Hard-pressed Irish construction workers looking to escape the dole queue by seeking work in the UK are being offered pay rates as low as £5 (approximately €6) per hour there, according to a Sunday Tribune survey.

This has prompted some experts to warn that the UK is no longer a viable alternative for such workers as has traditionally been the case during previous downturns. A number of well-known UK-based recruitment websites were last week offering jobs for general labourers.

But in several cases, these had a starting salary of just £5 per hour. This compares with a current basic rate of €14.88 an hour for "construction operatives" agreed in Ireland as part of an industry-wide protocol.

In one instance, a national flooring contractor based in Yeovil said it was looking for labourers to work on a short-term basis with them, for a salary of between £5 and £7.50 (around €9) per hour.

An employer in Downpatrick was offering the same rate of pay for labourers who would be required to operate powertools.

Elsewhere, one Solihull-based employer was last week offering to pay €5.80 (approx €6.95) per hour to labourer assistants or general operatives for the processing of soil from residential properties.

However, rates of pay in the UK can vary significantly, depending on the particular skills which the job involves.

For example, a refurbishment project in Aberdeen was offering a salary of between £8.65 (€10.37 approx) and £9 (€10.79) per hour for general labourers, although this is still significantly below Irish rates.

Eric Fleming, national construction organiser with the Siptu trade union, said he believed the figures showed that a traditional source of employment for Irish construction workers is fast disappearing. Despite the existence of landmark building projects such as the 2012 Olympics and extensions to the London Underground, he said the rates of pay available in the UK were often too low to survive on.

"It says to me that there is no escape clause for Irish people as there was before," he said. "Say a married man goes off there, and takes the minimum rate available, he is trying to pay for accommodation, meet other living expenses, and send money home.

"But I already know people who have been to the UK in search of work, and they say the rates are appalling. You can't live on it."

Last month, the Labour court recommended that construction workers here take a pay cut of 7.5%.

This was significantly less than the 20% cut in wages sought by the Construction Industry Federation, which had argued that employers could no longer afford to pay wage rates negotiated between employers and unions under a registered employment agreement.

Rates of pay in the UK

Job: Labourer assistant/ general operatives processing soil removed from properties
Salary: £5.80 per hour
Location: Solihull

Job: Labourer required short-term for a national industrial flooring contractor
Salary: £5- £7.50 per hour
Location: Yeovil

Job: Experienced labourers required by a leading contractor
Salary: £6.50- £7 per hour
Location: Carrickfergus

Job: Labourers required,duties include operating powertools
Salary: £5 - £7.50 per hour
Location: Downpatrick