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UCU to push ahead with HE pay claim

10 November 2008

Following a conference in central London on Friday afternoon UCU said today that it will be submitting its 2009-10 higher education pay claim by the end of the year.

The union said that it expected a response from the Universities and Colleges Employers' Association (UCEA), despite the current impasse between the two organisations.

Delegates at the conference debated a host of motions relating to the pay claim and will press ahead with demands for a rise equivalent to the Retail Price Index (RPI) + 5% or an 8% increase, whichever is higher. The union said it was disappointed by recent inflammatory remarks from some universities suggesting their hard-working staff would be lucky to get a 0% pay rise next year, but was more interested in serious talks round the negotiating table.

UCU is currently excluded from pay negotiations, however the union today reiterated its belief that any talks around pay could not be truly representative if they continued without UCU; the largest higher education union.

UCU general secretary, Sally Hunt, said: 'Nobody can refute that staff in higher education work extremely hard or that they deserve to be properly rewarded. For too long university employers held down staff pay rises.

'Recent increases have gone someway to righting that wrong, but there is still a long way to go. UCU members are determined to defend the value of the pay rises they have won and we will be submitting our claim as normal. We found recent inflammatory comments from some universities seeking to hold down the pay of their staff as disappointing. As the largest union in the sector we expect our claim to be taken seriously and properly considered by the employers' body.'

Last updated: 11 December 2015

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