Further Education And Sixth Form Colleges

UNISON members working in FE & Sixth Form Colleges in Essex are members of the Branch. Most Colleges have their own UNISON Stewards who represent members in local negotiations.

There are separate national negotiating bodies for both FE and Sixth Form College staff.

UNISON IN COLLEGES

UNISON, nationally, produces a regular "UNISON in Colleges" newsletter which has all the latest College and sixth form centre news. Stewards a contact automatically get sent one of these when they are published.

UNISON needs you!!

Have you ever thought about becoming a UNISON contact?

A "contact" is not a steward, so does not represent members, but simply hands out information, as and when, to other members in the college to keep them informed about whats going on. A contact also keeps the school notice board up-to-date and is the link between the UNISON branch and the college, should the need ever arise.

If you would like a copy of the latest newsletter, or would like your name listed as a "UNISON contact" please either contact your local steward (list below) or give me a ring and I'll pop one in the post to you.

Tracey Sparkes

Excessive Working hours

In a 2008 survey of UCU members on the subject of stress, 40% of respondents cited excessive workloads as the most significant cause of stress or frustration. The three next highest factors cited all related to not having enough time to do the job properly and maintaining a healthy work life balance. Surveys of members carried out in 2004 and 2007 by ACM showed similar results. Indeed, the 2007 survey found that 64.5% of ACM members worked in excess of an average of 48 hours per week, and some 16.5% worked in excess of 60 hours per week. This is almost unchanged from the 2004 ACM survey when the corresponding figures were 63% and 17%. In addition, the 2007 ACM survey looked at potential sources of stress and found that high demands made in respect of workload and targets was reported by four out of five ACM members, with just 18% saying their workloads were reasonable.

The Learning and Skills Network survey of FE staff satisfaction showed that over 92% of FE staff work beyond their contracted hours and just under 50% are unable to achieve a satisfactory work/life balance. All categories of staff were represented amongst those working above contracted hours with 29% of lecturers working more than 11 hours above contracted hours, 38% of managers and 63% of senior managers.

The cost of stress related health problems and absences caused by excessive workloads to colleges and the inevitable negative impacts this must have on learning outcomes makes this a situation that can not continue.

We therefore call on the AoC to recommend that colleges negotiate a :

• Reduction in excessive working hours with the introduction of a maximum 35 hour working week.

Staff Development

The sector must ensure that all college staff are equipped to rise to the challenges of the ambitious skills agenda. If colleges are to be exemplars in the drive to meet the Leitch proposals for workforce skills they need to fully embed staff training. The Trade Unions believe the current level of training provided to college support staff is unacceptable. In fact only an embarrassingly low number of colleges have even signed up to the Skills Pledge. We therefore call on the AoC to recommend that colleges:

• Provide all college staff the option to undertake 30 hours a year paid training entitlement with release from normal duties.

Outsourced Services

We remain very concerned at the continuing high levels of casualisation in the sector, with large amounts of provision delivered by an insecure and still marginalized workforce. We view this as having serious implications for the quality of service particularly given the scale of outsourcing and the growing use of agency staff in many colleges.

We therefore call on the AoC to agree a joint national agreement on outsourced services that recommends colleges:

• Ensure existing contactors agree to pay all their college staff in-house terms and conditions.
• Begin immediate negotiations to bring all outsourced services back in house.

Annual Leave

College support staff are on the whole employed on inferior terms and conditions of employment compared to lectures. No where is this more apparent than in annual leave provisions. In the interests of fairness and equality we are calling on the AoC to recommend that all colleges:

• Harmonise (upwards) annual leave for support and academic staff with no detriment.

Independent Safeguarding Authority

From July 2010 the Independent Safeguarding Authority’s new Vetting and Barring scheme will replace the existing arrangements covered by the Protection of Vulnerable Adults, Protection of Children’s Act and List 99.

Staff moving into a new role after this date paid or voluntary will need to join the scheme before starting that role. It is envisaged that the whole workforce will be phased into the scheme over a five year period.

The ISA registration fee is £64 in England and Wales. The fee will be a one-off-payment and is intended to cover the applicant for the duration of their career. The majority of individuals who will come under the ISA scheme are women, many work part time and a large number are low paid workers. The trade unions strongly believe the £64 fee should not be borne by individuals but should be incorporated into recruitment costs by employers. The Trade unions therefore call on the AoC to:

• Recommended that colleges cover the cost of the ISA registration fee for all their staff

Full Implementation of the 2003/05 Modernising Pay and subsequent Agreements

After more than four years 40% of FE colleges have still to implement the 2003/05 Modernising Pay Agreement. The refusal of such a significant minority of colleges to honour a deal made in good faith undermines the credibility of National Bargaining. The good faith of AoC negotiators is further called into question when high profile NJF employer panel members fail to set a positive example by implementing an agreement they made in their own college.

Staff at colleges that have yet to implement the modernising pay agreement are receiving significantly inferior salaries to their counterparts in colleges that have implemented. This is creating increasing problems of staff turnover and poor morale which will continue to worsen and boil over into industrial action if serious steps are not taken to extend implementation of these agreements to all who work in FE.

Very few of the colleges that have moved staff onto the harmonised pay scale have conducted the Further Education Job Evaluation Scheme leaving many staff on fixed salary points or with unfair bars to progression.

A survey conducted by the Trade Union side has found that 35% (of 188 colleges responding) failed to implement in full the 2008/09 pay deal.

The Trade unions therefore call on the AoC to:

• Take serious and meaningful steps to ensure implementation of the 2003/04 modernising pay agreement and subsequent pay agreements including underpinning arrangements, full progression within salary grades and Job Evaluation

Fractional contracts for part-time staff

The proliferation of casual employment contracts in FE does nothing to support efforts to improve quality and learning outcomes by reducing security for both learners and staff. The overuse of casual contracts runs counter to existing joint agreements on the employment of both part-time and fixed-term staff. It is unlawful to treat part-time and fixed-term staff in a less favourable way and yet vast numbers of these staff across FE are stuck on fixed points or pay scales that do not allow for their full progression in the same way as full-time and permanent staff.

The Trade unions therefore call on the AoC to:

• Recommend the transfer of all part-time staff to directly employed fractional posts.

UNISON Stewards in Colleges

• Braintree College - David Rogers - 01376 321711 - !
  Church Lane
  Braintree

• Colchester Institute - Marisa Baker 01206 712000 and Steve Cleaver -01206 712 000 x 657
  Sheepen Road
  Colchester

• Colchester 6th Form College - Frankie Murphy - 01206 500724 - and Myra Deeprose - 01206 500700 and Jayne McNaughton - 01206 500700
  North Hill
  Colchester

• Epping Forest College - Alyson Sheen - 07888 673835 -
  Borders Lane
  Loughton

• SEEVIC College - Reg Nicholls - 01268 756111 -
  Runnymede Chase
  Benfleet

• Writtle College - Andrew Kilby -
  Lordship Road
  Writtle

UNISON Health and Safety Reps in Colleges

• Colchester Institute - Steve Cleaver -01206 712 000 x 657
  Sheepen Road
  Colchester

• Colchester 6th Form College - Myra Deeprose - 01206 500700
  North Hill
  Colchester

• Chelmsford College - R Maclean - 01245 265611 and Ian Savage - 01245 265611 x 5447
  Moulsham Street
  Chelmsford

• SEEVIC College - Reg Nicholls - 01268 756111 -
  Runnymede Chase
  Benfleet