Following this year’s negotiations, agricultural workers in the UK will receive a weighted wage increase of 2.6 per cent.  

From October, workers of grades two and above will receive an increase of 2.8 per cent, to £6.96 per hour, and grade one workers will see a 1.8 per cent rise to £6.21; this is in line with the National Minimum Wage, which will rise to £6.19 for workers aged 21 and over in October.

However, the increase remains below the rate of inflation, which stood at 3.5 per cent last month, according to the Office for National Statistics.

The Agricultural Wages Board, which negotiates rates of pay on behalf of agricultural workers, including minors and seasonal workers, was a victim of the current government’s ‘bonfire of the quangos.’ The coalition government made the decision to scrap the board in 2010, although ministers have yet to set a time frame for dissolving the board.  

At the AWB negotiations, which concluded yesterday, employers’ interests are represented by the NFU and workers are represented by Unite the Union; the board also includes government appointed representatives who are intended to serve as independent arbitrators.

Tweet