The result of the ballot for national strike action in regard to the 2009/10 pay offer is as follows. Further information will be sent following a meeting of the FE committee of the National Executive the Friday.
ARE YOU PREPARED TO TAKE PART IN STRIKE ACTION?
Number of votes cast in ballot: 7699
Number of YES votes: 3780
Number of NO votes: 3912
Number of spoilt ballot papers: 7
Monday 11 January 2010
Wednesday 6 January 2010
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year
After the frenzy of last-minute Christmas shopping and dealing with large numbers of difficult relatives, is it time to relax and look forward to better year ahead?
Apparently not, according to the Guardian newspaper we should prepare to “get ready for the dawning of the age of austerity” where “ballooning budget deficit will usher a prolonged period of belt-tightening over the next decade”.
But how did things get this bad?
The Guardian reported that the “Royal Bank of Scotland racked up the biggest corporate loss in British history last year, survived only thanks to tens of billions of pounds of taxpayers' money, and is axing thousands of jobs” and asked the question “so how could the bank justify its plans to give executives bigger bonuses this year”?
(http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2009/jun/02/further-education-pay-negotiations)
Similarly, the worst abuses of the parliamentary expenses system that included extravagance, sly acquisitiveness and outright criminal fraud were exposed by an investigation by the Telegraph newspaper.
(http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mps-expenses/)
So are the ‘fat cats’ the root of most evil during the midst of the recession? Do those running the government and economy do so only for performance-related remuneration? Is accountability and responsibility severed when you decouple decisions about payment from ownership?
Here at Dearne Valley College we are facing “efficiency savings” and looking at “getting more for less”! Yet, some telling data from general FE and tertiary colleges compiled by the Learning and Skills Council and the AoC make interesting reading.
Between July 2007 and July 2008, average principals' pay rose by 6.5%, while the maximum pay increase for other college staff was 3.2%. The retail price index (RPI) in the same period rose 5% and average UK earnings rose 3.5%. Between July 2002 and July 2008, the average pay increase for principals was 41.6%. The maximum increase for college staff was 20.1% and the RPI rose by 23.1%. Average UK earnings rose 25.1%. It's clear that while FE staff pay has struggled to keep pace with inflation, it is way behind UK average pay rises - and average principals' pay rises are way out in the distance.
The Telegraph newspaper asks “So why not avoid all the arguing by always awarding staff the same pay rise as the principal”?
No doubt there will be a flurry of self-justifying complaints from principals defending their corporate acumen and performance-related remuneration. The fact is, though, that performance-related pay is invariably used to boost principals' pay, but to deny staff incremental progression.
Although there are many other features of the 2009-10 claim submitted by the FE unions, the headline claim is for 6%. The AoC has made an initial offer of a flat 1% with no other considerations. Before querying the size of the claim, people should consider all of the above data.
Public-sector staff are being asked to observe pay constraint during a recession!
That might be acceptable if general FE staff were on the gravy train in the good times, but we clearly weren't.
Meanwhile, colleges will be expected to play a vital role in retraining unemployed people.
And lecturers' pay still lags about 5% behind that of teachers!
(http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mps-expenses/)
UCU members at Dearne Valley College are in dispute and have been campaigning consistently for a pay award that should have been made in 2004. To bring about a successful resolution to the pay dispute more staff need to join the UCU and get behind the campaign.
At the last branch meeting it was confirmed that this College (one of several IOU colleges) was not to be balloted in the forthcoming National pay ballot as there is already a mandate. In the event of a YES vote Dearne Valley College UCU will consider taking action at the same time as National action.
Remember - a 1.5% pay offer by the AoC is significantly less than the 2.3% teachers and Welsh lecturers got and inflation is on the rise again. At this College the pay offer is below 1.5%!
In sum, we know that whoever wins the election major cuts are coming to the public sector. UCU estimates that there will be over £400 million of cuts in FE to come in 2010! We will be in better shape as a union to resist this onslaught if a strong vote for action in the current ballot is delivered.
Apparently not, according to the Guardian newspaper we should prepare to “get ready for the dawning of the age of austerity” where “ballooning budget deficit will usher a prolonged period of belt-tightening over the next decade”.
But how did things get this bad?
The Guardian reported that the “Royal Bank of Scotland racked up the biggest corporate loss in British history last year, survived only thanks to tens of billions of pounds of taxpayers' money, and is axing thousands of jobs” and asked the question “so how could the bank justify its plans to give executives bigger bonuses this year”?
(http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2009/jun/02/further-education-pay-negotiations)
Similarly, the worst abuses of the parliamentary expenses system that included extravagance, sly acquisitiveness and outright criminal fraud were exposed by an investigation by the Telegraph newspaper.
(http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mps-expenses/)
So are the ‘fat cats’ the root of most evil during the midst of the recession? Do those running the government and economy do so only for performance-related remuneration? Is accountability and responsibility severed when you decouple decisions about payment from ownership?
Here at Dearne Valley College we are facing “efficiency savings” and looking at “getting more for less”! Yet, some telling data from general FE and tertiary colleges compiled by the Learning and Skills Council and the AoC make interesting reading.
Between July 2007 and July 2008, average principals' pay rose by 6.5%, while the maximum pay increase for other college staff was 3.2%. The retail price index (RPI) in the same period rose 5% and average UK earnings rose 3.5%. Between July 2002 and July 2008, the average pay increase for principals was 41.6%. The maximum increase for college staff was 20.1% and the RPI rose by 23.1%. Average UK earnings rose 25.1%. It's clear that while FE staff pay has struggled to keep pace with inflation, it is way behind UK average pay rises - and average principals' pay rises are way out in the distance.
The Telegraph newspaper asks “So why not avoid all the arguing by always awarding staff the same pay rise as the principal”?
No doubt there will be a flurry of self-justifying complaints from principals defending their corporate acumen and performance-related remuneration. The fact is, though, that performance-related pay is invariably used to boost principals' pay, but to deny staff incremental progression.
Although there are many other features of the 2009-10 claim submitted by the FE unions, the headline claim is for 6%. The AoC has made an initial offer of a flat 1% with no other considerations. Before querying the size of the claim, people should consider all of the above data.
Public-sector staff are being asked to observe pay constraint during a recession!
That might be acceptable if general FE staff were on the gravy train in the good times, but we clearly weren't.
Meanwhile, colleges will be expected to play a vital role in retraining unemployed people.
And lecturers' pay still lags about 5% behind that of teachers!
(http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mps-expenses/)
UCU members at Dearne Valley College are in dispute and have been campaigning consistently for a pay award that should have been made in 2004. To bring about a successful resolution to the pay dispute more staff need to join the UCU and get behind the campaign.
At the last branch meeting it was confirmed that this College (one of several IOU colleges) was not to be balloted in the forthcoming National pay ballot as there is already a mandate. In the event of a YES vote Dearne Valley College UCU will consider taking action at the same time as National action.
Remember - a 1.5% pay offer by the AoC is significantly less than the 2.3% teachers and Welsh lecturers got and inflation is on the rise again. At this College the pay offer is below 1.5%!
In sum, we know that whoever wins the election major cuts are coming to the public sector. UCU estimates that there will be over £400 million of cuts in FE to come in 2010! We will be in better shape as a union to resist this onslaught if a strong vote for action in the current ballot is delivered.
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