UCU receives improved UCEA pay offer
12 January 2023
UCU general secretary Jo Grady has welcomed progress in higher education pay negotiations but says the improved offer tabled by UCEA is 'not enough'.
The tiered offer for 2023/24, received late last night from vice-chancellor body UCEA, delivers an uplift of between 4-5%, with some lower salaried roles receiving more (full details below). UCEA says part of the uplift would be brought forward and paid in February, with the rest from August.
From 1 February 2023:
Spinal Column Points | Uplift |
3 to 14 | 2.8% |
15 to 25 | 2.4% |
26 to 42 | 2% |
43 to 51 | 1.6% |
From August 2023:
Spinal Column Points | Uplift |
3 to 14 | 4.2% |
15 to 25 | 3.6% |
26 to 42 | 3% |
43 to 51 | 2.4% |
UCEA is also yet to provide an improved offer for 2022/23, a pay round that the unions have said they do not accept is closed.
The offer submitted and later imposed for 2022/23 was an uplift of 3%. And while UCU general secretary Jo Grady describes the offer for 2023/24 as 'not enough', says the improvement in the offer is a result of the recent strike action taken.
Full details of the offer will now go to the union's higher education committee (HEC) which meets today. At the meeting, HEC members will be deciding on the next phase of strike action.
Over a decade of low pay awards from employers has resulted in staff pay falling 25% behind inflation.
The formal offer letter can be viewed here.
UCU general secretary Jo Grady said:
'Let me get straight to the point - this is not enough. It doesn't cover last year and it doesn't do enough to mitigate either the cost-of-living crisis or the years of pay decline our members have suffered. I will be recommending to our higher education committee that we reject this offer and seek further improvements.
'I want to say well done to you all though. The ballot got them back in the room. The strike action got us an offer. This shows the strategy we have adopted is exactly the right one.
'We urge employers to now revise their offer, put more money on the table, bring forward discussions on non-pay related issues and settle this dispute.
'Our job is to keep doing exactly what we have been doing. The branch delegates meeting voted to continue escalating our action and introduce a marking and assessment boycott in April if required, and to also launch a re-ballot campaign. The higher education committee will meet today to discuss all of this.'
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