November 2002

ACM WELCOMES EXTRA FUNDING FOR COLLEGE PAY INITIATIVE

ACM welcomed the recent announcement by Margaret Hodge that a further £32m was being made available to fund pay initiatives in colleges.

Peter Pendle chief executive and general secretary of ACM said, “We are pleased that ministers have listened to the Association’s call for additional funding for pay. Obviously the extra funding can only be a start and ACM will continue to campaign for additional funding to be made available when the detailed CSR allocations are made in November. Nevertheless, we have argued that some funding was needed immediately and the government have responded to the call.

We are especially pleased to see money allocated to the College Pay Initiative. ACM has campaigned for the extension of the pay initiative to all college employers as they contribute to the success of students and institutions. The argument has been won and we now look forward to additional funding for CPI in November.”

It is doubtful that the current pay dispute would be resolved by the announcement. Peter Pendle said “The employers should return to the negotiating table and reopen discussions with the unions on pay. The extra funding is equivalent to a 1% increase on pay. AoC should show some leadership to their members and consult them again on the pay offer. Many colleges have already paid more than the 2.3% recommended by AoC. With a little more movement by AoC and colleges it would be possible to reach a deal and avoid a winter of disruption which can only damage the campaign for extra funding. It really is up to AoC now”

Extra funding for college pay in Wales

The recent announcement by Welsh Assembly Education and Lifelong Learning Minister, Jane Davidson of an extra £9m funding for pay for employees working in colleges in Wales has been warmly welcomed by the Association.

ACM Wales Secretary Jeffrey Robinson said, “We have been campaigning with the other further education trades unions for extra funding for pay and it is pleasing that the Minister has acted to address the issue. We hope that her bold action will be followed throughout the United Kingdom. In particular we are pleased to see that the extra funding will be used to address the issue of low pay in the sector, especially amongst support staff”.

However, Jeffrey also issued some words of caution. “ACM Wales is seeking an urgent meeting with the Minister. The Association is concerned that, as members of the Welsh TUC, it does not appear to have been fully consulted on the detail of the proposals in the same ways as some other unions have been. The press statement announcing the additional funding fails to make any mention of management employees and we will be seeking assurances that college managers, many of whom carry heavy teaching workloads, are not excluded from the initiative.”

Extra funding for college pay in Wales

Report of the September National Council Meeting

ACM’s National Council met in London at the end of September. The meeting commenced with a tribute to long standing Council member Ian Macwhinnie who sadly lost his battle against cancer in July 2002. Key items discussed were a 12 month review of the strategic plan; the operational plan for 2002-2003; co-optees search committee; associate membership category; member services evaluation; ACM conference to be held in March 2003; recruitment strategy; forthcoming elections to Council; quality assurance procedures to be implemented by the Association over the next 12 months; 2003 budget; ACM awards; recommendations for trade unions from the Commission for Black Staff in FE; repositioning and review of the Association’s corporate identity; and Success for All.

Council agreed to recommend an associate membership category to the Annual General Meeting to be held in March 2003; assist wherever possible with the planned strategy for recruitment; increase subscription fee for full members to £192.00 per annum (£16.00 per month) and retired members to £21.00 per annum; the new proposed corporate identity; produce a briefing sheet for Principals attending the Margaret Hodge dinners; continue to lobby government over pay and try to get them to release additional money early to allow for a two stage deal to be funded in April 2003; and speak to AoC to get them back to the negotiating table.

The next Council meeting will be held on 24th and 25th January 2003 in Manchester.

Extra funding for college pay in Wales

Being an ACM National Council Member

I became an ACM National Council Member almost four years ago and have no regrets. It is the best personal development forum that I have ever been part of!

There is a sense of giving something back to education and hopefully making a difference. Being part of the Council does not mean that you have to be a principal or vice-principal, on the contrary many of us hold middle/senior management type posts within the education field but we are all passionate about young people and what the future holds for them.

As a Council member I have been privileged to be part of the Education Committee which is one of two – the other being concerned with employment issues. Through my involvement I have been invited to contribute to national consultation papers and have discussed them at length with my peers. The latter has helped me considerably in my day-to-day understanding of the issues we face and where we need to prioritise for the benefit of all.

I have, during my time on Council, been invited to attend seminars and meetings representing the ACM view. This has widened my interaction with other organisations providing me with an even broader insight into how we all must work together to provide the “world-class” education of which we aspire.

The commitment to the Council is attendance at meetings approximately three times a year plus involvement as described above – one which I can thoroughly recommend.

Ann Wardall