Executive NEUs July 2022

JGS Report

Pay campaign

• Messaging for local officers to members – teachers’ pay cut by 20% in real terms since 2010; a 3% pay increase (for experienced teachers) set against current inflation rates of 11% equates to 28% reduction to salaries;
• Predicting the pay announcement early next week with 9% for NQT/ECTs and 3% for experienced teachers – with reports in FT that this may be 5% – all under inflation
• Impact on recruitment and retention devastating – with 1 in 8 teachers leaving after their first year and one-third by their fifth year; will increasingly lead to non-specialist teaching/multiple teachers for year groups and compressed timetables
• Working with the other unions to co-ordinate any indicative/consultative ballots; NASUWT have said they’ll ballot after the half term; heads’ unions reporting anger over pay with NAHT due to consult their members and include a question on pay; ASCL considering a survey; Unison and GMB may ballot their support staff when the pay offer known
• Key dates flagged at DBS: national zoom call on 6 September; all branches to hold committee meetings early in September; reps encouraged to hold school group meetings in w/c 19 September

Supply Member strategy

• Development of AWR tool progressing with launch next term – now fine tuning
• Trawl of casework system to look for trends amongst current cases with particular agencies
• Wider work on alternatives to agencies – with the Wales Government, with Jamie Driscoll (N Tyneside Metro Mayor) and across MATs;

The Executive agreed all Strategy Committee reports from the meetings on 9 June 2022 and agreed the following urgent reports and decisions:

• the projected year-end variance report and the overall variance of £2,773,197 due to expenditure being lower than budgeted
• Agreed the budget for 2022/3 with surplus of £231,052 following adjustments to the contribution to the International Reserve for 2022/23 being paid in this financial year; and a 4.5% reduction applied to several budget headings
• Revised Expense Regulations WEF 1.9.22 (compensation for trains/claiming for alcoholic drinks/child-care provision for part-timers/electric cars)
• Appointment of Crowe as the internal audit provider for 3-year contract
• Colleen Johnson was elected to the OSG in place of Emma Rose (SVP elect)
• Update on staff pay claim and costed restructuring of the Communications Section (to reflect increased use of digital comms) and the IT team to provide infrastructure support
• Approval of Staff Complaints Procedure and GS Disciplinary Procedure
• Timetable for the NDC/NAC elections with nominations opening in September and elections held in November
• Funding decisions; re-affiliation to the Bevan Foundation (£375 pa); £2000 to Maternity Action and a further donation of £38,000 to the Redhill Centre (Miners’ Gala) and that the nectar points earned through the Help a Child to Learn campaign are donated to equally to Women’s Aid, The Trussell Trust and the Children’s Literacy Charity
• TUC matters – motions on Opposing the Nationalities and Borders Act and Action on Cost-of-Living Crisis and the nomination of Heather McKenzie to the TUC General Council
• The Pay Reference Group (PRG) to continue to meet regularly to oversee the implementation of the ballot preparation and with the following decisions taken:
• Open on Saturday 24 September and close no later than Friday 14 October.
• A single YES/NO question about the willingness to take discontinuous strike action to secure an inflation-plus pay offer
• Constituency – all teacher members whose pay is determined under the terms of the School Teachers Review Body (England) and the independent Pay Review Body in Wales
• Should UNISON-GMB-UNITE confirm any pay ballot of support staff members then NEU to ballot our support staff members alongside them
• Package of resources and support for branches and reps to get the vote out
•  indicative ballot of sixth form college members on pay opening on 12 September
• Revisions to the Wales Council Constitution with 2/3 officer positions to be women and the vice-chair to be a woman if the chair is male and that this should also be applied to Regional Councils
• the student and trainee recruitment strategy as set out in paper US 7/160722
• To terminate Cornmarket contract and continue to offer member deals via myRewards
• Publicity to supply members launching our new AWR online tool should explicitly link to our pay campaign for inflation-plus pay rises for all education staff and urge supply members to make common cause with balloting colleagues and oppose any use of supply teachers to undermine strike action
• General Motions on Abortion Rights and Strike Map were carried
• A motion arising from the JGS report was carried concerning a tweet relating to a feminist organisation
• Updates to the NEU Disciplinary Procedure to provide guidance on new Rule (App 3 – 3.3a)
• Implementation of the Conference resolution on defending reps with proposed rule change
• The rep must be elected
• Where possible, NDAs should be removed from any settlement agreements

The Executive thanked Daniel Kebede for his work as National President this year. They thanked Robin Bevan, who was attending his last Executive meeting, for all his work as a National Officer.