Fears as tradesmen hit by 10pc pay cut

Crestfallen craftsmen are having their pay cut by 10 per cent for completed work as firms fight to stay in business in the West Midlands during the building slump.

Self-employed plasterer Derek Carter has just had a 10th skimmed off his weekly fee by a cash-strapped developer.

The father-of-two from Perton, who has more than 30 years experience in the trade, said it was the first time it had happened, but he expected to have his pay slashed again as companies battle to stay afloat.

“There are always ups and downs in this business but I have never seen anything like that before,” the 58-year-old said. “A total of £60 just disappeared from my pay packet without warning.

“The big building firms are having to cut the price of houses to try to sell them and the reduction is being passed straight down the line through the contractor and sub-contractor to me. There have been occasions in the past when I have been told I would have to take a pay cut in future because of difficult trading.

“Then it was up to me to accept the terms if I wanted.

“But this is quite different. A fee had been agreed for the job and then it is cut by 10 per cent after the work has been completed, but there is nothing you can do about it.

There is nowhere else to go. There was no warning and that made me angry, but there are others far worse off in this industry. Taylor Wimpey has just lost 900 staff.”

Last week Mr Carter finished on a building site in Newcastle-under-Lyme, which has been shut down halfway through a planned 12-month development.

“Five years ago there was more work than you could handle and I could have done seven days a week if I wanted but I decided to stop working at weekends,” he said. “I was turning work away until the slowdown started 18 months ago.

“It happened gradually until the last few months when it has fallen like a stone. I am good at my job but I am ill with worry about the future.”

Tony Carroll, policy director of the Black Country Chamber of Commerce, said: “This is a problem that has been going on over the last two years, although I have not been made aware of anything like it recently.

“The industry does not generally like to comment much on this because it does affect their relationships with their contractors.”