Time for a Guild/Union of Accredited Cycling Instructors?

I had a think about this roughly a year ago and came up with the following document... It's just initial ideas and I never took it forward as I just didn't have the time (two kids and the rest...)

Things have moved on a bit and I agree with Speshact that the time is now. We need to starve the rubbish prividers of their ability to deliver. If budgets are going down it means they can do less training... not that we must eat less! bastards.

Herre is a text i wrote last year presented for all your thoughts:

"
London Guild of Cycle Trainers

Who is this for:

Freelance Fully Accredited Cycling Instructors who live and deliver training in Greater London. Those who work on a PAYE/contract basis are welcome but must understand that this is mainly aimed at those who work freelance. Contracted staff will be in receipt of a package of benefits which must be judged as a whole.

We aim to create a voice for freelance Instructors in London. To that end, we have made the points in the pledge fairly non-contentious. If you agree with the pledge below, email us your name, address and what boroughs you work in and you will be added to the role and mailing list. Information you provide will be kept confidential and only used for communication between the LGCT and yourself.

If we can stand together we can create a baseline for our profession and challenge some of the poor practice that is about. Going forward, we will have a voice to represent our views and interests. This is to be an open and democratic organisation. All those who join will have a say in how it is constituted and what it does, going forward

If you don't think you can stick to the pledge for any reason, do not take it. We do not police your pay and conditions and we don't want to. This just may not be right for everybody. As a fellow Instructor you have our respect and you will always be welcome if and when you are ready to stand with us.

Pledge:

Roll up your right trouser leg (or tuck it into your sock) and repeat the following:

As a qualified, London based, Cycling Instructor I recognise the need to build a professional corps of people to deliver training. To attract and retain a high calibre of committed individuals it is necessary to offer a working package that can support them. During these times of contracting budgets, there may be pressure on wages. No one is getting rich delivering training. We do this because we believe in it. Therefore, I pledge that I will refuse offers of work that fall below the following standard, which I think represents good practice and is the bare minimum that someone instructing in London should be getting as a living wage for this type of work:

• Minimum hourly freelance rate of £18 per hour that you attend. – Some employers “don't pay lunch” or count the hours in odd ways. Whatever the time is “called”, just divide how much you are getting for the day by the number of hours from when you need to arrive until you can go. Because we are human, some of this time may be spent eating. If the answer is less then 18, it's not enough. Of course, some employers may continue to pay well above £18/hour to attract the best instructors. If you are on a PAYE contract, you will need to make up your own mind if it is fair.
  
• **One paid hour on a school course for risk assessing the bikes, without the children present. **- A full “M” check and risk assessment of the children's bikes is too important not to have it's own time set aside. This is usually in the form of an early start on day one of a school course..
  
• **The lead instructor is paid an additional amount for the role. **- The extra workload of the lead instructor will vary between suppliers but will usually be between 1 and 3 hours.
  
• A full cancellation fee is paid to the instructor in the event of “no shows” by trainees. - Minimum cancellation periods are 1 week for schools work and 2 working days for individuals. No instructor should be expected to bear the totality of the “booking risk”.
  
  

Well done! Your are now a member of the LGCT. There is nothing else you need to do now except to continue delivering high quality training and to stick to the pledge you have just made. Please spread the word amongst your colleagues.

Is this fair?
Absolutely. At present our work is undervalued, relative to similar roles.

For Example:
According to Barnet council a football coach gets £25-30/hr for the lead role and £15-20/hr as support. That seems a reasonable comparison. Or does it? We take children onto the roads. Who does one want delivering this training? We say, experienced instructors are worth retaining.

The conditions listed above, or better, are already common practice amongst the providers in London who are focused on rigour and quality of training. Anyone looking to recruit and keep good quality freelance instructors should be offering at least this. Below this, they just are not taking it as seriously as we do.

Together we will build a sustainable and professional industry.... Take the pledge!

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