UNISON and UCU Kick off our London Weighting Claim

The two unions at the University of London met with representatives from UoL to discuss the claim that we submitted last month. In the claim we asked for an immediate uplift in London Weighting to £4000, a mechanism to ensure continued increases in London weighting and a response to our claim by the end of July. Both unions were disappointed that the University  could not give a firm response within the requested timeframe. but have committed to meet with both unions in September to receive a detailed answer to the UCU and UNISON claim.

At the meeting, the University made it clear that despite a large budget surplus this year, there will be a significant drop over the next few years due to commitments and investments in the estates, so they do not believe that they will be able to meet our claim in full. They will be able to give us more details and a breakdown of costs as well as a concrete offer at our next meeting in September

In the meantime, we need your help. We want to know the impact that the freeze in London Weighting has had on you. Have you been priced out of London? How much has your travel card increased over the years of working for London? Does it have an effect on staff morale and retention? We need your comments, opinions and stories in order to fully explain why this issue is so important and must be addressed. Follow this link to a short three minute survey and help us win this campaign

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/VG2XYDB

Let the University know that investing in staff is at least as important as investing in buildings

Please forward this to friends and colleagues at the University so we can gather as much information and possible. Remind them to join their respective unions in order to help not only themselves but also you and our other members campaign and succeed on this and other issues.

To join UNISON go to http://www.joinunison.org or talk to your local reps.

To join UCU go to http://www.ucu.org.uk/join or talk to your local reps.

We are stronger, together.

London Weighting Claim

Following our successful joint union meeting with UCU on Wednesday 2nd July, we revised our London Weighting claim and submitted it on Thursday 3rd July to the Vice Chancellor on behalf of our members.

The key elements of the claim are:

• London Weighting at the University of London has been frozen at £2,134 since 1992 and is the lowest of the London higher education institutes.
• If this figure were to have been uprated solely by the annual average RPI figure over this period it would be £3,968.
• Meanwhile living costs in London, including rent and travel costs, have increased significantly and remain significantly higher than the rest of the UK.
• London Metropolitan University’s London Weighting is £4,437, University of East London’s London Weighting is £3,360, British Gas’s London Weighting is £5,461, and the Royal Mail’s London Weighting is £4,654.

We have asked for:

• An immediate uplift in London Weighting to £4000 for the current pay year 2013/2014.

• An agreed method of annually uprating the London Weighting supplement. As a minimum this should increase by the higher figure of either the nationally agreed annual percentage pay rise or the annual average RPI figure (as calculated from August to July of the preceding year). The uprated amount would be payable from 1 August annually.

We have asked for a considered response to this claim by 31st July 2014. Once the University have responded with an offer, we will contact members to ask how they would like us to proceed.

After talking to members at the meeting, we believe that this is an issue that concerns everyone; it affects morale and retention levels and staff at the university struggle to work in London due to increasing costs. We need your support to convince the University of London that our London Weighting needs to be increased immediately.

London Weighting Joint Union Members Meeting- 2nd July

London Weighting at the University of London has been frozen at £2,134 for the last 22 years…

…This is the lowest London Weighting of all the London HE institutions.

Set across a backdrop of increasing costs of living, pay rises that fail to keep up with inflation, higher rent and travel costs in London than the rest of the UK and staff struggling to maintain their standards of living, your unions think this is unacceptable.

UNISON and UCU will be submitting a London Weighting claim to the University of London asking them to increase your London weighting and we need your support and ideas.

Come to a joint UCU and UNISON members meeting on 2nd July at 13.00-14.00 Gordon Room G34 Senate House and let us know what you think. Refreshments will be provided.

What affect does the current weighting have on your ability to live in London? Does it effect staff morale and retention? Should it be in line with the rest of the public sector and other London universities?

UCL’s London Weighting is £2862, Birkbeck’s London weighting is £3006, and the University of Greenwich’s London Weighting is £4365. What should the University of London’s London Weighting be? Come and give your views and get involved in supporting this campaign.

Garden Halls and Cofely Update

At the request of neighbouring UNISON branches and Senate House branch members we are writing to you with a brief update on the situation at the garden halls. UNISON accredited Cofely Reps with the support of regional staff have been meeting regularly with Cofely throughout the consultation period and had begun discussing arrangements for the possible redundancies throughout the last year at our monthly partnership forum.

After carefully evaluating the closure situation, UNISON has concluded not to pursue a ‘no redundancy’ demand from Cofely as this would be unachievable and could unfairly raise members hopes. The Garden Halls are closing because the present ones have come to the end of their usable life and will be replaced by buildings for the future students that are modern and functional, therefore Cofely are losing a number of work sites. As a result 80 jobs no longer exist. Redundancy is a type of dismissal, however it is governed by laws that Cofely must follow. Redundancy pay is a further recognition that the dismissal is not the fault of the employee but a result of the job no longer existing. The legal reasonfor these redundancies was the staff that worked at the halls that were being demolished, This criteria is enough for the redundancy process to begin but redeployment is always looked for and leaving the company is the last resort if no other jobs are found.For the past year Cofely and the UNISON branch have been discussing the need to mitigate redundancies as fully as possible and UNISON has negotiated a vacancy management programme. As a result, approx. 15 fixed term contracts were issued that are due to expire at the same time as the closure of the halls in order to create vacancies to be filled by the Garden Halls permanent staff. Furthermore, Cofely are advertising vacancies across the company in order to maximise opportunities for staff to find a new position which has allowed staff to consider jobs across London and the UK. They are also offering reasonable retraining if needed to apply for these positions, which several garden halls staff have already requested. UNISON has ensured that if successful, Garden Halls staff who are transfering to other roles at UOL will keep their new Cofely terms and conditions including Holiday, sick pay and pension entitlements. Garden halls staff that remain at Cofely will NOT lose these. Furthermore, your length of service will continue uninterrupted.

If garden halls staff apply for these positions then Cofely has assured us that they will be prioritised ahead of other applicants for interviews.As with any position for which there are multiple applicants there will be a process to choose people to fill the vacancies. UNISON has worked with Cofely to ensure that this process is as fair as possible and the interview is one part of the selection process. UNISON discussed with Cofely the need for only evidence based criteria to be used in the selection matrix. The criteria of “drive” and “daring” etc based on Cofely’s Company values, is used in all Cofely job selections from the management to the operational staff, the Garden Halls staff will be treated as equally as other Cofely employees. Length of service is not taken into consideration and could not due to equality legislation. The job interviews will be conducted the same way other job interviews are and will form one part of the final selection.

The one to one meetings were NOT job interviews, and UNISON ensured that our members at the garden halls were fully informed as to the purpose of the one to ones through a member’s meeting at the garden halls. UNISON continually pressed Cofely to ensure that the One to One process was fair and understood, ensuring that the majority of staff had the chance for individual consultation. UNISON represented our members during these consultations, supporting them in asking questions and discussing individual circumstances.

The consultation period will end on the 13th June and all garden halls members of staff who have not found new jobs within the Cofely contract will be served their notice. Individual notice periods can be found in each employee’s contract. If your notice period is four weeks then you will continue to work the first two weeks until the 30th June and then finish work and be paid for the second two weeks of your notice period, some people may have notice periods that are longer or shorter than this. During your notice period you can take annual leave, any leave not taken will be pro rata’d to reflect the fact you have only worked for six months of the year and then any that remains will be given to you as holiday pay. You will also receive redundancy payment which is based on your years of service and age. If you think that your redundancy payment has been miscalculated please contact your reps.

Should garden halls staff have any questions then they can contact the staff reps (which includes two UNISON members) or your fully trained and accredited UNISON reps. Jill Coldrick-Chappell is a security officer based at Canterbury hall and has been gathering questions from staff and helping support members. Give her a call on 07900598817 or pop by for a chat. Our cleaning rep Marta Gryc is also available to talk and has completed specific redundancy training, she is based at the Paddington halls and can be reached on 07824476742.

UNISON has also been working for the benefit of our members across the University of London contract. Don’t worry, you haven’t been forgotten! Recently our Security Rep has carried out an anonymous survey of operational issues that specifically affected security guards culminating in a special meeting with Cofely management to discuss possible solutions. If you would like to take part in this survey please contact Jill Coldrick- Chappell (number above). Furthermore, we continue to have monthly partnership forum meetings with Cofely where we raise individual concerns and collective issues and work with Cofely to find solutions.

If you have an issue you would like to discuss please contact one of our Cofely reps. Not sure who they are? Contact Jo Galloway (07961 044 951) or Dario Lopez (07904342453) who can point you in the right direction.

HE Pay Offer 2014

On 16th April HE employers made a “full and final” pay offer of 2%, in addition point 1 of the pay spine would also be increased by a further £30 bringing these members to the current rate of the living wage (£7.65) which equates to an increase of 2.2%.

London weighting for post 92 institutions will also increase by 2%, however pre-92 institutions such as the University of London are not subject to national negotiation. This branch will look to raise this matter at regional level and help to develop a strategy to negotiate an increase with our employers. Our current Lon-don weighting, and those of our fellow pre-92 institutions has been frozen since 1992 and is significantly different to those of the post 1992 universities. UNISON Greater Lon-don Region will be discussing a strategy to negotiate on this at a local level, we will keep our members informed.

UNISON’s Higher Education Service Group Executive, the elections for which are happening now, will meet to dis-cuss UNISON’s response. The HE Service Group conference met in February and passed a motion compelling the SGE to consult with branches regarding the 2013 HE pay dispute. They will discuss how best to consult branches and we will of course ask your opinions to feedback into our branch’s response. If we accept this offer then it is under the understanding that it will settle the 2014/15 pay negotiations and end the 2013/14 pay dispute. Do you think 2% is enough? Please get in contact with your thoughts, we will be consulting members soon.

Garden Halls Update

With 30th June moving ever closer, we wanted to update our members on the current situation with the Garden Halls redundancies. The university is demolishing the buildings in order to build newer, modern halls of residence for their students and unfortunately 80 jobs will no longer exist, Cofely will not be funded by the University of London for these jobs.

Cofely are continuing to consult with staff and with UNISON. The staff forum reps have been briefed and will take collective issues or questions directly to Cofely on behalf of their staff members. If any Cofely staff are unsure who their reps are, don’t hesitate to ask. Alternatively, UNISON members can bring their concerns to our UNISON reps or UNISON regional officers who can answer questions or pass them along. UNISON held a meeting with members at the Garden Halls recently and have passed along such questions to Cofely, members will then be informed of the answers ASAP.

One to one meetings are another opportunity for staff to raise their concerns directly with Cofely managers, a chance to discuss individual circumstances and ask questions that they may not want to discuss in a group setting, such as individual redundancy pay. These are valuable opportunities and staff should already be expressing their interest with one to one meetings scheduled over the coming week. If members are concerned they haven’t yet been given an appointed they should contact their UNISON reps. Reps can be taken into these meetings in order to help ensure that the members ask the questions that they want to ask, help clarify answers and can help take notes or discuss the meeting afterwards with members.

Cofely also have a duty to try and mitigate the number of redundancies. They have decided not to offer voluntary redundancies but have advertised jobs across Cofely as well as in other contracts. If staff decide to take up these opportunities then they will retain their current terms and conditions of employment (holiday, sick pay and pensions) which will be a great relief to many. There will also be vacancies at the University of London advertised with the intention to redeploy as many staff as possible. Staff that are interested should apply for these jobs ASAP, the selection and interview process will be as fair and transparent as possible (with a selection matrix to be used). The interview will be conducted as any other job interview would be.

Cofely have also offered to support staff through a reasonable level of training should it be needed to take up new employment within Cofely. UNISON and Cofely would like to put on ESOL classes, however only a few members of staff have expressed interest. An ESOL qualification would help with finding future employment as well as helping staff develop personally. If staff would like classes and can guarantee the attendance of at least 12 people, UNISON will help facilitate this. Private classes can cost over £1000, UNISON, in conjunction with Cofely, will offer them for free.

Please don’t hesitate to contact our local reps, Jill Coldrick-Chappell (jillchappell@hotmail.co.uk, 07900598817) and Marta Gryc (075 16 861255) with any questions. Jo Galloway (07961044951) and Dario Lopez (07904342453) are also on hand to offer support and advice.

Garden Halls Closure: What next for our members?

On 11th April the University of London finally announced the closure of the garden halls as 30th June 2014 . Both Senate House UNISON branch members and Cofely managers have expected this announcement since Summer 2013 and has been a topic of discussion at both JNC meetings between UNISON and the University and at the monthly UNISON and Cofely forums. Despite the University dragging its heels, UNISON has been proactive in the run up to the announcement.

Already UNISON has been discussing with Cofely how to mitigate the negative consequences for staff that the hall closures will cause. UNISON and Cofely have begun to engage in a series of meetings in addition to the monthly forum to discuss a fair redundancy procedure that will include offering voluntary redundancy packages to other Cofely employees which may hopefully open up other spaces in the University of London contract for garden halls staff. Meanwhile, Cofely managers are ensuring that jobs opening up in other halls are being offered first to current Cofely staff and vacancies in other Cofely contracts are being advertised. Please speak to your supervisor or your union rep for more information.

For the hopefully reduced number facing redundancies, Cofely and UNISON will be holding meetings to explain the law on redundancy and the redundancy policy that Cofely is following. UNISON branch representatives have attended a recent training course on redundancies and will be fully involved in the procedure. UNISON regional officials have been advising the branch and Cofely, using their experience handling other redundancy situations in universities, to ensure that not only does the Cofely policy follow the law but that it is also as fair as possible and all Cofely staff receive equal treatment. Jill Coldrick-Chappell a security guard at Canterbury Hall and a UNISON steward commented that “I have already met with UNISON regional officials and other security guards in the garden halls to talk about what redundancy might mean for us and what our options may be. Although this is an uncertain time for Cofely staff at the garden halls, UNISON has been so supportive this far and I know that they will make sure my voice is heard and those of the staff I represent as a steward.”

UNISON members should contact Jill Coldrick-Chappell, Sharon Bracey or Jo Galloway if they have any concerns or questions. UNISON will be holding a meeting at the Garden Halls shortly.

UNISON Sucursal Senate House

El pasado viernes 11 de abril, los jefes de Cofely anunciaron oficialmente el cierre de los halls de residencia ‘Gardens Halls’ a efectuarse el próximo 30 de Junio de este año 2014. Tanto los miembros de la sucursal de UNISON Senate House, al igual que los jefes de Cofely han estado en expectativa de este anuncio desde el pasado verano 2013 y ha sido el tema de discusión en las reuniones entre UNISON y la Universidad de Londres así como también los foros mensuales con representantes de Cofely.

A pesar de la posición renuente de la Universidad, UNISON ha actuado en forma proactiva en anticipación al anuncio oficial de la clausura y ha estado discutiendo con Cofely la mejor forma de mitigar las consecuencias negativas que implica esta clausura para sus empleados.

UNISON y Cofely han establecido una serie de reuniones aparte de los foros mensuales para explorar la forma de evitar despidos causados por el cierre y discutir un proceso justo para sus miembros en el caso de inevitablemente darse algún despido; parte de este proceso incluiría el ofrecimiento de remuneración por renuncia voluntaria a empleados de Cofely a través de todo el contrato que Cofely tiene en las instalaciones de la Universidad de Londres, para contemplar la apertura de plazas de trabajo para aquellos afectados por el cierre de ‘Garden Halls’ .

Mientras tanto los Jefes de Cofely han asegurado a UNISON de que cualquier plaza de trabajo que se encuentre disponible o se abra en las semanas o meses próximos en otros halls de residencia, serán ofrecidos primeramente a los empleados de Garden Halls; también vacantes en otros contratos que Cofely tiene fuera de las instalaciones de la Universidad serán anunciados y ofrecidos para aquellos empleados que les situé esto en forma conveniente. Si desea más información con respecto a estas vacantes hable con su supervisor os representante de UNISON.

En un caso reducido de despido forzado por falta de vacantes, UNISON y Cofely llevaran a cabo una serie de reuniones para explicar las leyes que amparan a los afectados y explicaran la póliza de despido que a la cual Cofely se adherirá. Los representantes de la sucursal Senate House de UNISON tienen la experiencia necesaria para enfrentar y mitigar los efectos en casos de despido y estarán totalmente envueltos en el proceso.

Los oficiales de la Oficina Regional de UNISON utilizaran todos los recursos y experiencia adquirida en la intervención para este tipo de procesos en otras Universidades y han estado y seguirán asistiendo y direccionando a la sucursal de Senate House para asegurarse no solo de que cualquier póliza utilizado por Cofely se apegue rígidamente a la ley laboral pero además de que el proceso sea justo y todos los empleados afectados sean tratados en forma equitativa.

Jill Coldrick-Chappell quien trabaja como oficial de seguridad en Canterbury Hall y también es representante de UNISON comento lo siguiente: “Me he reunido con oficiales de la oficina regional de UNISON y otros colegas en Garden Halls para reiterar lo que implicaría para nosotros el súbito despido y que opciones hay disponibles. Aunque son momentos de incertidumbre para los empleados de Garden Halls, UNISON ha sido de gran apoyo hasta ahora y sé que mi opinión y la de los miembros que represento en escuchada a través de mi Unión”

Miembros de UNISON pueden contactarse con Jill Coldrick-Chappell (jillchappell@hotmail.co.uk); Sharon Bracey (sharon.bracey@cofely-gdfsuez.com); Marta Gryc (wiki00221@wp.pl) o Jo Galloway (j.galloway@unison.co.uk) si tienen cualquier inquietud o pregunta.

UNISON llevara a cabo una reunión en las instalaciones de Garden Halls muy pronto.

Senate House Branch: Our Reaction to the Closure of the Garden Halls

On 11th April the Cofely managers announced the closure of the garden halls as 30th June 2014 to staff affected. Both Senate House UNISON branch members and Cofely managers have expected this announcement since Summer 2013 and it has been a topic of discussion at both JNC meetings between UNISON and the University of London and at the monthly UNISON and Cofely forums. Despite the University dragging its heels, UNISON has been proactive in the run up to the announcement. Already UNISON has been discussing with Cofely how to mitigate the negative consequences for staff that the hall closures will cause. UNISON and Cofely have begun to engage in a series of meetings in addition to the monthly forum to discuss a fair redundancy procedure that will include offering voluntary redundancy packages to other Cofely employees with a view to hopefully open up other spaces in the University of London contract for garden halls staff who don’t wish to take redundancy. Meanwhile, Cofely managers are ensuring that jobs opening up in other halls are being offered first to current Cofely staff and that vacancies in other Cofely contracts are being advertised. Please speak to your supervisor or your union rep for more information.

In light of the fact that there still may be staff facing redundancies, although this will hopefully be a reduced number, Cofely and UNISON will be holding meetings to explain the law on redundancy and the redundancy policy that Cofely and UNISON negotiate. UNISON branch representatives have attended a recent training course on redundancies and will be fully involved in the procedure. UNISON regional officials have been advising the branch and Cofely, using their experience handling other redundancy situations in universities, to ensure that not only does the Cofely policy follow the law but that it is also as fair as possible and all Cofely staff receive equal treatment. Jill Coldrick-Chappell a security guard at Canterbury Hall and a UNISON steward stated that “I have already met with UNISON regional officials and other security guards in the garden halls to talk about what redundancy might mean for us and what our options may be. Although this is an uncertain time for Cofely staff at the garden halls, UNISON has been so supportive this far and I know that they will make sure my voice is heard and those of the staff I represent as a steward.”

UNISON members should contact Jill Coldrick-Chappell (jillchappell@hotmail.co.uk), Sharon Bracey (sharon.bracey@cofely-gdfsuez.com), Marta Gryc (wiki00221@wp.pl) or Jo Galloway (j.galloway@unison.co.uk) if they have any concerns or questions. UNISON will be holding a meeting at the Garden Halls shortly.

We are stronger, together: Recruitment

Senate House UNISON branch is pleased to welcome two new members to our team. Jo Galloway and Dario Lopez are local organisers with the UNISON Greater London Region who will be working with the branch committee on a brand new recruitment campaign, aimed at increasing our membership and getting more members involved. The higher our density, the stronger our negotiating position.

Starting with stalls and leafleting, as well as updating our online presence, they are making their way around every workplace. Please contact them if you think a quick visit to your department would be helpful or if you have an idea for a recruitment event anything from a film screening to a stress busting lunch to an open forum on any issue. Dario and Jo will be contacting members soon to ask your ideas directly, they want to help you to recruit your friends and colleagues.

Terms and Conditions: Success at Last!

Negotiations took months of meetings. The campaign saw the combined efforts of Senate House UNISON activists and the support of UNISON members across the Greater London Region as well as interested students and other parties. Leaflets were sent, campaign funds were spent, protests were held. And the results are in.

The majority of Cofely employees have signed their new terms and conditions, with sickness absence now up to six months full pay (based on years of service), annual leave increased to up to 25 days a year, and all staff now have access to a pension, although confirmation of this has been understandably interrupted by the Cofely takeover of BBW, we hope UNISON will have details of the pension scheme soon.

There were a few hiccups with the new terms and conditions, with some members personal details were incorrect, but these were brought to the attention of Cofely immediately through the UNISON reps and dealt with swiftly with the return deadline extended accordingly. Everyone involved in bringing about the changes in the terms and conditions, especially the cleaners themselves, should be congratulated on all the hard work that went into the campaign at every level. These changes demonstrate what can be achieved when unions and employers work together for the benefit of employees.b>

Senate House Strikes: We are Worth More than 1%

On 6th February UNISON members took a third day of strike action in the ongoing pay dispute, joining UCU, Unite and EIS. Our members are not satisfied with the 1% pay rise forced on them and continue to ask for a pay settlement that reflects their value and hard work.

The 1% pay offer is fundamentally still inadequate in the face of a fifth year of pay cuts. Pay has fallen in real terms by over 13%, UNISON members and higher education staff across the country are fed up by the double standards and hypocrisy of senior management in universities. Staff are seeing their terms and conditions eroding and their sense of job insecurity increasing. Working conditions are failing to improve with a greater use of zero hours contracts and an increase in the gender pay gap, as well as a reduction in in-house services and an increase in outsourcing.

Universities insist that institutions can’t afford to spend money and need to keep a surplus to fund capital spending rather than investing in the welfare of their staff. Yet they hold huge cash reserves and university finances have been described by the Higher Education Funding Council as being “sound overall”.

University of London staff went on strike on 6th February to highlight this inequality and to continue to put pressure on negotiations. Despite the tube strike causing transport difficulties for many members, UNISON joined UCU at picket lines. The success of the strike overall remains similar to the first two days of strike action in 2013. Please continue to discuss the reasons for the pay dispute with your colleagues and support the efforts of UNISON in negotiating for higher pay. #fairpayinHE