We have received the following message from our regional office – concerning events being held for the Labour Leadership battle:
Category Archives: General News
National Delegates Conference 2010 – Pre Conference
Introduction
This is a linked series of posts about my experiences of National Delegate Conference 2010. Why a linked series? Well – I want to keep them bite-sized both for the benefit of the reader and so that I can actually get them out on a senisble schedule.
Documents…
We’ve added a new section to our web site. Under the documents menu you will find an increasing number of documents around negotiation, meetings, advice etc.
We don’t have a massive amount there yet but we will be building on this as time goes on.
National Delegates Conference 2010
Well – I’m here at the NDC in Bournemouth and I’m trying to get snippets out to you as quickly as I can. You can see relatively concise news from the event on twitter:
I will try and get a selection of longer reports out as and when I get time but the schedule is pretty hectic.
Local communications regarding national pay negotiations
Today staff received an email from HR with a link to this document (originally in word but converted to pdf to allow as many people as possible to read it) stating the stance of Management at York St John on the currently ongoing national pay negotiations.
We considered there to be a number of issues with the veracity of the information and the manner in which it was conveyed and consequently release the following statement to our members via email. We are aware that a number of our members do not have access to email and thus have made the document and our subsequent statement available on our web site to try and reach as many members as possible.
YSJ UNISON – response to Employee Briefing on current Pay Negotiations
Following the briefing circulated by Human Resources concerning the ongoing pay negotiations, YSJ’s Unison branch would like to clarify the following points for our members:
The real pay offer
The employers have offered a 0.4% increase. As the current rate of inflation is 5.3% this means a significant real-terms pay cut. The cost of your monthly outgoings will increase substantially more than your pay, leaving you noticeably worse off.
Cost of increments and pensions
The argument that the cost of pensions and increments prevents the University from making an acceptable pay offer is disingenuous. York St John has already incorporated all of these additional costs into its financial planning – they are not new burdens to be carried.
In addition the total staff numbers have dropped by 4.2% in the last year, reducing the cost burden even more. Reviews and restructures have further reduced the amount YSJ pays out in increments and pensions.
Further, Unison refutes the argument that the effect of incremental increases on the pay bill should be taken into account during pay negotiations at all. Unlike the private sector (who pay the rate for the job from day one) in the public sector staff start below the full rate and build up reflecting increasing knowledge and skills – arguably providing a short term subsidy for HE employers. (www.unison.org.uk)
Pay increases versus job security
Does accepting a lower pay agreement mean our jobs are more secure? In a word – no. As the briefing document clearly states all decisions linked to job losses are made locally, unrelated to national pay negotiations. The proposed increases have already been factored in to York St John’s Financial Resilience Plan, they do not represent additional finances to be found at the expense of more jobs.
The financial context
YSJ Unison wishes to express its disappointment at the decision of the management to publish this briefing on a day when the media is dominated by alarming references to financial cutbacks. Unspecific references to ‘negative consequences’ to the University are unhelpful and unnecessary. Whilst the financial pressures on the University are real this should not be used as an opportunity to squeeze staff salaries further. Instead, Unison argues it is time to value the hard work of the staff who continue to contribute to the University’s development under such difficult circumstances.
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Pay negotiations are undertaken nationally on behalf of both the management and unions at York St John. You can follow their progress on our local branch page: http://blog.yorksj.ac.uk/unison/category/negotiation/pay/
UNISON HE Issues Strong Advice on Shared Services and Contracting Out
The national HE team are taking the Shared Services and outsourcing trend very seriously. You can read thier advice on the national UNISON web site at the following address:
http://www.unison.org.uk/education/higher/pages_view.asp?did=11048
News from National Pay Negotiations (21/04/2010)
Unfortunately there has been little progress in national pay talks.
The Higher Education Service Group Executive will be meeting next week to discuss the situation and our strategy.
Further information can be found in the attached bulletin.
News from National Pay Negotiations (30/03/2010)
At the New JNCHES meeting on 29 March, UCEA made an offer to explore how a non-consolidated cash sum equivalent to 0.25% of pay bill could be applied.
The employers made no serious attempt to address the other key elements of the joint union claim; for example, nothing on:
- Job security
- Improving the national framework agreement and terms and conditions of employment
- The assimilation of hourly-paid staff to the national agreement
- Proposals to close the gender pay gap
- Proposals for a national system to pay external examiners
Without producing any convincing evidence, the employers asserted that the effect of incremental increases on the pay bill should be taken into account during pay negotiations. This provoked a strong response from the trade unions. Unlike the private sector who pay the rate for the job from day one in the public sector staff start below the full rate and build up reflecting increasing knowledge and skills – arguably providing a short term subsidy for HE employers. The employers negotiated a pay deal in 2003 that clearly accepted increments as part of the structure so to complain now, when they have known and presumably budgeted for such increases, is a little disingenuous. They are looking for fig leaves and this will not wash.
The trade union side unanimously rejected the offer. The employers were asked to rethink their position and come to the next meeting with a credible offer.
Financial Resiliency Planning
Hi,
We don’t have a great deal to tell you, I’m afraid, about the current financial situation. The reason, though, is positive and is based around the fact that the cautious thumbs-up we had from our previous meetings with Management remains and it looks unlikely to change without further cuts to funding.
A number of you will be aware of ongoing restructuring – some of which is related to earlier financial commitments and some is unrelated to the financial planning. We are involved in discussions regard those areas of restructuring and supporting the membership through what must be a time of uncertainty. Meanwhile we continue to engage with Management at a strategic level and to apply political pressure at a national level to avert further cuts to HE spending.
AGM Minutes
As promised – the minutes from our 2010 AGM. If you can any comments/queries etc please do feed them back to one of us.