Airwave Salary Review 2011

Prospect has been in discussions with Airwave over the 2011 pay agreement which members voted for earlier this year.

Part of the 2011 pay agreement you voted for was to award an additional 1% for all MPGs at performance level 3 and higher at Sept 1, and for an additional .75% to be distributed by a matrix. The terms of which were yet to be agreed.

Airwave have invited Prospect to a number of meetings where we have discussed and debated how to distribute that additional amount, but we have not managed to reach an agreement in time for the September payroll.

In which case, we’ve agreed that the 1% should be paid (in September salaries) but that we will continue meeting into October with a view to reaching an agreement as soon as possible. This will of course be backdated to September. Individuals in Airwave will be receiving letters next week containing these, and bonus payment details.

The pay review this year is proving to be quite a challenge as we explain in more detail here. Airwave is very clear that the MPG pay grades are no longer fit for purpose. We have a great deal of sympathy for this position. We recognise that there are a number of anomalies and disparities within the grading structure and that the MPG makes little sense to people coming into the company. We know for example, that the long pay bands of the MPG have meant that some members have progressed through the scales more quickly than others, and that some people may have been recruited into different levels on the MPG. This means that there are a number of people doing similar jobs but paid at different rates, and in addition, Airwave is not confident that all salaries are in line with what the external market might say. Some of our members may be viewed as being below the market rate, but others may be surprised to find themselves “highly” paid (in line with external market data analysis). So there are a number of ways to look at this, a number of problems we ought to solve, and potentially a number of challenges.

Prospect is very clear that any pay structure, and any system to organise pay awards at salary review time – should be based on a few key principles. We believe that the pay structure should be fair, easy to understand, consistently applied, and transparent. We also believe that a collectively bargained pay system gets the best results for all our members.

Thus far our discussions have thrown up more questions than answers. It’s clear that there is not going to be the opportunity in this pay review to solve all the anomalies and revitalise the pay bands into something more meaningful right now. But we do need to continue working hard with Airwave to move towards that aim.

In which case, your Prospect Reps will continue to having detailed and challenging discussions with Airwave, and if there are proposals coming out of that, to bring them to members for further debate before reaching any agreement.

In the meantime, can we ask for your patience while Airwave and Prospect continue these discussions, and we’ll update members as soon as is possible. However if you have any questions or concerns, or you have a view you’d like taken into account in relation to the issues we’re raising here, please feel free to contact us in confidence.

Sarah Ward can be reached via the Prospect Helpdesk on 020 8971 6060 or you can e-mail [email protected]