MINISTERS have been urged to establish fair pay agreements to tackle recruitment problems in construction, childcare and the rail industry.

The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) said that scrapping  Thatcher-era industrial relations for collective bargaining was crucial to Labour building 1.5 million new homes and delivering major infrastructure projects — such as a third runway at Heathrow.

In a report published today, the think tank said that fair pay agreements would help tackle recruitment and retention issues facing sectors such as construction, where estimates suggest 225,000 more workers will be needed to meet demand.