Damien English TD, Minister for Business, Employment and Retail, has approved an Employment Regulation Order for the Security Industry, which provides for a pay increase for the sector from 1 September, 2021.

The Order which will become effective from 1 September 2021 revokes the one that was in place for the sector since 1 June 2017 and provides for a new pay rate of €12.05 per hour which applies from 1 September 2021 with further increases to €12.50 per hour from 1 June 2022 and €12.90 per hour from 1 June 2023.

The Minister said:

“I am very pleased to approve this Employment Regulation Order which I will sign to bring into effect on September 1st, 2021. Whilst the proposals from the Labour Court originally indicated that this increase could be scheduled from June 1st, 2021, I have decided to authorise the increases from the later date of September 1st, 2021. This is to ensure that workers and employers have adequate notice of the changes and owing to the COVID-19 public health restrictions in place which impacts on many businesses in Ireland as we continue in our efforts to suppress the virus.

“It will see the pay of security industry workers increase from September 1st, 2021 with a further increase on June 1st, 2022 and again in 2023.

“I would like to thank the members of the Joint Labour Committee, the Labour Court and those interested parties who submitted submissions as part of the public consultation for their contributions to this process. This process sits very much within the context of Ireland’s voluntarist system of industrial relations.

“The Security Industry Joint Labour Committee is a good example of how effective the reformed Joint Labour Committee system can be when representatives of employees and employers can agree a commonality of purpose in a sector.

“I believe that for all workers, the advantage of Joint Labour Committees is that they see fair terms and conditions such as wage rates, sick pay etc. agreed and given effect by an Employment Regulation Order, while for some employers, the advantage of the system, based as it is on the principle of self-governance, means that they can agree and set minimum pay and conditions, agree on work practices which are custom-made to their industry – a flexibility which cannot be achieved by primary legislation.”

Commenting on the announcement, Gill O’Riordan, Vice President of the Irish Security Industry Association (ISIA), Chair of its Guarding Division and an ISIA employer representative on the Security JLC stated, “the ISIA welcomes the announcement from government that the Minister intends to sign the ERO, effective from the September 1st 2021.  The implementation date is pragmatic and allows clients of the security industry to prepare for the cost increase.  The ERO is a critical instrument that allows for minimum terms and conditions to be applied within the security industry and one which our members fully support.”