Your February issue carried two full-page advertisements for the Joint Industry Board (JIB), which was congratulating itself on what a good job it had done since 1968.

In the same issue, on page 9, you feature an article headlined ‘Sparks’ pay below national average’.

The rate set by this cost arrangement between employers, Amicus and the JIB is a disgrace, highlighted by the fact that scaffolders earn a higher rate.

In 1968, a qualified electrician could expect to buy a house in Surrey with a mortgage of 2.5 times his annual income.

Today, what would 2.5 the average of £26 952 get you? Well, in Surrey, you would not even get the land for £67 380.

The JIB is more interested in promoting its safety card than it is in the wages and welfare of electricians.

All the JIB has done since 1968 is keep electricians’ rates below those of other skilled trades.

In 1968, the electrician was the highest paid of all the building trades. Sadly, that is not the case today.

Source

Electrical and Mechanical Contractor

Postscript

DJ Kilroy Camberley, Surrey