This strategy is to make bargaining meaningful and relevant to members and equip our reps with the tools they need to negotiate directly with their employer at the workplace.
The bargaining calendar and bargaining cycle are the two key methods through which we seek to deliver this.
Bargaining calendar
Once a term, every NEU group raises the same nationally agreed issue to exercise our collective strength to win systemic change. These issues are key member concerns and fit the rhythm of the academic year.
For the maintained school sector, the bargaining calendar is:
Other sectors can adopt or adapt this formulation to suit their needs.
The bargaining calendar does not specify that a workplace group can only raise one issue at a time, nor does it aim to inhibit workplace groups addressing other local issues. Indeed, by seeking to normalise union/employer negotiations, it encourages the establishment of formal workplace negotiating arrangements, such as a joint negotiating committee (JNC), as the mechanism to raise all member concerns whenever appropriate.
