UNISON
Being a BAOT member means you also belong to UNISON and can access support and advice on workplace issues at any time
council and school staff have lost on average 25 % from the value of their pay when measured against the Retail Price Index ( RPI ) measure of inflation since 2010 .
This means UNISON will be putting it to you , the members , including occupational therapy staff . The union is going to ballot members to ask if you wish to take industrial action over pay . Taking action will send a clear message to employers that you need a better pay rise .
Ballot papers will be posted to you in May , but there is lots that you can do in the meantime to get ballot ready , and the most important for occupational therapy staff will be to check their details online through MyUNISON www . unison . org . uk / my-unison .
Because of the way data is shared between UNISON and RCOT , you might have to opt-in to make sure you are getting UNISON ’ s ballot news in your inbox .
Higher education – the fight for fair pay continues
In higher education , pay talks with the University and Colleges Employers ’ Association ( UCEA ) have ended in impasse , rather than agreement .
UCEA made its latest final pay offer for 2023-24 during the ACASfacilitated dispute resolution talks in February – another below-inflation pay rise .
With inflation over 10 %, like many other workers across the country , between 2022-23 and 2023-24 , occupational therapy staff with UNISON membership through RCOT working in higher education are facing the prospect of the biggest ever real terms pay cut .
In 2022-23 , the final offer on pay for 2022-23 from UCEA was a belowinflation pay rise of 3 % for most higher education staff and between 9 % and 3 % for those on pay points 3 to 19 . This set off a wave of strike action across the UK from all four higher education unions .
In 2023-24 , the employers did offer a higher increase of between 8 % and 5 % for higher education staff , including an early payment portion secured in pay talks and worth £ 1,000 or 2 %, whichever was higher .
This showed how industrial action had moved the dial , but UNISON ’ s digital member consultation on 2023- 24 pay offer from UCEA , with the same percentage rises but without the early payment , produced an outcome of an 82 % vote to reject the offer UKwide , on a 34.3 % turnout .
Given that this consultation was less than two weeks long in early February , it is clear members were not happy with this offer .
After pay talks with the employers ended in March , the higher education service group executive met and decided not to consult members again on the slightly altered offer that the employers are now imposing , as it is not substantially different from the one the union had already consulted members on in February .
Instead , UNISON will be organising strike ballots strategically across the sector on a phased basis .
Protecting you at work
For help and advice at work – or to find out more about UNISON services – please contact your local BAOT / UNISON rep , branch at https :// branches . unison . org . uk /. Alternatively , visit www . unison . org . uk / get-help /.
If you need help at work 0800 0857 857 or www . unison . org . uk
... occupational therapy staff have been standing with their colleagues in local government and higher education to fight for better pay across the public sector .”
April 2023 OTnews 15