Pay negotiations
Amicus National Sector Conference
Pensions White Paper
New Survey Shows Necessity to Close the Gender Pay Gap in Ireland
TUC give world cup sportswear the red card
Pay Line
Union Learning Representatives Online; Application form
Age Discrimination Regulations
Pay negotiations
UK university pay negotiations appear to be reaching a conclusion this month with all the unions taking the UCEA offer back to their members. The offer represents an increase for most staff of 13.1% over the three year period 2006/2008. For those on low pay who elect to take lump sums in August 2006 (£515) and May 2008 (£420) instead of the percentage offers the value of the proposed uplift is worth between 13.1% and 15.5% depending which point on the spine members are on. HENIC is recommending that members accept the offer but the final decision will be made after 17 th July 2006 and members have been consulted. For more information on the offer see:
http://www.amicustheunion.org/default.aspx?page=4083
Amicus National Sector Conference
This month saw Amicus’ National Sector Conference in Scarborough take place. The conference saw representatives from across the country come together to discuss policy for the sector. The conference elected a new Nation Sector Committee as well as representatives to go forward to Amicus National Policy conference next year and the TUC. National Officer Mike Robinson said that “the conference was a great success and gave us a firm mandate to continue working for a better deal for members in the higher education sector.†The full report, including an up-to-date list of National Committee representatives will be out in the next month.
Pensions White Paper
The government’s new pensions White Paper was finally published last month. Amicus has given it a cautious welcome as it includes many of Amicus’ proposals for change such as the return to the linkage of the state pension with average earnings and compulsion through a National Pensions Saving Scheme. It does however include plans to rise the pension age to 68 over the next forty years.
For a detailed summary of all the key proposals and Amicus’ reaction visit:
http://www.amicustheunion.org/Default.aspx?page=3953
New Survey Shows Necessity to Close the Gender Pay Gap in Ireland
Figures contained in the Central Statistics Office (CSO) National Employment Survey showed average hourly male earnings at €17.74 in Ireland , with female rates at just €14.93 per hour. Female hourly earnings were just 84% of those for males, the CSO survey showed.
Assistant General Secretary Sally Anne Kinahan of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions said that “Congress has made the gender pay gap a priority in the current talks and have proposed that any new agreement should see a progressive closing of the gap, over the life of any agreement.
“These figures demonstrate the urgency that attaches to finally closing that gap, both in terms of equality and, for employers, in terms of enlightened self-interest. In a tight labour market where every effort is being made to attract more women into the workforce it is obvious that decent, equal pay would be a major inducement,†Ms Kinahan said.
The survey also served to reinforce the Congress position on training and upskilling of the workforce, as it showed a clear correlation between higher skills and higher pay.
TUC give world cup sportswear the red card
A new TUC report released last month give damning verdict on the working conditions of factory workers producing this year’s world cup sports gear. ‘Sweet FA: Football associations, workers’ rights and the World Cup ‘ shows that factory workers in the developing world are being paid poverty-level wages, facing terrible working conditions and could be sacked if they took strike action.
In their report the TUC in conjunction with Labour Behind the Label called on the world’s football associations to insert clauses in the contracts they negotiated with the sportswear manufacturers who sponsored their national teams that would make sure factories had decent working conditions. TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said: “An industry worth billions should be able to ensure basic rights and a decent living wage for all its workers.â€
A similar report produced by Oxfam further highlights the problem. They show that none of the twelve top sportswear manufacturers were shown to meet minimum labour conditions in their factories. Kelly Dent, Oxfam International spokesperson said “Workers’ right to form unions is crucial to achieving the big improvements needed on the factory floor but many brands are still not willing to play ball.â€
http://www.tuc.org.uk/extras/sweetfa.pdf
Pay Line
Amicus is continuing to create its Pay Line database of information regarding the pay and terms and conditions of all the organisations where Amicus has members. If you need to find out comparative information about salary scales in other organisations, regional allowances, maternity and paternity leave and a myriad of other agreements that would be useful when undertaking negotiations with management, then visit Pay Line at the Amicus web site under the My Amicus banner. Please continue to send copies of your current pay scales, terms and conditions etc to Labour Research Department who are compiling the database and always inform them of any salary settlements. To provide LRD with agreements either email to lemery@lrd.org.uk or send to
Lewis Emery, LRD, 78, Blackfriars Road , London , SE1 8HF.
Union Learning Representatives Online; Application form
Union Learning Representatives (ULR) play a crucial role in promoting learning in the workplace. They are increasingly involved in representing the individual collective training and learning needs of their colleagues.
The TUC’s ULR course provides Union Learning Representatives with the skills and knowledge that will enable them to successfully organize around learning in the workplace.
The Union Learning Representative course is available as a 48-hour online course.
Age Discrimination Regulations
The DTI has produced guidance on the Age Discrimination Regulations which will come into force on October 2006. Follow the link to gain access to the Fact Sheets.
Amicus negotiators’ guidelines on age will be published in the near future which will be an aid to representatives and shop stewards on promoting equality in relation to age and ensuring that your employer is complying with the regulations.
Amicus has received a number of enquiries from negotiators in relation to the impact of the age discrimination regulations on benefits, redundancy schemes and retirement age at work. The regulations differ from other discrimination legislation in that there is scope for the justification of direct age discrimination. This means that a benefit that would appear to be discriminatory on the grounds of age may be justifiable. If an employer is attempting to downgrade any benefits, redundancy schemes or make changes to retirement ages as a result of the age discrimination regulations please contact your Amicus Officer for legal advice.
This e-bulletin has been produced by James Lazou, Research Officer for the Higher Education sector. If you have any news items or stories you would like included in the bulletin please contact James at James.Lazou@amicustheunion.org