| Description | Minutes of a committee established jointly by the University of Birmingham and the Association of Scientific Workers (AScW) trade union to settle matters relating to the salaries and conditions of work of laboratory technicians employed by the University following concerns raised by the trade union that the wages of technicians employed in higher education institutions was falling behind those of technicians employed in industry, and that salary scales did not allow for annual increments on every grade or for the rising cost of living
Minutes of the first meeting are preceded by correspondence from the Association dated 1948 which sets out the technicians' grievances. The first meeting was held on 26 April 1949 and the committee was initially called the Joint Committee on Wages and Conditions of Service of Technical Staff'. Minutes of this meeting refer to a previous joint meeting of representatives of the Finance Committee, Senate, and Technical and Laboratory Assistants held in February 1949 and the recommended establishment of an Advisory Committee 'to consider scales of remuneration and other matters affecting status and conditions of service'
The committee was chaired by the Vice-Chancellor, Raymond Priestley, and membership was made up of members of academic staff and lay members of Council, as well as representatives from the Association of Scientific Workers.
Minutes include copies of correspondence from the Association of Scientific Workers. There is also discussion about the adoption of the National Health Service grading scheme for laboratory technicians in university deaprtments 'as soon as the national situation permits'. It was decided that the Joint Committee would deal with matters until October 1949 when an Advisory Committee of the Council would take over the work. The next minutes recorded in this file are those of the first meeting of the Advisory Committee on Technical and Laboratory Staff Wages, set up by Council, dated 25 October 1949. It was decided at this meeting that one statutory meeting would be held each year, in March, and that other meetings would be held when necessary. A sub-committee was also formed to work out a grading scheme; ascertain how present members of staff would fit into the scheme; find out any extra cost of the proposed scheme; and make recommendations as to when various parts of the scheme to be put into operation. Further meetings were held during the course of 1950, including an annual meeting held in March that year. Minutes of this meeting refer to discussions at a national level about the wages of technicians at meetings of the Committee of Vice-Chancellors. There is also a copy of minutes of the sub-committee. Minutes of other meetings held in 1950 include discussion of regulations governing the employment of technical staff, and recommendations for training and wages.
Minutes of the meeting held on 16 May 1951 include papers relating to a claim by the Association of Scientific Workers for higher pay for technicians which had been referred to Ministry of Labour as a dispute and then to the National Arbitration Tribunal, and the committee discussed the findings of the tribunal and the resulting recommendations for a wage scale. There is also comment on the recommendations of Faculty Boards regarding the training and certification of technicians.
The committee did not meet again until May 1952 when the general wage situation of technicians was discussed, with mention of members suffering financial hardship, the rising cost of living, and the payment of family allowance. Minutes of the next meeting, held in April 1953, include a report from the Committee of Vice-Chancellors and Principals University Joint Committee on Technical Staffs negotiating sub-committee to the University Joint Committee on salary scales for different grades of technical staff. These minutes also mention the provision of suitable accommodation on the Edgbaston campus for use as a Technicians Staff Social Club.
The name of the committee appears to have changed to the Joint Negotiating Committee of the University and the Association of Scientific Workers by the time of the next meeting, held on 1 July 1953. These minutes discuss the implementation of the technicians' pay award. The final meeting for which minutes survive was held on 15 September 1953 |