UK pay talks reach crunch point as unions debate employer offer

Falling inflation and no strikes have taken the sting out of negotiations this year, but that hasn’t made reaching an agreement any easier

Published on
June 10, 2024
Last updated
June 10, 2024
Tom Williams
Source: iStock/loeskieboom
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Higher education unions
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Reader's comments (9)

#1 Submitted by m.l.... on June 10, 2024 - 7:53am
I suspect many universities will say they can't afford to pay even 2.3% and defer it for the allowed 11 months. Others can afford it more easily. There's a growing gap between rich and poor universities.
#2 Submitted by k.j.... on June 10, 2024 - 7:53am
2.3% is laughable but completely expected due to the lack of leverage UCU has after the years of failed strikes. Is collective bargaining still the best approach given that staff at the Institutions who have left it are getting better deals ? The employers talk of a growing financial crisis in the sector, but this is one they have created by focussing too narrowly on the foreign student market, ridiculous capital expenditure, money wasted on vanity projects and expanded and unnecessary staff recruitment for admin roles that simply aren't needed. The sector funding model obviously needs to change, but Universities also need to look internally and see how much financial waste there is in the system. ( How many people are currently spending on items that aren't needed to use up a budget before year end ?)
#3 Submitted by k.wass@... on June 10, 2024 - 9:58am
I can't help but wonder if people who comment about admin roles have ever actually tried to do one of them. Given the increased regulatory burden and need to deliver a wider range of support services to students and academics (some of whom seem to think it is ok to bully admin colleagues on a fraction of their pay), I think if they actually tried it they'd soon change their minds. Far better idea that people work together than create a divide when times are tough. I am also pretty sure that some capital expenditure is a waste but in many cases arguably a safe working/study environment must be a good thing?
#4 Submitted by k.j.... on June 10, 2024 - 2:43pm
I've worked in an admin role in HE for nearly 30 years so do have some knowledge of what they actually entail and do completely agree with you about some of the ridiculous anti comments I see posted here. My point wasn't aimed at admin roles generally - it was more regarding the increase in Head ofs, assistants, assistant to the assistant etc. who basically create work to fulfill their existence - the roles that try and implement text book frameworks without any knowledge of the business or how it works , the roles that create endless documentation that is read once and then left on a drive, the roles that do lots of analysis on projects only then to find there is no money to undertake them, the roles that analyse demand and then say there is no resource to deliver it and of course any role with a strategic prefix. Then we have capital expenditure in a model of declining student and staff attendance - surely it is better to give students and staff cutting edge hardware and software, digital upskilling and AI experience than having world class toilets. Its is the waste in this system I was criricising and how much more productively resources could be used if ledership teams were abit more forward thinking and accountable.
#5 Submitted by i.... on June 10, 2024 - 4:57pm
This comment was very close to home. I've long lost count how many admin roles and admin support staff we have but since people come and go in these roles, it is interesting to see how many unfinished projects they've left behind (unfinished excel sheets, abandoned Teams groups, outdated document that deem redundant before they are even released). Why do we waste so much money and then cry we don't have money to fund basic needs?
#6 Submitted by j.d.eley on June 11, 2024 - 1:25pm
2.3% ! |What happened to 10% I'm leaving my union ! i need that £17 a month now!
#7 Submitted by ksizer@... on June 13, 2024 - 6:56pm
Too much spent on executive roles, excessive new buildings and generally senior management roles that simply aren’t needed.
#8 Submitted by ksizer@... on June 13, 2024 - 6:56pm
Too much spent on executive roles, excessive new buildings and generally senior management roles that simply aren’t needed.
#9 Submitted by nick.... on June 17, 2024 - 10:57am
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