Chair Update - 16/05/09

Hi everyone, all being well it should be my first day back from my recent operation on the 17th May; I won’t bore you with the details. I do want to say thank you though for all the phone calls, cards and get well messages I have received.

I feel a bit of a fraud regarding my branch duties, since being re-elected in late February, I have not spent that much time at work. I had 3 and half weeks holiday to take and had just returned from leave a few days, before being sidelined again for nearly a month. So from tomorrow I am going to cross my fingers and anything else I can find. It looks as though we are going to be kept busy in the university, reading the latest news and also at National level regarding the latest disappointing pay offer.

Branch issues:

 No doubt all of you will have read the latest Chief Executive Geoff Hitchens report on the need to look at jobs across the university, this does come as a complete surprise following the assurances from the last JCC held where the finance director was present and other senior managers and indeed the open meetings with staff held with Geoff where a positive position was reported on our finances. The media have been in touch with both Janet Carr and me; we have deferred making any comment till we have met senior management which we hope to do this week. One thing we will be strongly opposing is any thoughts of any! Not even one! Compulsory redundancy .Which has always been the most important policy issue at this branch. We are also meeting PACS consultancy on the 17th to discuss the maintenance review of the Estates craft staff and will be looking to work with them to improve services but will also be looking for similar assurances on existing staff security. UNISON is used to dealing with change, and will continue to work with management on that basis. We will be keeping you regularly updated on issues arising and holding meetings with any staff affected to update and seek you views.

Return on the 125 - Update
(A report from the Higher Education Service Group meeting) 

The main item discussed in a meeting that lasted over 8 hours was the JNCHES negotiating machinery. This is now up in the air with UCU deciding to ballot their members with the results to be announced to their executive on 29th Feb 2008 whether to accept the deal on the table or reject and possibly walk away from national bargaining
How things can change so rapidly from what I thought and wrote in my last report in December .It was agreed by negotiators of all partner unions to recommend the latest proposals after the meeting in late December and we moved a considerable way to accommodate the UCU membership mandate, as we strongly believe we are stronger together, stood “shoulder to shoulder” than at odds with each other. All support staff unions endorsed the deal .The academics the following week then dropped a bombshell as it was expected they would follow suit as they had a mandate from their membership given at an earlier conference to at all costs retain national bargaining.
As well as the other unions been in shock, so were the employers who had announced on their web site that a deal had been struck .The government also got involved and is waiting for the ballot result before sanctioning funds to finance the funding review (working group chaired by Baroness Fitchie to look at what extra income has gone into universities following the top up fees to support catch up pay) and has threatened to withdraw the money.
UNISON I can assure you have not been sat still, while the ballot takes place. A lot of the detail is at this time confidential; I would hope to update you in the next few weeks. What I can tell you is the exe assessed what impact our statements to the Times Higher and other high profile papers had achieved, our joint work with the other support unions. We have also been in constant touch with the employers and the UCU .A statement of our intent was drawn up at the meeting to be circulated to the other unions to supplement and confirm .I only hope the UCU ballot returns a yes vote. What I can assure you of at this time is that retaining National bargaining is key and the single table is non-negotiable. I expect to be involved in meetings early March and I hope for an early resolution to the current situation and discuss next year’s pay claim so talks that are scheduled with all the unions together can go ahead in July.

http://www.ucu.org.uk/
http://www.ucea.ac.uk/

Conference is to take place in early April and the motions were discussed and amendments added as necessary and a vote taken on initial policy on motions submitted and speakers identified .ON line registration which is been piloted at this conference was discussed regarding its ease of filling in on line and being new, hic ups that had been experienced.
Leeds Met will be playing a significant part in the conference it looks like I will be speaking on a couple of motions I have been directly involved with and also moving the annual report. Jan Carr is the mover of a regional motion on equalities which shows that our branch is at the forefront of UNISON and pushing your issues.
It has been agreed to hold a pioneering conference in Brussels in March 2009 for support staff involved in research in conjunction with HK STAT(Denmark trade union for technicians and administrators) and SIPTU(Southern Irish union for support staff)Other unions will be asked to participate across the European union .This is a project that has been running a number of years .I have just been to Brussels and met the commissioner for the research programmes and various Euro mep’s and also welcomed the Danes and the Irish delegates to Leeds last September .We hope to finalise all the details in Copenhagen in June(if I get re-elected).Hard work honest!
The National HE seminar is to be held in Cardiff(to be confirmed) the 23rd -25th of October 2008 consisting of speakers and workshops .
There was the usual Recruitment report “you must do better “ did you realise we need to recruit 12.5% new members each year just to stand still.With that I will leave you till next time on the125, hopefully with some better news.

Derek Earnshaw National Chair Higher Education Service Group