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2 March 2006 NATFHE Wales Annual ConferenceSaturday 4 March Venue: All welcome - registration is at 9.30am. For more information please contact Lydia Green  21 January 2006 Landmark agreement on college pay completed in WalesA landmark agreement that will give Welsh college lecturers pay parity with schoolteachers has just been concluded. The final phase of the three-stage pay agreement, drawn up between NATFHE - The University & College Lecturers’ Union, and fforwm, the national organisation representing FE colleges in Wales, was completed this week. Overall, the deal will see an extra £31.5m pumped into Welsh college workers’ pay packets. The first two phases of the deal, implemented in 2003 and 2004, saw an extra £20m allotted to college workers' pay, and the final phase will see another £11.5m put in. The agreement means that lecturers at the 23 colleges of further education in Wales will now be paid in accordance with a single, national pay spine, which mirrors the pay structures of their schoolteacher colleagues. Previously, Welsh colleges each set their own pay scales which meant that pay rates varied greatly between institutions. All colleges paid lower rates than schools. The deal also spells very good news for part-time Welsh college lecturers who will be paid at the same rates as their full-time colleagues. And it is a victory for those on insecure, short-term hourly-paid contracts who will be paid on the same pay scales as their full-time colleagues, while some will be transferred on to long-term contracts. Crucially, Welsh colleges will only get their share of the extra funding if they agree to implement this three-year deal in full. Margaret Phelan, NATFHE official in Wales, said: 'This is a landmark victory that gives college lecturers much deserved pay parity with schoolteachers, and means part-time staff in further education will no longer get second-class rates of pay. 'One of the reasons that we have been able to secure this pay deal in Wales is because our government recognises the key role colleges will play in shaping the future of the curriculum for 14-19-year-olds and in adult education. I would like to congratulate the Welsh assembly government for allowing us to reach this agreement and for giving us the funding to do so.' Barry Lovejoy, head of colleges’ department at NATFHE, in congratulating the Wales membership, said: 'This deal should ensure industrial relations peace in Wales for the foreseeable future and employers and government across the border should take heed. 'In England, lecturers are forced to take continued industrial action because of the ongoing failure of colleges to implement a nationally agreed pay settlement. 'The Welsh agreement shows that there is another way. NATFHE calls on the government to face up to its responsibilities and provide ring-fenced money for agreed pay rises.' See agreement | salary scales | management pay spine | instructor/demonstrator agreement | part-time agreement 28 June 2005 Welsh reject fees - but underfunding fears remainNATFHE has welcomed the Welsh Assembly's decision to not charge top-up fees to Welsh domiciled students studying at Welsh HEIs, but the union warned that the funding gap compared to English HEIs must be bridged by additional funds. See press release 1 February 2005 Part Time AgreementNATFHE negotiators have concluded an agreement on behalf of part-time lecturers in Wales. In the agreement is a commitment from colleges to offer fractional contracts to part-time hourly-paid staff from 1st January 2005. The employers will now access an addition £2.4m from the Welsh Assembly Government to convert the contracts of hourly-paid lecturing staff to fractional appointments. Your branch officers will be contacting the principal to establish how your college intends to implement that part of the agreement that deals with fractionalising part-time hourly-paid lecturing staff. The agreement will see part-time hourly-paid lecturers placed on the same scales as full time staff from 1 August 2005, providing the Assembly deliver on their promise to fund equality in the FE sector. Part-time lecturers will receive an hourly rate of pay that reflects, pro rata, that of a full-time lecturer. Part-time lecturers will also be eligible for incremental progression. Download the agreement draft claim for the implementation (Word doc) be drawn up and circulated to branches for their discussion and agreement prior to submission to employers in the post 92 sector. A further meeting of HESC will be held on 29 January 2005, which will be considering branch views on the claim. Reconfiguration and CollaborationThis remains an important policy initiative the Welsh Assembly Government (WAG). The minister reaffirmed the commitment of the WAG to this policy in a plenary debate held in July 2004. NATFHE in supporting this policy wrote to every HE member in Wales in November 2002 (see letter (Word doc)) seeking their support and explaining in detail why NATFHE should pursue the establishment of a federal post 92 institution for Wales. HEFCW recently announced (17 December 2004) its intention to commission a review of current arrangements and future options for the provision of higher education through the post-92 institutions in South East Wales. NATFHE HESC will be submitting its views to the review in the coming months.
Is your branch represented?Regional Executive will next meet on January 28 2005 at the Commodore Hotel. FESC and HESC will next meet on January 29 2004, also at the Commodore Hotel. For directions to the Commodore Hotel check out their website at delegate form (Word document). All visitors welcome. For further information on this please contact NATFHE response to the consultation (Word doc). 16 July 2004 Pay in WalesNATFHE and the joint trade unions have successfully completed phase two of the discussions on pay parity with school teachers for full time staff (Word doc). Discussions on the agreement for part time staff are currently under way and we hope to have an agreement that can be implemented early in the next academic year. Phase three of the discussions will start in September, and the regional office will be involved in drafting the pay claim over the summer months with your representatives on Further Education Sector Committee (FESC) in Wales. Phase three of the discussions will be looking at management spine and teaching allowances. Reconfiguration & CollaborationThe National Assembly for Wales have reiterated their commitment to this part of the Reaching Higher Agenda - see statement from Jane Davidson, Minister for Education and Lifelong Learning (Word doc). NATFHE contributed to the plenary debate - see letter to AMs outlining our views. We are still awaiting the outcome of the audit report on the merger between UWIC and University of Glamorgan.
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