Further Education - return to national bargaining?
Welcoming the Scottish Government intention to consult
on a possible return to national bargaining in further education,
UNISON is re-organising its structure to involve members
in the campaign.
The union has set up a team to work at organising members
in the FE sector, and also created three local networks
for people to come together and discuss common issues. The
networks have elected a Scottish FE Sector Committee which
stands separate in its own right and is no longer a part
of the Local Government Service Group.
Nancy Kelly - leader of the Organising Team - says, “The
rot first set in in the 1990s when national bargaining was
abolished and each individual college started to negotiate
their own pay and conditions.
“Now we have 42 different colleges with different pay scales,
grading structures, and terms and conditions. But hopefully
that’s changing.
“The Scottish Government have indicated an intention to
consult the Further Education sector on a return to national
bargaining, and we want to ensure that our members are organised
to pursue this and take advantage. We are also working closely
with the STUC and the other FE unions to campaign on this.”
For some years UNISON members working in FE colleges have
felt like the poor relations. Assigned to the local government
Branches who have their own problems as a priority, part
of the LG service group where issues get lost and worst
of all isolated from each other with no structure to feed
into.
As well as Nancy, the Organising Team consists of Kevin
O’Neil (Area Organiser) and Jane Fielding (Local Organiser).
They have also been joined by Kay Sillars from the Policy
and Information team who will work with us on the national
bargaining campaign.
The FE Sector Committee has developed a workplan for the
year - including a job evaluation briefing for all reps
and a development weekend for the Committee.
If you’d like further information please contact Nancy
Kelly (n.kelly@unison.co.uk) or click onto www.unison-scotland.org.uk/fe/news.html#network
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