Unite-The Union

Heads of elite universities’ earnings exceed £333,000 on average, despite squeeze on institutions’ overall budgets. Read the full article in the Guardian

What about Stirling? See the list here

Other articles:

Vice-chancellors ‘receive up to £40,000 in benefits’

University head’s ‘salaries soar’

Cable attacks vice-chancellors over pay; Business secretary says university heads have little sense of ‘self-sacrifice’ needed

UNITE BRIEFING
THE FACTS ABOUT TRADE UNION FACILITY TIME – EXPOSING ANOTHER TORY ATTACK

In This Issue:

• Unpaid overtime
• End of an era with Shell pension closure PFI — more to do over cost concerns
• Action pledged by PM on pay? Balance of payments
• Skill shortages only part of the problem Regional pay

PUBLIC SERVICE PENSIONS UPDATE: Download the latest update from Unite regarding Public Service Pensions.

Mike Robinson has issued a letter updating members on the current pay offer and ongoing dispute. Read it here.

Last week all Unite members in Higher Eduction were balloted on industrial action with regard to the current pay offer. The results have now been published.

Please also see this letter from Mike Robinson – National Officer for further information as to what this means.

For Information: Unite – Higher Education Sector are not involved in the current dispute over public sector pensions and therefore we at the University of Stirling are not in dispute over this matter.

Please see following for further information.

• Action Alert approaching a picket
• Action Alert picketing advice for those on strike
• Action Alert use of agency and emergency cover guidance

Unite, the largest union in the country, is balloting its members in higher education across the UK for industrial action, following the breakdown of talks over a ‘derisory’ pay offer.

Unite – one of the five unions in the talks – is the first union to reject the pay offer which is a lump sum of £150 for all staff. It will be balloting its members for industrial action to commence later in November.

Unite national officer for education, Mike Robinson said the offer was ‘derisory’ when set against soaring household bills and an inflation rate of 5.2%. He pointed out that London’s Imperial College, which is outside of the national negotiations, has already offered a £500 lump sum or 2% to its employees, whichever is the greater.

In recent years, staff have accepted below inflation pay increases. In 2009, it was 0.5%; in 2010 0.4% and this year’s offer is worth 0.5% on average. The pay deals run from August each year.

Mike Robinson said: ‘Inflation over the last three years has been 12.4%, so in real terms the offers on pay equate to a pay cut of about 11%. Unite members have had enough and have voted in a recent consultative ballot to reject the offer by a 4-1 majority.’

Unite has members in more than 60 UK universities – about half of the total. Most of the Unite members are in the older Russell group-style research intensive universities which have substantial cash reserves and easily able to improve on the existing offer. Unite has exhausted the disputes procedure.

The Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA) was suggesting a reference to the conciliation service, Acas, but Unite has firmly rejected that route, unless the employers give some indication that the £150 pay offer will be improved.

The ballot is expected to open on 28 October and close on 17 November. Unite is one of five unions involved in the pay talks. The others are Unison, GMB, UCU and EIS.

Unite covers staff across all the UK universities from academics and academic-related staff to technicians, skilled administrators, estates, security and domestic staff.

The higher education national consultative pay ballot  took place over the last few weeks and closed on the 9th September.

The overall result was a 4 to 1 ratio rejection by participating Unite members of the offer to increase scale points by £150 for 2011. This vote return is an increase both in terms of participation and overall rejection from the 2010 consultative ballot result.

As such it represents a substantial rejection of the pay offer. The next procedural step is a formal dispute level meeting with the employers association, UCEA, to try and resolve the impasse.

Already Unison and GMB have rejected the same offer and are in the dispute process.   UCU have not announced their response yet but have declared a dispute on the USS pensions changes.

With students facing massive increases in their fees, Dispatches investigates the pay, perks and privileges enjoyed by universities’ top earners.

Journalist Laurie Penny reveals the increasing commercialisation of higher education and asks what happens when universities scour the globe for students and funds.

Watch the programme here.