UCUHE/263   19 January 2016 
University and College Union
Higher Education
Carlow Street, London NW1 7LH, Tel. 020 7756 2500, www.ucu.org.uk
To	HE Branch and local association secretaries
Topic	HE National and Regional pay briefings February 2016
Action	To register at least one branch officer to attend one of these briefings
Summary 	This circular provides branches with the key decisions made at the special Higher Education Committee Meeting on 13 January in regards to the next steps in the pay campaign 2016/17, details of a series of regional/devolved national pay briefings, the locations, venues, timings and registration information. The briefings will give branch representatives the opportunity to discuss and feedback on the campaign and action plan. 
Contact	Paul Bridge, Head of HE pbridge@ucu.org.uk 

Dear Colleagues

A special meeting of the Higher Education Committee (HEC) took place on Wednesday 13 January. The purpose of the meeting was to agree the next steps in the pay campaign 2016/17. 

HEC had a focused discussion covering the following factors:

•	The shape of the claim for 2016/17
•	The timing of the claim’s submission, the negotiating timetable and, if necessary, actions in support of the claim
•	The position of other trade unions in respect of the above
•	Building the campaign among members
•	Legislative changes (the Trade Union Bill)

In line with the decisions made at the October meeting, HEC confirmed that the claim will be submitted during the first week in February.

Pay and pay equality claim

HEC approved the development of a focused pay claim based on the principles of pay catch up and keep up, which may be a headline number. HEC also expressed a view that any final offer must ensure that changes to the governemnt’s approach to the living wage does not result in distributive bargaining by the employers to reduce the amount on offer to those above the living wage floors. 

UCU will be also be looking for a claim for action to close the gender pay gap in higher education as well as action to reduce the sector’s reliance on forms of casual employment. 

The HE trade unions meet on Tuesday 19 January to seek to agree a joint claim. 

Pay Campaign 

HEC approved a pay campaign that will focus on the cumulative loss in members’ pay, the projected cost of living increases over the next 18 months, pay inequality and gender pay, the stark contrast with senior pay, casualisation, the sector’s level of income and reserves and work intensification/ workload. 
Branches are reminded of the link to the recent HE news which covered some of these campaign themes. 

http://www.ucu.org.uk/media/pdf/k/s/ucu_henews42_nov15.pdf

Branches are also advised to look out for the latest UCU report on VC, Principal and senior pay, which is due out in early February. 

Timetable for action 

An outline timetable for a ballot and action in support of the claim was agreed. The national negotiators were charged with refining the approach. HEC approved a timetable that enables a ballot and action to start in April. The timetable will form the basis of direct consultation with members and branches during February. 

Consulting members and branches 

HEC approved means to consult branches and members.
To start, a series of regional / devolved nation pay briefings have been arranged for February. At the briefings, branches will discuss the campaign and provide feedback on the proposed timetable for action. Details of the four briefings are found below in this circular. 
Branches should make every effort to participate in these briefings as they will inform the decisions of the HEC when it meets on Friday 4 March to decide the next steps in the HE pay and campaign.  
It is important that your branch sends at least one representative to one of the briefings advertised in this circular. Branches may send up to two representatives.

This circular provides branches with details of the meetings; locations, venues, timings and registration information. It also provides details of the suggested branch/LA attendance for each meeting.

Meeting details 

Date 	Location 	Venue	Timing	Nation/Regions	
Wednesday 17 February 
11.00 – 13.00 	Birmingham	UCU
3nd Floor Alpha Tower
Suffolk Street Queensway
Birmingham
B1 1TT		E and W Midlands;
Wales and South West.
	
Thursday 18 February 
11.00 – 13.00 	London	UCU Head Office, 
Carlow St,
London
NW1 7LH		London North and South, South East; E&HC and Southern.	
Wednesday 24 February 
11.00 – 13.00  	Glasgow	The Scottish Trades Union Congress
333 Woodlands Road
Glasgow
G3 6NG		Scotland; Northern Ireland; Northern.	
Thursday 25 February 
14.00 – 16.00 	Leeds 	St George’s Centre
Great George Street 
Leeds
LS1 3DL		North West; Northern, Yorkshire and Humberside. 	

The attached appendix contains the following:
•	Details of venues for each meeting, including links to maps
•	Details of branches/LAs it is suggested attend one of these briefings (Birmingham, London, Glasgow and Leeds).
•	Links to the registration site for branches to use when registering your representative. HEC members should use the same registration site but enter HEC next to the institution field. 

Registration at the Birmingham, London and Glasgow will open from 10.30am with refreshments on arrival. Please note that lunch is not provided. 

Registration at the Leeds briefing will open from 13.30pm. There will be refreshments on arrival. Please note that lunch is not provided. 

If you have difficulty registering for one of the meetings please contact Sue Bajwa; sbajwa@ucu.org.uk

If you require information about a venue please contact the following administrators;
Birmingham meeting – Jennette Estridge; jestridge@ucu.org.uk;
London meeting - Christine Bernabe; cbernabe@ucu.org.uk;
Glasgow meeting - James Rose; jrose@ucu.org.uk; 
Leeds meeting – Helen Sidlow; hsidlow@ucu.org.uk; 
 
All other matters, please contact Paul Bridge; pbridge@ucu.org.uk .

Expense forms will be available on the day and expenses can be claimed back in the usual way. 

Michael MacNeil 
National Head of Bargaining and Negotiations 
Appendix

REGISTRATION INFORMATION

Wednesday 17 February – Birmingham 
UCU 3nd Floor Alpha Tower Suffolk Street Queensway Birmingham B1 1TT
www.alphabirmingham.co.uk; 

To register for the Birmingham meeting go to; 
https://ucu.wufoo.com/forms/birmingham-he-briefing-wednesday-17-february-2016/

Suggested branches/LAs:

Aston
Birmingham
Birmingham City University
Bishop Grosseteste
Coventry
De Montfort
Derby
Gloucestershire
Harper Adams
Keele
Leicester
Lincoln
Loughborough
Newman University College
Northampton
Nottingham
Nottingham Trent
Royal Agricultural University
Staffordshire
University College Birmingham
Warwick
Wolverhampton
Worcester  
Aberystwyth
Cardiff
Cardiff Metropolitan
Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama
Swansea
Swansea Met
University of South Wales
University of Wales, Trinity St David’s
Bath
Bath Spa
Bristol
Exeter
Falmouth
Oxford
Oxford Brookes
Plymouth
Plymouth Marjon
Portsmouth
Ruskin College
UWE

Thursday 18 February – London  
UCU HQ Carlow St, London NW1 7LH
Map
http://www.ucu.org.uk/media/3238/UCU-head-office-Carlow-Street-NW1-7LH-directions/pdf/ucu_carlowstreetdirections.pdf 

To register for the London meeting got to; 
https://ucu.wufoo.com/forms/london-he-briefing-thursday-18-february/
 
Suggested branches/LAs:

Anglia Ruskin
University of the Arts London
Bedfordshire
Birkbeck
Brighton
Brunel
Bucks New University
Cambridge
Canterbury
Chichester
City
Central School of Speech and Drama
Conservatoire for Dance and Drama
University of East Anglia
Goldsmiths
Guildhall College of Dance of Drama
Greenwich
Hertfordshire
Heythrop
Imperial College
Institute of Education
King’s College London
Kent
Kingston
London (Senate House)
London Business School
London Met
London South Bank University
LSE
LSHTM
Middlesex
Norwich University of the Arts
Open University
Queen Mary University of London
Regents College
Royal Academy of Music
Ravensbourne
Royal College of Art
Royal College of Music
Reading
Royal Holloway
Roehampton
Rose Bruford
Royal Veterinary College
School of Pharmacy
St Mary’s University College Twickenham
SOAS
St. George’s
Surrey
Sussex
Trinity Laban
Thames Valley University
University of the Creative Arts
UCL
UEL
UWE
UWIC
Westminster
Bournemouth
Portsmouth
Southampton
Southampton Solent
University Campus Suffolk (UCS)
Winchester

Wednesday 24 February– Glasgow STUC
The Scottish Trades Union Congress 333 Woodlands Road Glasgow G3 6NG
http://www.stuc.org.uk/ 

To register for the Glasgow meeting go to; 
https://ucu.wufoo.com/forms/glasgow-he-briefing-wednesday-24-february-2016/
Suggested branches/LAs:

Aberdeen
Abertay Dundee
Cumbria
Dundee
Durham
Edinburgh
Glasgow Caledonian
Glasgow School of Art
Glasgow
Heriot-Watt
Napier
Newcastle
Northumbria
Queen Margaret University
Robert Gordon
St. Andrews
Stirling
Strathclyde
Sunderland
Teesside
University of the West of Scotland
Belfast Queen’s 
Ulster
St Mary’s University College 
Stranmillis

Thursday 25 February – Leeds
St Georges Centre Great George Street Leeds Ls1 3DG 
http://www.stgeorgescentreleeds.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Directions-and-Map-Car-St-G-Centre3.doc

To register for the Leeds meeting go to; 
https://ucu.wufoo.com/forms/leeds-he-briefing-thursday-25-february/
Suggested branches/LAs:

Manchester
Manchester Met
Salford
University of Central Lancashire
Bolton
Cheshire
Edgehill
Lancaster
Liverpool Hope
Liverpool John Moores
Liverpool Institute
Liverpool
Royal Northern College of Music
Bradford
Huddersfield
Hull
Leeds College of Music
Leeds
Leeds Beckett
Leeds Trinity
Sheffield
Sheffield Hallam
York
York St. John
Bangor
Glyndŵr