New body meets to discuss union pay claim

<p>The first full meeting of new JNCHES to discuss the TU side pay claim 2013/14 took place on 23 April. UNISON and the other HE unions had previously presented our joint claim for 2013/14.<br /> <br />The claim called for a percentage increase on all pay spine points of at least RPI (Feb 2013 RPI was 3.2%) on all salary points plus an additional percentage increase to start to address the real term reduction in pay over the last four years.</p>
<p>There is a call to address the issue of low pay in the higher education sector by achieving a living wage for all staff. This should be achieved through the removal of the bottom two spine points on the national pay spine.</p>
<p>On London weighting – An increase in the minimum allowance to£4,000.</p>
<p>There have been positive proposals from UCEA on a range of equalities issues.</p>
<p>The unions argued that the claim was justified as the settlement for 2012/13 amounted to a further erosion of members’ pay. After a fourth consecutive year of pay restraint, our members are reporting real falls in income and difficulties in maintaining their standard of living.<br /> <br />We also called on universities to commit to paying a living wage to all staff, regardless of their employment status. We argued strongly that it was affordable and justified, and that universities should strive to be socially responsible employers within their communities.<br /> <br/>At the conclusion of the first negotiating meeting, the employers made an initial offer of 0.5% on all pay points and London weighting in pre-1992 institutions. They stated they do not have a mandate to remove or extend pay points from the current scale. The employers wish to continue discussion on other pay related matters to address inequality issues and asked for further details on the other elements of the claim.</p>
<p>Although the unions did not formally respond to this offer it was made clear that it was well below the trade unions expectations.</p>
<p>More information will be included in the pay circular Higher Education Pay Circular 01/HE/2013.</p>
<p><a class=“amax-link-ConCategory-2447 amax-site-1″ href=“server.php?controller=category&amp;action=showCategory&amp;contentId=2447”>UNISON in education</a></p>