TUC Welcomes Guarantee For Young Unemployed

Commenting on the Government’s Jobs White Paper published yesterday (Tuesday), TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said, “The new better off in work guarantee shows the Government has recognised that some people moving off benefits into very low paid work do not bring home any more money. They are right to try to correct this.

‘The promise of 100,000 new jobs, apprenticeships and training places is good news for nearly one million young people at risk of long-term unemployment.

‘In the 1980s, young people who lost their jobs were left on the scrapheap, and over two million of them were unable to find work even after the recession had ended. Today’s commitment shows that the Government has learnt those lessons and is taking this jobs crisis seriously.

‘With long-term unemployment still going up rapidly, making the Youth Guarantee available after six months is also a welcome and necessary investment.

‘However, the Government must continue to offer job and training guarantees to all those at risk of lengthy periods of joblessness.”

2.3% Rise Offered To Welsh Colleges

Fforwm, the organisation representing FE colleges in Wales has tabled a 2.3% pay rise for 2009-10 in response to the joint union claim. However, because the organisation says they have no mandate to negotiate on national terms and conditions, the offer has for now at least, been rejected by the joint union side while they seek a form of words from Fforwm that would allow both sides to discuss, in a positive manner, what model terms and conditions could look like in the sector.

A commitment to negotiate national terms and conditions is something the joint unions have been seeking for some time but so far, without success. However, the Welsh Assembly Government appears to be positive about talks regarding national conditions of service so political pressure may yet bring about a solution. With this in mind the joint unions are seeking a meeting with the minister, John Griffiths.

AMiE Wales Officer, Brian Thornton said, “The pay offer is welcome, but with discussions on national conditions of service promised by Fforwm following the Webb report; and with support for this from the minister, we need to make progress on this issue as well. The school sector has the protection of national conditions of service – we seek parity with this sector.”

Fforwm have conducted their own research on conditions of service across Wales and the unions have asked them to share the results. Brian added, “With the transformation agenda underway there are a number of advantages to having common terms and conditions, not least when colleges merge.”

Five Unions Accept Pay Offer For English Colleges

All the English NJF unions other than UCU have now accepted the Association of Colleges (AoC) final offer of a 1.5% pay increase from 1 August. UCU delegates attending a special conference to consider the offer said that it fell short of the pay award given to school teachers and so could not be accepted. They will now ballot members on taking industrial action.

The AoC have subsequently advised colleges of the position and in a briefing to principals say that this is their final recommendation. It remains to be seen whether colleges now implement the award or whether they await the outcome of the UCU ballot.

The unions accepting the offer are ACM, ATL, Unison, Unite and GMB.

Demand Led Learning Is Sleight Of Hand

Delegates to next weeks Trades Union Congress being held in Liverpool will be told that the concept of  demand led learning is government sleight of hand. AMiE partner ACM will argue that demand for learning is not the same as need for learning, and that for those who are disadvantaged and lack skills, public subsidy is necessary to turn need into demand.

The congress will be urged to call on government to give colleges the flexibility and discretion to respond to local needs.

Tom Wilson, the recently appointed director of the TUC’s UnionLearn, previews the congress on FENews.co.uk.

TUC Welcomes Jobs Guarantee For Young People

Responding to the expansion of the Government’s Jobs Guarantee today (Wednesday) to young people who have been unemployed for ten months, as part of the Backing Young Britain campaign, TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said:

“This is fantastic news for the many young people who are in desperate need of work.

“In previous recessions many young people have been left on the scrapheap. Today’s announcement shows the Government is committed to not letting this happen again.

“Demand will be high so it’s good to see so many places already on offer. The Government must also ensure that any new opportunities provide access to real jobs, offering good prospects and a decent wage.

“As a signatory to Backing Young Britain, the TUC will continue to encourage businesses to take on more young people, both as employees and as apprentices.

“We expect the Jobs Guarantee to be a huge success and the Government should consider extending it to anyone who has been out of work for over a year.”

Ruskin College and TUC – New Academic Partnership

An agreement is being signed today between the TUC  and Ruskin College that will mark the beginning of a two year partnership between the College and the TUC’s Organising Academy.

The agreement, to be signed at 3pm, will make Ruskin College the lead national provider of Organising Academy courses, bringing together two important academic institutions that have a long and prestigious history of producing trade unionists that campaign for social justice and equality.

The TUC’s Organising Academy, now in its 11th year, trains over 350 union officers and organisers every year. Ruskin College has a history of educating trade unionists, with graduates such as Ex-Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, Ex-TUC General Secretary George Woodcock and Dennis Skinner MP.

Commenting on the new partnership, TUC Deputy General Secretary Frances O’Grady said: “For the last four years the TUC Organising Academy has enjoyed a successful partnership with Newcastle College. I’d like to thank Newcastle College for their wonderful support and also Ruskin College for welcoming the Organising Academy with such open arms.

“‘This new partnership marks an opportunity to shape a new generation of skilled, educated and motivated trade unionists that will create stronger and more successful unions.”

Audrey Mullender, the Principal of Ruskin College said: “We are delighted to be welcoming the TUC Organising Academy to Ruskin. It makes absolute sense for Ruskin and the TUC to draw together our proud histories of educating trade unionist to organise for social justice and social mobility.”

The new partnership will allow Organising Academy graduates to take advantage of Ruskin’s broader programme of training and support, which includes MA and undergraduate programmes.

Campaign Targets Young Voters

Anti-racism campaign Kick It Out and the Professional Footballers Association (PFA) have produced a poster that encourages people to vote in the forthcoming European Elections. It is hoped it will increase awareness amongst young people in particular, who may otherwise be unaware of the elections.

The poster underlines the diversity of football and features players from all 20 Premier League clubs. The campaign slogan ‘Get Your Cross In The Box’ urges voters to ensure they get involved ahead of the elections, on Thursday 4th June.

Kick It Out and the PFA have worked together on the campaign to underline the powerful force that diversity plays in the game.

Polling day next Thursday comes at time when the integrity of politicians is at an all time low. Many of us fear this will result electoral success for the BNP. But as the anti-fascist magazine Searchlight points out, 65 years ago a generation risked everything to defeat fascism. All we have to do is vote!

For more information on the campaign against the BNP please see the Hope Not Hate website.

TUC Welcomes Equality Bill

Responding to the Equality Bill published this week by Equality Minister Harriet Harman, TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said,

“We welcome the Minister’s courage in defying the business lobbyists who say that equality doesn’t matter in a recession by publishing this Bill.

‘Bringing together the dozens of acts accumulated over the last 40 years into a single Equality Act will make it easier for individuals and employers to understand the law.

“But this Bill is more than just a cleaning up exercise. It strengthens the law and gives important new protections to disabled people and their carers, as well as extending rights for older people.

“The new duty to promote equality will encourage the public sector to continue to lead the way in tackling inequalities in the provision of public services.

“We are disappointed that the Government has fallen short of taking bolder steps to close the pay gap, particularly in the private sector where it stands at over 20 per cent.

“However, we welcome the Government’s decision to work with the TUC, Equalities and Human Rights Commission and the CBI to work out more effective ways of identifying how best private sector companies can report on any pay gaps.”

AMiE Calls on WAG To Overturn Cuts

AMiE and other education unions demonstrated against the cuts in Further Education outside the Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) at Cardiff Bay yesterday. Hundreds of staff and students had turned out to demonstrate on April fools day.

Speakers from  opposition parties supported AMiE’s argument that cutting funding from the sector is irrational and should be overturned.

Commenting on the demonstration, AMiE’s Wales Officer Brian Thornton said, “The FE sector has met all the initiatives of WAG over the years, has raised it’s quality profile, and has provided top quality worked based learning, Making cuts in the middle of a recession is just plain madness.”

Even the speaker from the Labour party and Plaid, who are after all the government, agreed with our argument!

Angleo Conti, the chair of the AMiE branch at Swansea College met John Griffiths the deputy minister for skills, along with lay members of the other joint Unions. Angelo was able to make a clear case from a College perspective as to why the cuts needed to be reversed and needed to be reversed now. Swansea College itself is facing a £1.8M deficit and a consequent set of job losses just as it is working towards a merger with Gorseinon College, In other words, doing what WAG wishes it to do!

More information and photos are available on the AMiE website. A news report on the demonstration can be found on the BBC Wales website.

Stop Micro-managing Teachers

The Lords Merits Committee has hit the nail on the head saying the Government should leave greater room for teachers to use their professional expertise to improve education, in its report into education regulations, according to our AMiE partner, the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL).

ATL fully agrees with the Committee’s views that too many regulations are introduced piecemeal, and that the Government rarely reviews the effect of regulations it imposes.

Dr Mary Bousted, general secretary of ATL, said,  “The Government has been trying to micro-manage what goes on in schools through a plethora of detailed and over-prescriptive regulations.  It shows a lack of trust in teachers and a failure to understand the complexity of teaching, and means many teachers are afraid to teach in the way they know would best suit the children in their class.”

“Problems arise because of the number and rate of Government interventions, the number of agencies and departments involved, and difficulties translating policies into the classroom.  Even the Government’s attempt to set out a vision for children in the Children’s Plan has become more like a list of interventions.”

“Too frequently it is impossible to see how, or whether, the evidence from pilots have any impact on the development of Government policy, and because of delays in implementation the Government has often moved onto the next issue on its list before the first policy has been bedded-in.  This leaves teachers feeling their feedback will be ignored.

Dr Bousted said:  “Although we are grateful the Government consults us about education policies at a draft and early stage, the relentless churning out of instant initiatives undermines all attempts to base policy on the evidence of what works best for children.”

ATL would like the Government to have a much clearer picture of the cumulative impact of proposed policies on schools, teachers and pupils.  It would also like the Government to continue working in partnership with educational professionals to find how best to put its education vision into workable policies.