Unions reject 0.5% pay offer

The unions said the offer, coupled with a refusal to pay the living wage for the lowest paid staff, looked insulting next to the recent pay increases that university bosses have enjoyed while staff have received three years of real-terms pay cuts. The unions said that as staff costs had dropped again in 2012, now was the time to make up for years of cutting staff pay, despite workloads continuing to increase.

The two sides are due to meet again on Wednesday 8 May and the unions hope the employers will come back with an improved offer and ways to address other areas of concern including workloads, the culture of casualisation and the gender pay gap.

UCU head of higher education, Michael MacNeil, said: 'As an opening gambit, this is very disappointing from the employers and represents a fourth year of pay cuts. Staff costs fell again in 2012 and institutions' reserves are strong.

'As inflation rises and vice-chancellors enjoy inflation-busting pay rises the employers need to come back with a serious offer.'

* UCU, Unison, Unite, GMB and EIS.