Wise up before you dumb down

While delving into Dearing I came across some interesting information about the survey preferences of academic staff for methods of pay determination. In the pre-1992 universities 72 per cent of academic staff want some form of pay review and only 8 per cent national/collective bargaining. In the 1992 universities 61 per cent of staff prefer a pay review body and only 22 per cent national/collective bargaining.

Says Dearing: "However, even among '1992' university staff, the disparity of views of, on the one hand, individuals -who support review bodies and, on the other hand, the unions professing to represent them - which insist upon the maintenance of national/collective bargaining - is remarkable."

I need say no more.

N. A. A. Macfarlane

Past chairman AUCL, president elect AUT