Horticulture workers in the UK are at last to benefit from a graded career structure thanks to a new agreement reached by the Agricultural Wages Board and employers and employees representatives.

The two sides, sitting on the Agricultural Wages Board, agreed to a new six-grade structure to create a wage differential between the previous standard and craft grades. The new Grade 3 will reward workers for developing higher skill levels.

The two sides also came to a financial agreement on the rate of increase in the hourly rate for all six grades. "This is a very positive settlement," said Richard Hirst, chairman of the National Farmers' Union's board for horticulture. "It sends a very clear message that we are creating a career structure with recognised steps that employees can go through to improve their earning capacity." The new rates for agricultural workers will be: Grade 1 £5.05 per hour - differential rates for under 18s, under 17s and under 16s are maintained, - Grade 2 £5.58 per hour; Grade 3 £5.91 per hour; Grade 4 £6.58 per hour; Grade 5 £6.98 per hour;and Grade 6 £7.53 per hour.

Robert Pascall, co-opted on the AWB to represent soft and top fruit growers said he was very pleased with the settlement. "It is a win-win situation for employers and employees, that makes it easier for those, such as soft-fruit growers, who employ large numbers of itinerant labour," said Pascall. "There was a clear need for this because we were at the stage where we either import labour or export the industry."

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