About 50,000 workers in the security and contract cleaning sectors are to receive pay increases under new employment regulation orders.

Under the new measures signed on Thursday by Minister for Business and Employment Ged Nash, pay for 30,000 contract cleaning personnel will rise to €9.75 per hour.

Pay for 20,000 security industry staff will increase from €10.01 to €10.75 per hour.

Mr Nash urged employers in the retail, accommodation and hospitality sectors, who have so far not engaged in revised wage-setting mechanisms - known as joint labour committees - in their sectors, to do so.

He said as the economy continued to improve these employers could face a squeeze in their labour forces.

Mr Nash made the announcement of the new employment order covering the security and contract cleaning sectors at the launch of the new Workplace Rations Commission.

This forms the centrepiece of major new reforms to the State’s industrial relations machinery which came into effect on Thursday.