Lowest paid war grave workers now on minimum of £15 per hour

Unite, the UK’s leading union, has secured a pay rise of 8.4 per cent for the lowest paid Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) workers – taking their hourly wage to £15 per hour.

All workers will receive pay rises of between 3.5 per cent and 8.4 per cent on basic pay.

The deal, which will be back paid to July, also includes a £450 non-consolidated payment for all workers, plus an extra half a day of annual leave and travel allowance improvements.

CWGC gardeners, senior gardeners, office staff, deputy regional managers and stone masons will benefit from the deal.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “This pay deal was only achieved through the dedication and hard work of Unite’s CWGC reps. It’s another good win for Unite in delivering better jobs, pay and conditions for our members.”

The CWGC maintains over 12,000 war grave and memorial locations across the UK commemorating around 183,000 casualties.

Unite national officer for food, drink and agriculture, Pat Mcilvogue, said: “The message from this deal is clear: When workers stand together in Unite, they deliver real improvements to their wages and working lives.”

ENDS

For media enquires ONLY contact senior Unite communications officer Ryan Fletcher on 07849 090215 or 020 3371 2065.

Email: ryan.fletcher@unitetheunion.org

Unite is Britain and Ireland’s largest union with members working across all sectors of the economy. The general secretary is Sharon Graham.