UNISON’s principles of proportionality and fair representation means that some seats on elected bodies, including the NEC, are reserved for women and low-paid members, so that the make-up fairly represents the wider union.
The definition of “low paid” reflects the median gross weekly earnings for all jobs (full time or part time) and is revised each year.
The median gross weekly earnings figure for 2017/18 has been calculated in the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings at £448.60, a 2.3% increase on last year.
This means the cut-off wage for election to reserved (low pay) seats in the union is now £9.94 an hour.