Trade Union Side National Claim - 2012

Extract from the start of the Trade Union Side National Claim - 2012: download full PDF Document here

Trade Union Claim

The effect of this is that across the higher education workforce, staff are reporting real falls in income and difficulties in maintaining their standards of living.

It is also the view of the trade union side that since the introduction of New JNCHES, the employer’s side has deliberately restricted the scope of bargaining.

This claim seeks to redress this. The trade unions are seeking in 2012/13:

• An increase of 3.7% on all salary points to match the increase in RPI to February 2012
  
• A further increase of 3.3% to begin to catch up with the real terms cut in pay over the last three years
• A commitment from all universities to pay a ‘Living Wage’
• Positive proposals from employers to address the outstanding recommendations of the 2009/10 Equalities Working Group. In particular, we are seeking positive action to address the continuing gender pay gap in higher education.
• Joint proposals on pay equality for professors and senior staff
• Structural proposals on the assimilation of hourly paid staff to the national pay spine and transfer to fractional contracts
• A joint agreement on disability leave
  

Pay and Inflation

For most staff the increase in pay over the last three settlements has amounted to approximately 1.4%. During the same period, the RPI index has increased by over 12%, resulting in a real terms cut of over 10% in the value of take home pay for staff.

For example, between August 2009 and July 2011 someone on pay point 22 will have lost over £1,600 in real terms. Someone on pay point 43 will be nearly £3,000 worse off.