Catering Review Now Under way

Following the outsourcing of security it seems that the Catering Services are now the next ones in the firing line.

A draft report from the russell partnership has just been published   (including 11 pages of staff and student comments!) it boils down to a reccomendation of outsourcing.

The trade unions will be committed to the process of fighting to keep UEL Catering in House.

There is a meeting tomorrow with management and we'll be posting more information as we get it.

where did they get the idea from I wonder ?

see  MP's and outsourcing

Vice Chancellor Pay Survey

Whilst our members struggle on being offered £150 you will be pleased to note that this austerity package is not restricted to all members of staff

You will  be interested in the news in the Guardian today regarding Vice Chancellors pay awards  in "elite" universities. 

VC Pay Data

Estates Members Survey

We are collecting information about the pay, terms and conditions of our members working as estates and maintenance staff in Higher Education. It will take just 5 to 10 minutes to fill in but your information helps us to build up a picture of what is happening nationally so that we can campaign better in the Higher Education sector for you.

You can complete the survey by clicking here: http://www.questback.com/unitetheunion/highereducation

If you do not work in estates and maintenance please forward this onto the appropriate Unite representative or member for them to complete http://www.questback.com/unitetheunion/highereducation

If for any reason this link does not work for you then just copy and paste into your browser http://www.questback.com/unitetheunion/highereducation

We have also attached a hard copy of this survey for reps and members who do not have easy access to the internet.

The survey will be open until Friday 10th February http://www.questback.com/unitetheunion/highereducation

Many thanks

Letter to Sister Trade Unions

January 16, 2012

To All Trade Union National Officers covering Higher Education

Dear Colleagues

I have today copied you a letter that I have written to Jocelyn Prudence, Chief Executive, UCEA, advising that Unite intends to continue its dispute with UCEA on the 2011 pay and related items.

It is the intention of Unite members in the higher education sector to maintain the dispute with UCEA by continuing to raise the inadequacy of the UCEA 2011 pay offer when set against the prevailing RPI and the below inflation offers over the last three years.

It is noticeable that the recent Government commissioned review of public sector pay carried out by Will Hutton concluded as one of its findings that the gap between the highest and lowest paid staff was at its greatest in higher education.

You will know also that the work of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation found that in order to survive on a living wage in the UK in 2011 a single person needs to earn at least £15,000 a year before tax in 2011, to afford a minimum acceptable standard of living. A couple with a single earner and two children need at least £31,600.

The starting salary on scale point 1 was £13203 on the previous scale and even after the latest imposition by UCEA only rises to £13353. This shows the inadequacy of the UCEA pay scales.

Unite members in higher education will continue to press the case for better pay. We hope that your union members will assist us.

Unite intends to raise the profile of pay in higher education. Unite will take the matter on by lobbying or if necessary picketing at higher education workplaces and events.

This letter is a request not to cross Unite picket lines and to join in any organised events designed to raise the profile of the poor pay offers in higher education over the last 3 years.

Unite invites your higher education negotiating committee to join with us on planning how the joint unions in the sector can challenge UCEA on its poor pay offers.

I would be grateful if you can advise whether you and your members are willing to assist?

I look forward to your reply.

Yours sincerely

 Mike Robinson

 National Officer

­ Education

 Unite

Letter to UCEA

Ms Jocelyn Prudence Chief Executive UCEA 3rd Floor Woburn House 20 Tavistock Square London WC1H 9HU

Dear Jocelyn

2011 Pay and related matters

This letter is to advise you that last week the Unite national education industry committee again considered the final offer on pay made by UCEA in July 2011 and contained in your email to trade union colleagues on the 5^th January 2012.

As you will know there was an attempt made using ACAS at a meeting on the 15^th December to resolve the dispute on pay and related matters that exists between us.

The ACAS brokered meeting did not resolve the dispute.

The outcome of that meeting and our exchange of correspondence were also considered by the Unite national education industry committee.

This letter is to advise you the Unite national education industry committee voted to continue the dispute and to consider any other appropriate action that Unite members can take to continue to press that the offer of £150 on to salary scales is inadequate when set against the 2011 RPI and other below inflation settlements made over the last 3 years.

I will be in discussions with the Unite national education industry committee on other appropriate action and may communicate with you in due course.

Yours sincerely

Mike Robinson

National Officer

Education Sector

Unite the Union

HE Pay Ballot

Please take the time to read the attached documents – they explain why we are having a ballot on this year’s pay offer (this is also attached)  as is a paper ballot form that you are welcome to use and send back to me before Friday 9^th September.

I encourage all members to think most seriously before voting – we are hoping to hold meetings at both Stratford (Tuesday) and Docklands (Wednesday) as  it may well be worth considering other issues before you vote You will know of course that we have submitted a response to the security Review and are awaiting the outcome of that . Some of you will already be disappointed with the Olympic strategy document and others have issues ranging from restructuring to voluntary severance. All of these I believe are connected via Managements decision making processes and can therefore be affected by a positive response to a single issue.

Please bear in mind that at the moment it is a CONSULTATIVE ballot and the better the response the better our arguments will be

I am writing to you to advise on the outcome of pay bargaining for staff working in Higher Education Universities and Colleges and your Employer subscribing to the University and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA).

UCEA on behalf of your Employer have made an offer on pay for 2011. The offer is a lump sum worth £150. The offer is a consolidated payment, that means it goes on to salary scales for those on the 51 point pay spine.

UCEA calculate the offer is worth 0.5% of the total HE pay bill in subscribing Higher Education Institutions (HEI’s).

The full offer is described in the UCEA offer letter attached.

There are other aspects included in the negotiations but nothing major has emerged from those additional items.

Your Unite negotiators considered the offer at a meeting of the Unite Education National Industry Committee on the 19^th July. They considered the offer against the current inflation rate of 5%. The offer is worth 0.5% in general but it is worth more to the very low paid as a percentage of salary.

The offer also includes a marginal improvement to those HEI’s who pay an agreed London Weighting in post 92 HEI’s. The increase has been calculated as worth 0.5%  in those places.

HE negotiators also noted that in recent years the offers from UCEA,

0.5% in 2009 against an inflation rate of around 3%,

0.4% in 2010 against an inflation rate of 4% and

0.5% against an inflation rate of 5%.

They noted that in real terms pay for those on the 51 point pay spine will have reduced by over 10% in terms of purchasing power over a three year period.

The negotiators are therefore recommending the offer is rejected.

The reason why they are recommending rejection is because sector pay and any increases are not keeping up with inflation and the purchasing power of  pay is falling behind. In order to reverse this trend the negotiators want to force the Employers back to the negotiating table and try to improve the offer.

Other unions are consulting on the offer as well.  Other unions are expected to reject the offer.

If a majority of Unite members in each HEI vote to accept the offer then UCEA will be contacted and the offer accepted on their behalf.

If the offer is rejected by a majority of Unite members in each HEI then the next step would be consideration of a formal industrial action ballot that is required by law before a union can call upon you to take any industrial action.

If the offer is rejected in your HEI and an industrial action ballot is called you would be contacted again and an industrial action ballot could be sent to your home after the consultation ballot has been counted and the result declared.

The pay consultation ballot is open to you to return your vote up to 9^th September 2011.

This is an important ballot about pay in higher education.

It is important that you vote and do not abstain otherwise your wishes are not included. Please VOTE to accept or reject. Do not throw the voting paper away. Instead record your vote by returning the ballot paper to your Unite ballot organiser.

If you have any queries on this ballot or your eligibility please contact Vera Titmus on 02476-227522 or email vera.titmus@unitetheunion.org

Yours sincerely

Mike Robinson

National Officer

HE Negotiations

Unite

FULL AND FInAL OFFER – STRICTLY Without prejudice

New JNCHES Negotiations 2011-12: UCEA’s Approach

On behalf of HEIs participating in the 2011-12 negotiations, UCEA sets out the employers’ approach for the year ahead below. 

This year’s negotiating round takes place against a complex and challenging economic and sector backdrop. HEIs face a difficult funding settlement in 2011/12 and an uncertain future due to significant changes to HE funding in England and austerity measures in the devolved administrations.

UCEA’s Approach

We have considered the key elements of the trade unions joint claim as follows:

·    Pay: Employers offer an increase of £150 on all points on the JNCHES pay spine.*

·    London weighting: We are able to make a recommendation, in line with previous practice, of an increase equivalent to 0.5%, to Post-92 HEIs which have retained separate London weighting.

·    Equality: Employers agree that assessing the impact of the final report from the Equality Working Group is important. While the report has only recently been disseminated, we are content to undertake a follow up survey in 6 to 12 months looking at usefulness of the publication and its impact on practice at HEIs.

·    Family friendly issues: There is existing JNCHES guidance on Work-life balance which we are willing to update to reflect legislative and policy changes relating to, inter alia, paternity leave and flexible working.

·    Pay framework concerns: Employers offer to further update the pay data in the publication (Pay in Higher Education) that followed from the joint work in the Pay Framework and Data Research Working Group. UCEA propose that the update will be undertaken by UCEA officers with the data to be scrutinized by a small data group consisting of two employer representatives, a support staff representative and an academic staff representative.

·    Training and development: The Training and Development Initiative from the 2010/11 negotiations represents a positive way forward in addressing the requests for action in this area by trades unions. Discussions are already underway to form a group to work on developing an enabling framework. Employers have sought more clarity on the specific request for a technical group in the TU claim.

Workforce Change and Job Security

Employers note the conclusion of the Sustainability Issues Working Group and welcome the prospect of publishing the compendium of case studies on workforce planning and organisational change.

Other claim elements

Requests to extend / delete points from the pay spine, nationally determine pay for external examiners, and assimilate hourly paid staff are not supported by the UCEA membership as they are considered matters for local determination.

Concluding comments

We recognise that the employers’ response on pay does not meet the request for an offer with reference to RPI as requested in the TU claim. Employers, however, are committed to continuing joint working on key issues during a financially difficult and uncertain climate for HEIs.

We hope our trade union colleagues will now give this final offer fair consideration and that member views are sought at an early stage.

* This is equivalent to a 0.5 per cent increase on the overall pay bill.

11 July 2011

HIGHER EDUCATION CONSULTATIVE BALLOT ON THE 2011 PAY CLAIM