Click here to read the latest Unite in AXA newsletter on today’s announcement in AXA Wealth. Please leave your feedback below or talk to your local union rep.

On an 81.32% return of ballot papers issued, the result of the AXA UK 2011 pay ballot is:

For: 84.12%

Against: 15.54%

Spoilt: 0.34%

The company has been advised of the result.

Thanks to everyone who voted and the local union reps for the hard work put in running the ballots in their offices.

Unite is participating in the ‘March For The Alternative’ national demonstration against Government spending cuts on Saturday 26th March in London. If you are interested in attending and would like to find out more please click here. Transport for Unite members and their families is available for all regions, details of which can be found at the link above.

The AXA European Works Council secretariat has called on AXA management for the inclusion of social consequences in any future negotiations over the sale of any parts of the business to another party.

In the February bureau meeting today with Group HR, a review of the Friends Provident sale led to this call when the level of compensation to members of AXA‘s Defined Benefit pension scheme was discussed.

Management agreed that it was important that social partners (such as the European Works Council and unions) were involved as early as possible but this can depend on the third party agreeing to this.

Following further representations, and the intervention of group president Henri de Castries, AXA Group Head Office in Paris have now agreed that any employee made redundant in 2011, who had been given an AXA Miles passport back in 2004, will now receive the reward.

Both Unite and AXA UK are  pleased with this change of stance by Group Head Office and the practicalities of how to administer this change to the rules is now being worked out.

The 2011 AXA UK pay ballot is now underway and we urge all Unite in AXA members in the bargaining unit to exercise their right to vote.

If you are a member on a site which has not elected a local representative you will need to contact a rep at a nearby site to obtain a voting slip. A list of reps can be found here.

The ballot closes 2pm on Friday 18th February.

We are pleased to announce we have reached an agreement on the following pay proposal for employees in levels 6a to 9:

• A pay increase based on a 2% pay matrix. Plus
• A 1% discretionary spend, the focus of which will be determined by each CEO with their HR teams to target anomalies and key problem areas.

Overall, this equates to 3% of the total pay spend for this group of employees.

Unite will recommend this pay review to their members for acceptance in the forthcoming pay ballot which will take place from Monday 7 February until Friday 19 February.

PAY MATRIX

The following matrix will be used to award pay increases for all employees in level 6a to 9:

□   This matrix has an element of manager discretion but any adjustments up have to be balanced with movements down – this is necessary to ensure this is affordable for the business.

□   It had been previously agreed for those employees Above the pay range (i.e. where their FTE Salary is over the maximum of the pay range) every third year a pay award based upon the maximum salary for their pay range will be made (i.e. rather than a Lump Sum award)

□   No pay award will be available for Partially Successful performance – but when performance is back to a sustained Successful level of performance a pay award can be made at that time (not backdated) based on this pay matrix. Bonus awards can be made to Partially Successful employees on a discretionary basis as normal.

□   There will be no changes to the pay ranges for 2011.

Martin Hynes, our lead rep in Ipswich, leaves the company today for pastures new.

Martin has been a very active and hugely admired union rep, working tirelessly on behalf of members, fellow reps and the trade union movement. He will be sorely missed and Unite in AXA would like to take this opportunity to thank him publicly for all the hard work he has done over the years and wish him all the best for the future.

Click here to read the latest Unite in AXA newsletter on yesterday’s announcement in AXA Personal Lines. Please leave your feedback below or talk to your local union rep.