Harvard's maintenance workers yesterday approved a new two-year contract which called for a "substantial increase in wages," according to Robert Richardson, former president of the maintenance association.

At the Boston Crafts and Maintenance Council (BCMC) meeting, the two divisions of the maintenance workers--labor grounds and mechanics-stockmen--approved separate contracts by "near unanimous vote," Richardson said.

"There was an excellent turnout for the voting, and hardly anybody expressed disappointment over the provisions," he added. The contract will go into effect tomorrow when it is signed by representatives of the BCMC and the Department of Buildings and Grounds.

The wage increases will be made in three stages and are retroactive to July 28, 1966, when the negotiations over a new contract began.

The workers received an adjustment of 4 per cent in their wages from July, 1966 to July 1967; a 4 1/2 per cent wage increase for the year ending July 28, 1968; and a 5 per cent increment for the final contract period, which extends to December 8, 1969.

Lump Sum

The back wages will be delivered in "a lump sum as soon as possible," John Butler, Harvard's chief negotiator, said. The percentages apply uniformly to the ten different wage scales included in the Labor and Maintenance groups.

Another clause in the new contract guarantees for the first time that the 40-hour week will be on consecutive days, Monday through Friday. It must begin between 7 and 8 a.m. in the morning with one-half hour for lunch. Any work on Saturday or emergency work on Sunday must be payed time-and-one-half. Work scheduled on Sunday is double-time pay.

Weekend Work

In the old contract, work could be scheduled on any five days, not necessarily consecutive. If an employee missed two days of a week scheduled for Monday through Friday, he would have to work over the weekend for regular wages.

The third significant change in the new contract requires management to act upon grievances filed by employees within a specified number of days. The old contract said "within a reasonable amount of time." "This way there can be no hang-up by either party; no stalling tactics can be used," Richardson said.