Letter to NATFHE members

Pay talks resume on Monday 8 May

Pay talks between the university employers (UCEA) and the higher education unions resume on Monday 8 May. UCEA having finally agreed to meet to discuss the unions’ pay claim. Union negotiators will be demanding a positive response to the claim for 23% over three years. The current 6% pay offer over two years is not even a sensible starting point for negotiations; last year when institutions did not have access to new income streams UCEA were prepared to offer 7% over two years.

Press release

Remind vice-chancellors of their pay promise Mr Johnson, urges NATFHE

‘We welcome Mr Johnson’s appointment as Secretary of State for education' said Roger Kline, NATFHE’s head of higher education, equality and employment rights. 'We look forward to him reminding university vice-chancellors at the earliest opportunity of the commitment they gave to him that one-third of the income generated by top-up fees would be spent on staff pay.

‘We hope that will be reflected in the pay offer that employers give to university lecturers this Monday.’

Press release

Employers now feeling the full impact of action

Reports of the escalating disruption being caused by NATFHE branch action are now flooding in. One Vice Chancellor was forced to carry out invigilation, exam boards are being cancelled and tens of thousands of exam scripts and pieces of assessment lie unmarked.

Action reports

You can help NATFHE spread the word about the impact of the action in your work area by telling us what’s happening. Email news to [email protected]

Got a question on the action? Here's the answer

NATFHE rejects employer attempt at divide and rule through local bargaining

In the wake of an attempt by St Andrews University and Aberdeen University to get lecturers to accept poor local pay deals, NATFHE warned that attempts by some university employers to introduce local bargaining into higher education would lead to inequality, enormous waste, and undermine medium term pay levels for the vast majority of staff. AUT advised its members against accepting the deals.

NATFHE head of higher education Roger Kline said that employers seeking to introduce local pay deals and bargaining were seeking to divide and rule staff currently conducting a national pay dispute.

AUT members in the affected institutions have now rejected any local offer and affirmed their commitment to maintaining national bargaining.

The St Andrews offer rejected

The arguments against local deals

Action Committee meets to consider threats of pay docking

NATFHE’s action committee meets on 5 May to consider a response to the numerous threats to dock members’ pay for partial performance in respect of action short of a strike and what assistance can be provided to members affected. In the meantime NATFHE will resist all attempts to dock pay. Once the dispute is resolved, marking will be carried out. However if salaries are docked and monies are not returned, members are under no obligation to complete any marking. NATFHE’s sanctions are designed to allow students to sit their assessments. While marking will be delayed, any partial performance is clearly temporary. Pay docking will reverse that position and unless all cash is returned NATFHE members will not be under any obligation to complete marking on an unpaid basis.

Sunderland NATFHE fights attempts to dock 15% of salary

After a mass meeting NATFHE members at Sunderland have told their employers that they have no right to deduct 15% from members’ salaries from 19 May as threatened. The justification for this blanket policy of deductions was that any employee participating in action short of a strike must pay ‘damages for breach of contract’. NATFHE pointed out to the University that such an approach was unprecedented and highly unlikely to withstand scrutiny. Management has now written to academic staff asking each individual to confirm that in their opinion a 15% deduction represents a fair deduction. If management want to be seen to be fair they must continue to pay all staff their full salary, says the NATFHE branch.

Students show support for higher salaries

The THES commissioned survey of 1007 students showed differing opinions on the principles and tactics behind the pay dispute.

While showing student sympathy over academic pay - 68% said they supported academics’ claims for higher salaries - 77% of students surveyed said they did not support the boycott. The survey was strongly criticised by Kat Fletcher, President of the National Union of Students, who said that the poll did not give students a context in which to properly consider the questions. ‘This poll asked two simplistic questions with no reference to key facts such as the 25% increase in VCs’ pay and the promise that was made to lecturers during the White Paper debate’, she said. ‘Had students been given the context the survey may have elicited a different response.’

What is certain is that students are feeling the pressure as exam deadlines approach. Even so students’ unions such as Canterbury (see motion) are coming out strongly in support of the action, proving that when students are made aware of the full facts and have contact with their local branch they are far more likely to be supportive.

Encouraging further student support will be key in the coming weeks as the action really begins to hit.

Materials to give to students:
Letter from branches to students
FAQs for students
Badges

Warnings from professional bodies

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society has issued a letter to heads of schools of pharmacy warning that if students' work is not assessed in accordance with normal procedures, including being marked and moderated internally, it will not deem the students registered on an accredited course and may not permit them on to pre-registration training. NATFHE believes various professional bodies will take similar action. The union will be writing to a number of bodies to outline its concerns next week.

In the news

The pay dispute continues to feature prominently in the press.

Media Digest

MPs continue to show support