September 2002

ACM Makes Pay Call at TUC

To the delight of other FE trade unions, ACM’s call for an improved pay settlement won the full support of delegates to this year’s TUC conference in Blackpool. The ACM motion called for the TUC to support the current pay campaign in FE through lobbying government and raising public awareness of the issues.

Moving the motion, General Secretary Peter Pendle told delegates, “Our sector is at the forefront of the government’s campaign to provide basic skills to adults; and it plays a significant role in delivering modern apprenticeships and other work related training. But to the government we are sometimes invisible.”

He went on to highlight the funding crisis in colleges and the problems this has caused. “Colleges are forced to respond by restructuring, reorganising or re-advertising. The real losers are students, your present and future members,” adding “We want to close the pay gap between schools and colleges that have seen staff vacancies reach unprecedented levels.”

ACM’s motion was supported by ATL, NATFHE and UNISON who all thanked ACM for bringing the issue to the conference floor.

ACM was also successful with its call for the government to adopt a policy of publicly funded education for all adults up to level 2. A composite motion, seconded by ACM, received unanimous support from TUC delegates

Peter Pendle, ACM Chief Executive & General Secretary photograph by John Harris, reportdigital.co.uk

ACM INSURANCE AND FINANCIAL SERVICES

ACM has joined the General Federation of Trade Unions (GFTU) Member Benefits Scheme to bring you savings on motor and home insurance, competitive mortgages, remort-gages and loans. Also as part of the scheme, independent financial advice is available to members and their families via a team of Independent Financial Advisors.

Restructuring Still Biggest Concern

Calls to our helpline show that restructuring is still the number one problem facing ACM members. Of the last hundred calls up to 13th September 2002, almost one in three (31%) was about restructuring or redundancy. This represents a significant jump on the first quarter of this year when restructuring accounted for 20% of all helpline calls. Employment Officer David Green said, “This is an alarming rise, even accounting for the increased level of restructuring we see at this time of year.”

Pensions, contractual issues and bullying were the next most common type of enquiry accounting for 14%, 13% and 8% of calls respectively.

The ACM helpline can be contacted on 0116 285 4055 or by e-mail at helpline@acm.uk.com. It is staffed weekdays and if an advisor isn’t immediately available, a message can be left and we will call you back as soon as possible.