52
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Red Circle Watch
Currently the red circles are getting to be a rare breed - from last weeks meeting we have re-scored and re-evaluated several roles.
Monday, February 19, 2007
Alan Howard 1949-2007
Some of you may know of Alan Howard - chair of the Amicus National Negotiating Committee
unfortunately he passed away this morning.
I knew Alan from the regional Committee LAUTAC where he had long been an active member subsequently I joined him on the national Committee HENIC. I'm pleased and proud to have known him - he was a staunch person in the old fashioned term and a very good friend indeed. As a rep he was a tremendous example to me - and no doubt others and his successes not just in Kings College but in the wider technician scheme will stand as a lasting tribute to him.
I cannot but sympathise with you at Kings College at this time particularly when he had such good friends and colleagues - not too mention family - and he will be deeply missed. I will remember him particularly for his sense of humour and his sparking wit - he had a turn of phrase that is difficult to master people like him come around all too rarely and at this moment it is extremely difficult to know what to say. Alan would not have been so short of words.
Tony Britton
Alan Howard (1949-2007)
Alan had been unwell for about a month, he had a massive Coronary on
Thursday night unfortunately he did not respond well to treatment
and died in the small hours of this morning (19th Feb).
Alan's family has asked for privacy so please respect this for the moment.
As soon as I have any information with regard to tributes and memorials I will let you know.
If you know of retired members from your institution who should know please pass on the sad news.
King's College 0032 branch will as a mark of respect hold the scheduled Branch meeting at
Guys Campus Hodking Building Committee Room 13:00,
tomorrow Tuesday 20th Feb 2007. Proceedings will commence with a two
minute silence. King's College amicus members receiving this please
attend Alan would not want us to give up in his absence.
On a personally note Alan was a great friend, good comrade and trusted colleague.
He leaves a hole that will be impossible to fill.
We owe it to him to fill as much of the void as we can, the fight goes on.
I will of course pass on the condolences of you all to his wife and
family especially to his twin brother Peter and son James who both
work at Kings.
Yours in deep sadness
Glyn Baker
amicus KCL 0032
for a full obituary see......
Alan Howard Obituary
unfortunately he passed away this morning.
I knew Alan from the regional Committee LAUTAC where he had long been an active member subsequently I joined him on the national Committee HENIC. I'm pleased and proud to have known him - he was a staunch person in the old fashioned term and a very good friend indeed. As a rep he was a tremendous example to me - and no doubt others and his successes not just in Kings College but in the wider technician scheme will stand as a lasting tribute to him.
I cannot but sympathise with you at Kings College at this time particularly when he had such good friends and colleagues - not too mention family - and he will be deeply missed. I will remember him particularly for his sense of humour and his sparking wit - he had a turn of phrase that is difficult to master people like him come around all too rarely and at this moment it is extremely difficult to know what to say. Alan would not have been so short of words.
Tony Britton
Alan Howard (1949-2007)
Alan had been unwell for about a month, he had a massive Coronary on
Thursday night unfortunately he did not respond well to treatment
and died in the small hours of this morning (19th Feb).
Alan's family has asked for privacy so please respect this for the moment.
As soon as I have any information with regard to tributes and memorials I will let you know.
If you know of retired members from your institution who should know please pass on the sad news.
King's College 0032 branch will as a mark of respect hold the scheduled Branch meeting at
Guys Campus Hodking Building Committee Room 13:00,
tomorrow Tuesday 20th Feb 2007. Proceedings will commence with a two
minute silence. King's College amicus members receiving this please
attend Alan would not want us to give up in his absence.
On a personally note Alan was a great friend, good comrade and trusted colleague.
He leaves a hole that will be impossible to fill.
We owe it to him to fill as much of the void as we can, the fight goes on.
I will of course pass on the condolences of you all to his wife and
family especially to his twin brother Peter and son James who both
work at Kings.
Yours in deep sadness
Glyn Baker
amicus KCL 0032
for a full obituary see......
Alan Howard Obituary
Friday, February 16, 2007
Red Circle Watch
72
This site will update as we reduce the number of red circles in the hera scheme
16/02/02
Huge Efforts Reach Agreement
The next meeting of the Hera group is next Tuesday on 20th February. Having reduced the number of red circled posts down - so far - to 72 (from 335) we are confident that this part of the process is drawing to a close.
The new grading boundaries and tweaks of the scoring criteria seem to have benefitted the low paid and although this has been a long drawn out process we seem to be on target to ensure the completion of the project.
Parallel with this is the framework terms and conditions and we are still a long way from reaching agreement with management but we are still confident of getting the support side unions together to resist the change of pay date and other awkward terms. A fuller explanation of thios will be made at the next Branch meeting on Wednesday but I also hope to get a local meeting in the very near future but that may be after the 28th - management have held that date for teh conclusion of the framework negotaitions. As always more details can be obtained from either Nick or myself.
The new grading boundaries and tweaks of the scoring criteria seem to have benefitted the low paid and although this has been a long drawn out process we seem to be on target to ensure the completion of the project.
Parallel with this is the framework terms and conditions and we are still a long way from reaching agreement with management but we are still confident of getting the support side unions together to resist the change of pay date and other awkward terms. A fuller explanation of thios will be made at the next Branch meeting on Wednesday but I also hope to get a local meeting in the very near future but that may be after the 28th - management have held that date for teh conclusion of the framework negotaitions. As always more details can be obtained from either Nick or myself.
Branch Meeting Wednesday 21st February
Notice of Branch Meeting
Date:
Time:
(Please note we now need to start on time, as we may need to be out by
Venue:
Meet in Student Union Bar (If available.
If not check at Reception).
Romford Road
Stratford
Bar is just past the main building entrance in
Refreshments will be provided.
Agenda
1. Apologies
2. Minutes of January 2007 Meeting.
3. Matters Arising.
4. Correspondence.
5. Membership.
6. Merger Ballot.
7. Group Reports.
8. Other Reports.
9. Any Other Business.
If you have not received a copy of the Minutes of the Last Meeting copies will available at this meeting.
I do hope to see you or a member of your group present for this branch meeting.
The Branch likes to encourage members new and old to participate in its activities and members can be assured of a warm welcome. Meetings are a good opportunity for members to update us on what is happening in their workplace, to participate in the debate on current issues and have a drink with friends.
Future 2007 Meeting Dates
February 21st, March 21st, April 18th, May 16th, June 20th, July 18th, - August No Meeting-
September 19th, October 17th, November 21st, December 19th.
(All are third Wednesdays in month)
Branch Secretary: D. Bingham, The Tilings, 6b,
E-MAIL: d.bingham@virgin.net
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Pension News
You thought it was too easy getting a 1% pay rise this month - well here's the first bit taken away ........
LGPS consultation
Publication of summary details of the Government's proposals for the LGPS has been made recently. Full details of the Government proposals can be viewed at www.communities.gov.uk/lgps Consultation is now beginning and what follows is a summary briefing on the proposals. The proposed structure is to apply to both existing and new members after April 2008
The main positives are :
Final salary retained for existing and new members
Improvement to 1/60 accrual (with lump sum by commutation)
Introduction of pensions for nominated dependant partners
Death in service increased to x3 (from x2)
The main negatives :
Average employee contribution increased for 5.8% to 6.3% -
Reduced ill health benefits -
Statutory-based mechanism for sharing future cost pressures (2010 on)
The proposal on employee contributions is that on pay up to £12,000 a contribution of 5.5% is paid and for any pay above £12,000 a contribution of 7.5% is paid. This means contributions are increased for all (6%) members earning over £16,000 A 3 tier ill-health proposal is made.
The top-tier is close to the current benefit level but reserved for people permanently unable to work again rather than permanently unable to do their normal job. The two lower levels involve a reduced level of benefits. Our members identified a cut in ill health benefits as a key concern. No detail on the cost-sharing mechanism is given but the earlier consultation document speculated about a mechanism based around improvements in mortality.
Amicus is currently scrutinising the proposals and may well submit its own proposals during the consultation. There is a co-ordinated joint union position developed via the TUC and representatives will be kept advised on the joint position as well as the outcome of the consultation.
Thursday, February 08, 2007
Hera Update
Following the last steering group meeting the university reckons that it will be in a position to implement HERA sometime from March. The Joint Unions think this may be optimistic as we still have some work to do around the framework agreement but the Role analysis is nearing completion. Some 500 roles have been scored and inevitably there has been some issues with consistency and clarification. The bottom line is that through this process (which is still ongoing) we have reduced the amount of red circled posts down to 82 (as of 2nd February). We have another meeting scheduled for 20th February where we hope there will be a further reduction in these numbers. Overall the scheme is proving effective in differentiating between the different jobs and the improvements in the grade and pay boundaries mean significant changes for many, particularly for the low paid staff.
We will put out some more information about the numbers of green and red circled posts as we get the clarification back
We will put out some more information about the numbers of green and red circled posts as we get the clarification back
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