Christine Lewis  020 7121 5512
Denise Bertuchi 020 7121 1323
education@unison.co.uk
Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and Sixth Form Colleges for Information
Only
To: Secretaries of Branches with members in
Further Education Colleges
Further Education Contacts
National FE/6th Form Colleges Committee
26 June 2015
FE/05/2015
Dear colleague,
CONSULTATION NOTICE ON FURTHER EDUCATION FINAL PAY TALKS IN
ENGLAND 2015/16
The final 2015 National Joint Forum (NJF) meeting took place between the six
college unions and the Association of Colleges (AoC) on 24 June 2015. The
employers made the following statement and final offer. Key sentences have been
emboldened and are in red:
“Re: Final meeting of the National Joint Forum – Pay Negotiations 2015/16
On reflection, postponing our second negotiation scheduled for 10 June was considered
valuable to allow further and more thorough consultation with our members to take place. In
recent weeks, dialogue with our members has highlighted the importance of ensuring that
recommendations from the employers’ side adequately represent the position taken by the
majority of members in relation to pay.
Committee are reassured that the stance we adopt today firmly reflects the feedback of
members.
Feedback from the sector indicates a clear desire that where affordable, colleges may
continue to consider uplifts in pay to staff.
In 2015 there are significant fiscal challenges affecting the sector. Funding cuts are likely to
continue and there are significant external pressures on college pay bills which provide
genuine limitations to what can be done to effectively remunerate a skilled workforce.
With this in mind, AoC’s employment committee without the weight of our members are
unable to make a recommendation which is not affordable. It is therefore regrettable that
the employers’ side will be making a 0% recommendation during this negotiation
round.
1
This is the first time the employers’ side has made such a recommendation to our members
and in establishing this position we have taken on board feedback from union colleagues
and understand the likely response.
We would however call for our union colleagues to consider how we might better work
together to represent our respective members collectively and position the sector to
remunerate more effectively in the longer term. There is a willingness from the employers’
side to work together to protect the longer term prospects of the sector, our skilled workforce
and the learners we serve.
Diversification in approaches to pay now impacts the vast majority of member
colleges; the reality is that austerity will accelerate the diversification. As a National
Joint Forum, to retain our value to the sector and to continue any national debate on pay we
need to consider alternative approaches. From 2013 we have collectively discussed uplifts
on a harmonised pay spine developed as part of the Modernising Pay agreement; colleges
however are increasingly considering and adopting alternatives. Colleges have
changed in the last 12 years and will continue to do so in the future.
As a National Joint Forum, the challenge for the future is to work in partnership to support
the sector, its colleges, staff and students”.
Next Steps
This is obviously a watershed moment for collective bargaining in FE, with an
outright attack on national bargaining and recommendation to settle locally. There
was common awareness of the impact of adult funding cuts during the talks and also
the variations in ability to uplift pay. UNISON was particularly concerned that the
recommended pay freeze did not exempt the Living Wage bottom point, considering
our joint work with the AoC on trying to achieve it sector-wide.
The national further education and 6th form colleges committee met on the following
day 25 June and agreed to recommend rejection of the offer which is in effect no
offer. After accepting consecutive years of below inflation settlements and with
wages rising in the UK by 2.7 per cent, the committee hope that college members
will respond to the indicative ballot so that we can develop a strategy up to and
including industrial action in response.
The attached indicative ballot form should be returned to Education and Children’s
Services by 14 September 2015 at the latest.
Yours sincerely,
Jon Richards
National Secretary
Education and Children’s Services
2
Further Education Colleges England
Pay Consultation 2015/16
Name of Branch
…………………………………………………….
Name of College …………………………………………………….
Name and position of person responding – one rep per college should complete this
form
……………………………………………………………………………..
Signature of person responding ……………………………………
No of members consulted and in what way, e.g. ballot, meeting, email
………………………………………….
Do you want to accept AoC’s 0% final pay offer?
Number responding
Yes ……………..
No ……………..
You are urged to consult as soon as possible, but return by close of play, 14
September 2015 at the very latest to:
Denise Bertuchi
130 Euston Road
London,NW1 2AY
Fax: 0207 121 5101
Email: d.bertuchi@unison.co.uk
3