Response to Thirteen Communication
Dear Member,
You may have seen the communication from Thirteen management that went out on Friday 4th Feb 2022. It explains about Thirteen’s offer of a 3% pay rise and an extra day’s holiday for your birthday. Thirteen state that there is also a commitment to review their ‘total reward and staff benefits offer’. A commitment to review something could result in improvements, or could bring an outcome that your benefits package is too much, or it could bring no change at all.
It is a review, nothing concrete is being offered to you at this time.
Interestingly, Thirteen are offering you improved access to facilities as part of the pay award; better access to Hudson Quay and TRC aren’t going to pay your bills.
Thirteen use the term ‘overwhelmingly accept’ when mentioning Unison’s ballot (77% to accept) yet they fail to use the same term when mentioning the overwhelming rejection of the offer by Unite members, 94% to reject, that result is worthy the term ‘Overwhelming’.
The communication from Thirteen would suggest that Unite members are preventing colleagues from receiving the pay increase. Don’t let Thirteen turn worker against worker.
The reality is, Unite, through its members are a fighting back Trade Union.
Unite members understand that bills and the cost of living is going up and that we will all struggle to make ends meet.
Unite members clearly want to fight to have a real pay rise; 3% is a pay cut when the real cost of living is 7.5%. The consequence to Unite members standing up and fighting for a fair pay rise that at least matches the cost of living, is that if we are successful in negotiating improvements to the 3%, members of other unions and non-union members will also benefit from our negotiations.
If any of your colleagues are not members of a union, please speak to them about joining Unite, the fighting back trade Union.
Let’s stand together to fight for a pay rise, don’t settle for a pay cut.
In solidarity
Mark Sanderson
Unite Regional Coordinating Officer