two-year deal for higher ed
WORKERS, SEPTEMBER 2003 ISSUE
Employers in higher education, represented by the University and College Employers' Association (UCEA), have offered a two-year agreement for all staff in the sector as part of a complex "Framework" package which also includes a new pay spine, new grades and job evaluation.
The trade union negotiators have achieved some victories with pay rises of up to 15% for some manual workers. In the academic grades there has also been some improvement in the appallingly low grades paid to researchers. Unison and Amicus are recommending acceptance of the deal.
The academic unions NATFHE and the AUT have expressed concern that the pay rise to academic staff, 3.44% this year and 3% next year, does not address issues of recruitment and retention. Both academic unions will enter an intense period of consultation with special conferences in the autumn and a ballot of the membership in late October.