Blue Circle strikes job deal

Britain's biggest cement manufacturer has struck a ground-breaking deal which gives its 2,000 workforce a job security guarantee for up to five years.

In a notoriously volatile sector, Blue Circle has also agreed a "framework" arrangement for pay as part of an accord which was yesterday hailed as "agenda- setting" by senior Labour Party politicians. It was thought to be the first such agreement in the construction sector.

The deal gives most employees inflation-plus increases for three years, but with a pay freeze next year for distribution workers.

The inflation-proofed agreement awards skilled employees, production workers and white collar staff an increase of 0.25 per cent above the retail price index, giving them a rise of 2.95 per cent from 1 January this year.

Their agreement - guaranteeing that there will be no compulsory redundancies - lasts an initial three years, but can be "rolled over".

As part of a separate five-year deal, distribution workers, mainly lorry drivers, have been awarded 3.5 per cent plus pounds 200 this year and a promise that the working week will be cut by one hour in return for improved productivity. Next year, however, the Transport and General Workers' Union has agreed to a pay freeze.

Thereafter a pay review structure will take into account pay levels elsewhere among road hauliers. Modest one-off payments will be made when Blue Circle drivers are seen to earn more than the average among large companies and a traditional "consolidated" rise when they have fallen behind the going rate.

Lorry drivers' leaders have been assured that the distribution function will not be "contracted out". The drivers have agreed to improve "customer care" and to the introduction of new technology.

Ross Dunn, personnel director at Blue Circle Cement, said the increased flexibility afforded by the deals would maximise production. "We now have commitment from employees without fear," he said.

Allan Black, national officer at the GMB general union, said the accord was built on job security, which his members had been keen to prosecute, rather than increased pay.

While the cement group, which commands 50 per cent of the UK market, posted a 12 per cent increase in its interim profits to pounds 116m, it experienced a 21 per cent drop in taxable returns to pounds 24m from its British cement operation.