Joint TRADE UNION SIDE Bulletin

UNISON & GMB IN CONSULTATION WITH UNITE

FINAL PAY OFFER CANNOT BE RECOMMENDED BY THE JOINT TRADE UNIONS:

Special points of
It is always hoped that we will increased workload had a offer that is less than RPI.
interest:
come to an offer that can be detrimental effect upon the
The pay offer is recommended to members job performance, or their per- Furthermore when we sur-
significantly less veyed you and asked you what
but this year that has not been sonal life.
than inflation possible. you thought was a reasonable
The Retail Prices Index (RPI) pay offer and asked you to be
We surveyed you Obviously we entered the ne- and the Consumer Prices In- realistic the average results
and you said you gotiations well aware of the dex (CPI) are used to measure came out at 5%.
wanted more
from this years companys recovery plan. We the cost of living. As they in-
have all been on this journey crease this increased your Therefore we put this claim to
pay claim than
what you were together and are contributing costs. As projected by the the employer:
awarded last to turning things around for Office of Budget Responsibility
year. A substantial increase on
npower. both are largely predicted to
salary and all associated
We put a reason-
rise quite significantly:
So we surveyed you, the staff allowances with effect from
able counter offer 1 April 2017
to understand what you 2016: RPI 1.7% CPI 0.7%
to try to bring our
pay back up to wanted us to achieve from
2017: RPI 3.7% CPI 2.4% A one year deal
inflation over the this round of pay negotiations.
two years. 2018: RPI 3.6% CPI 2.3% A one off payment to re-
Compared to 12 months ago,
Thats why we how do you feel your pay has ward the hard work of all
2019: RPI 3.1% CPI 2.0%
cannot recom- changed relative to the cost of employees and to boost
mend the pay living? GMB 66.2% said worse 2020: RPI 3.1% CPI 2.0% morale that is linked to the
offer. off. UNISON 63.9% said worse success of the recovery
2021: RPI 3.2% CPI 2.0% plan.
off.
Any pay offer less than these
CAUTION ! Do you feel fairly rewarded in
figures means your cost of
your job? GMB 88.3% said no,
living is decreasing.
UNISON 63.9%
This has been circulated by This is one reason why we
social media and electroni- 73.7% of staff said that an
cannot recommend any pay
cally.

Please be mindful of any

comments you make on
any social media platform
that you do not bring the
organization into disre-
pute.
Together we are stronger. If
you know someone you
work with who is not in a
union please encourage
them to join us.
Collective bargaining pays
off for union members. For
every 10000 earned in
the private sector a union
member earns around
1690 more .
Source: ONS Labour Force Survey,
Autumn 2013
HOW THE NEGOTIATIONS WENT:
It is not that we were unrea-
sonable or unrealistic in our
pay claim and our negotia-
tions .
We understand the position of
the company and so we re-
vised our offer and asked for a
2 year deal with a lesser % in
the first year but with a claw
back in the second year to get
us back to inflationary predic-
tions.
This was ruled out by the com-
pany and they responded with
a one year deal of 1.5% and a
one off payment of 100 pro
rated for part time employees.
This is taxable and therefore
what you will get is much less
than this. And to suggest that
part time staff get even less is
demoralizing.
We know that the company is
still in recovery and we are all
working hard to turn it back
into the black. However we
also know that many personal
contract staff got significant
bonuses and we know that the
customers had their bill in-
creased by 9.8% this year. Our
energy bills are also rising and
therefore we are equally hit by
these rises in energy prices.
Our offer of a two year deal
with a larger % in the second
year was designed to incentiv-
ize performance, to provide
the company with your com-
mitment to stay and to provide
you with stability and security
knowing what you would real-
ize next year.
This was rejected by the com-
pany which is why we cannot
recommend the npower pay
offer.
We will now go to ballot and it
is for you to decide.
Join online today!
HIGHER PAY
The collective strength of trade union negotiation
means that (on average) union members:
Take home higher pay
Have better sickness and pension benefits
Have more holiday
https://join.unison.org.uk/
Have more flexible working hours

Union members are also more likely to be in perma-

nent and full time jobs

Where union members and collective bargaining is

strong, people are far more likely to be paid above
the national minimum wage.
https://www.tuc.org.uk/sites/default/files/TUC_UnionADV.pdf

https://www.gmb.org.uk/join/
join-online
Join online today

A reminder why we cannot recommend this offer:

The offer that we put to the
company was only fair and
reasonable. It was about
rewarding your hard work
and achievements over the
last 12 months; it is about
stability and security for the
coming 2 years; it is about
securing your commitment
to the organization.
This pay offer is significantly
less than inflation and
marks a step backwards
when it isn't anywhere near
where RPI is expected to be.
We cant afford to go back-
wards.
You will receive a ballot pa-
per to your home address
shortly.
Ultimately it is your choice
whether to accept the pay
offer. Remember that the
100 pro rata does not go
onto your salary and is not
pensionable.
You might also want to know
what other energy compa-
nies are paying their staff
and they are at and around
the 3% mark.
In your words this is what
you have said:
It seems the costs of living
is rising dramatically and
our pay never reflects this.
Recognition from the com-
pany that increased work-
load on staff should be rec-
ognized and rewarded.
A generous bonus scheme
of some description. My
team has hit every target
given to it in the past 18
months but had no reward
for it., despite a number of
targets being Ofgem tar-
gets
I recently took a demotion
to an NPR grade but I am
still being worked quite as
hard if not harder
Question: What percentage
2016:
increase to your salary
RPI 1.7% CPI 0.7%
would you like? (Be realistic)
Average of all responses: 5% 2017:
RPI 3.7% CPI 2.4%
Look out for your ballot
papers in the post to your 2018:
home addresses and you RPI 3.6% CPI 2.3%
decide!