Unite the Union February 2013

Transcription

1 Unite bargaining brief Unite the Union February 2013 INTRODUCTION The prospects for 2013 remain challenging and real wages are still being squeezed. The Government s programme of austerity is not only hurting the living standards of working people now, but is damaging the economy in the longer term. UNITE continues to argue for a wages-led recovery and the importance of collective bargaining for fairer and more sustainable growth in the future. This Bargaining Brief contains examples of recent significant Unite settlements. You may also wish to note that the Labour Research Department pay and conditions database which is available to all UNITE members and officials is searchable by UNITE sector group (further details towards the end of this brief). Simon Dubbins Editor PAY SETTLEMENTS MEDIAN SETTLEMENT RISES IN THREE MONTHS TO JANUARY At a key time for pay setting in parts of the economy, the median IDS settlement level has increased in the three months to January However the latest analysis shows a complex picture of awards in private services, manufacturing and production. Almost two-fifths of awards in the automotive, engineering and chemical sectors are at or above 3 per cent. The latest analysis of pay settlements from IDSPay.co.uk shows a median pay award of 2.5 per cent for the three months to the end of January The latest median pay settlement figure is the highest recorded since the summer of The revised median had been running at 2 per cent since the three months to the end of August Pay Settlement Data - three months to end of January 2013 Whole economy Median 2.5% Average 2.4% Weighted average (by employee nos) 2.1% Inter-quartile range 2 to 3% Median by sector Private sector 2.6% Manufacturing & production 2.6% Private services 2.8% Based on 48 settlements covering 639,400 employees Source: IDSPay.co.uk While the median figure for the whole economy is 2.5 per cent, the modal, or most common award, is 3 per cent in the three months to January. The distribution of pay settlements shows an increase in the number of awards recorded at 3 per cent and above, and a decrease in the number recorded at between 0.1 and 1.99 per cent. As a result, the inter-quartile range widened in the three months to January to stand at between 2 and 3 per cent. Previously the inter-quartile range was between 1.4 and 2.6 per cent in the three months to the end of December. The new range indicates a drift upwards in the level of awards. (JN5651) HB220213

2 FALL IN LOWER AWARDS Awards between 0.1 and 1.99 per cent have remained rare over the recent period, falling from 12 per cent to just 4 per cent of deals recorded in the three months to January This is mainly a result of a small number of awards at this level in the retail and not-forprofit sectors falling out of the figures. Awards in the lower-paying sectors tend to be influenced by the National Minimum Wage, which rose by 1.8 per cent in October The median award for the private sector as a whole in the three months to the end of January 2013 is 2.6 per cent, higher than in both of the previous three-monthly periods. January is a key month for pay setting in much of the private sector, but especially for manufacturing. Here the median settlement figure has fallen, from 2.9 per cent in the three months to the end of December 2012, to 2.6 per cent to the end of January It is possible that pay settlement levels in some areas (though not all see below) are being subdued as a result of the recent economic downturn and fears of a triple-dip recession. Meanwhile, the median award in private services has risen to 2.8 per cent, up from the 2 per cent figure recorded in the three months to December, although based on a smaller sample in comparison with manufacturing. RISE IN AWARDS AT 3 PER CENT AND ABOVE A third of all awards recorded in the three months to the end of January were between 3 and 3.99 per cent, up from 18 per cent of all settlements recorded in the previous three-month period. The majority of these settlements were in the automotive, engineering and chemical manufacturing sectors. Several of these were the result of the implementation of the final stages of previously agreed long-term deals. Some long-term deals, such as the agreement covering 1,900 production workers at construction equipment maker JCB, included pre-agreed formulas for increases linked to RPI inflation, which has remained comparatively high in the three months to January. Several new long-term deals have also been recorded. New two-year deals were implemented with effect from 1 January 2013 at tyre manufacture Michelin, raising the pay of some 1,900 employees by 2.5 per cent, and at engineering firm GE Aviation (Hamble), where the pay of some 900 employees was increased by 3 per cent. Recent Unite settlements include: LRD PAY & CONDITIONS DATABASE ONLINE SUMMARY OF PAY ROUND RECENT UNITE SETTLEMENTS AS REPORTED TO THE PAY & CONDITIONS DATABASE ONLINE Settlement Date Agreement Standard Incresse 01/01/13 Nissan 4.00% 01/01/13 Gai-Tronics 3.50% 01/01/13 Network Rail (ex BBRIS Anglia & Kent) 3.50% 01/01/13 Network Rail East Midlands 3.50% 06/01/13 Northern Rail 3.30% 01/01/13 Rolls Royce Motor Cars 3.25% 01/01/13 Joyglobal UK Pinxton 3.20% 01/01/13 Urenco 3.20% 01/01/13 Cambridge University Press 3.00% 01/01/13 Cereal Partners UK (Bromborough) 3.00% 01/01/13 Cereal Partners UK (Staverton) 3.00% 01/01/13 GKN Driveline Birmingham 3.00% 01/01/13 Lafarge Cement (Blue Circle) 3.00% 01/01/13 Lafarge Drivers (Blue Circle Drivers) 3.00% 01/01/13 Meggitt Aircraft Braking Systems 3.00% 01/01/13 Scottish Power Energy Network 3.00% 01/01/13 Varian Medical Systems 3.00%

3 JANUARY INFLATION FIGURES RETAIL PRICE INDEX (RPI) 3.3% (up from 3.1% in December) CONSUMER PRICE INDEX (CPI) 2.7% (same as 2.7% in December) BREAKDOWN OF KEY RPI STATISTICS ANNUAL RATE Housing + Household expenditure 3.4% Alcohol + Tobacco 5.9% Postage costs 23.3% Rail Fares 3.9% Food 4.1% Water and other charges 5.8% Clothing & footwear 7.5% Personal expenditure 5.4% UK Holidays 7.0% Source: RPI rose to 3.3 per cent in the year to January 2013, up from 3.1 per cent in the year to December 2012, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics. RPI is the measure of inflation most commonly referred to when setting wages and salaries. This month s rise to the index was driven mainly by increases in the price of alcohol and tobacco and to a lesser extent by increases in the price of food. The price of alcoholic drinks went up by 2.9 per cent over the month and that of tobacco by 0.1 per cent. The cost of food went up by 0.3 per cent overall in the month, with the steepest price rises experienced in the purchase of fresh potatoes (up by 5.4 per cent), lamb (up 3.3 per cent) and other meats, and tea (up 3.2 per cent). Downward pressure on the RPI came mainly from consumer durables and personal expenditure. Consumer durables include items such as furniture, furnishings, electrical appliances and other household equipment, as well as outerwear and footwear. Personal expenditure covers chemist s goods, personal articles and personal services. CPI (the Consumer Prices Index) inflation for the year to January was 2.7 per cent, unchanged for the fourth month in a row. CPI is the Government s preferred measure of inflation for macroeconomic purposes, though the index does not include housing costs. It is usually lower than RPI. Next month the ONS is introducing two new measures of inflation, the CPIH and the RPIJ. CPIH will include the measurement of changes in housing costs, currently excluded from CPI, and RPIJ will establish an RPI-based index using a new method of calculation. The new indices aim to address the gap between the two estimates produced by RPI and the CPI. However, the continuity of the existing RPI s long-term series will be maintained. It remains to be seen whether the new RPIJ will influence pay bargainers or whether they will continue to refer to the more familiar RPI.

4 All-items retail price inflation forcasts, 10 December 2012 November 2012 December January 2013 February March April May June July August September October November December CG CS MS NO RBS SG USB ROUNDED %INC %INC %INC %INC %INC %INC %INC AVERAGE %INC Forecasters: CG Citigroup; CS Credit Suisse; MS Margan Stanley; NO Nomura; RBS Royal Bank of Scotland; SG Societe Generale; UBS UBS. Source: IDS EARNINGS AND PAY The table below shows estimates for full-time average weekly earnings by occupation. It is based on the mean average earnings figures published by the Office for National Statistics in the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) The figures in the table have been uprated by the 0.2% increase in the average weekly earnings figures between April 2012 and November. Full-time average weekly earnings by occupation Source: a week All employees All male All female Managers Professionals Associate professionals Admin & secretarial Skilled/craft Services Sales Operatives Other manual jobs Percentage Annual Rise in Average Weekly Earnings (Total Pay) November 2012 Whole Economy 1.3% Private Sector 1.3% Public Sector 1.9% Public Sector excluding Financial Services 2.1% Manufacturing 1.6% Services 1.4% Construction -0.9% Wholesale, Retailing, Hotels & Restaurants 2.3%

5 2012 PAY SURVEY AVAILABLE FROM THE LABOUR RESEARCH DEPARTMENT LRD s annual Pay Survey is now available to read at: The Pay Survey contains full details of more than 800 pay settlements and an analysis of pay rates. All the information in the Pay Survey comes from the Payline database of pay and conditions. All members and officials of UNITE have access to the Payline database - username: unite password: opal961 When you log into Payline you will be able to access the enhanced version of the Pay Survey with links to the Payline records. Contact Details Editor: Simon Dubbins simon.dubbins@unitetheunion.org COMPANY ACCOUNTS All requests for information relating to company accounts are to be directed to: john.neal@unitetheunion.org Bargaining Brief Compiler: Steve Martin steve.martin@unitetheunion.org ACCESSING DATA The data contained in this brief can all be obtained by using online facilities available to Unite members and general websites. Unite has provided a workplace representative s guide to the web and this is available at In addition all Unite members can access the pay and conditions database maintained by LRD at or through the LRD website username: unite and password: opal961 (JN5651) HB220213