UNISON’s higher education service group met yesterday to discuss the higher education employers’ full and final offer on pay for 2017-18.
The final pay offer gives extra increases to the lower paid, between 2.4% and 1.7% up to pay point 16. All staff above point 16 will receive 1.7%.
The lowest pay point (spinal column point 2) will receive the highest increase, which will equate to the living wage rate of £8.45 an hour for those working a 35-hour working week. Joint work between the employers and the trade unions on the gender pay gap and zero-hour contracts will continue.
The service group executive’s view on the offer is that it is the best to be achieved by negotiation and that if members vote to reject the offer, sustained and prolonged industrial action will be required.
Members will be consulted on the offer from 19 May to 30 June 2017. The service group executive will consider the outcome of the consultation at its meeting on 5 July 2017.
It's now time for the branch Annual General Meeting, and this year we're doing things a bit differently, so we hope you'll be able to come along. The AGM will be held on two days at lunchtimes, with one meeting at RGU and the other at UofA. Please make every effort to come along to one of them.
The branch held our prize draw for our fantastic Christmas Competition on on Monday and we're pleased to announce we now have our five prize winners for this year.
Our competition this year was a spot the difference and members were asked to say how many differences there were between our two festive snowmen. The options were five, six or seven.