productivity gains”.