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16-Apr-08 11:15 [Asia Pacific]
Australian builders looking to increase pay The main union in New South Wales (NSW) for the building industry is looking to increase the pay of 35,000 workers by 15 per cent.
Claims for the next pay bargaining round were handed to the NSW Master Builders Association by the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union.
Peter McClelland, NSW president of the union's construction division, said: "We are expecting an upturn in the construction industry in NSW for the first time in quite a number of years."
He added that there has also been a flight from the industry in some areas of skilled labour because "we have seen the abolition of site allowances over the last few years under the Howard government".
Over three years the union wants annual pay rises of five per cent and other employee benefits such as travel allowances and workers' compensation top-up insurance premiums.
The Master Builders Association is a not-for-profit organisation which represents the interests of the building and construction industry.
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