We have now received a "full and final" written pay offer from the national employers’ organisation the Universities & Colleges Employers Association (UCEA).
The offer for 2016-17 follows pay talks between the employers and joint higher ed unions, and consists of:
- a 1.1% increase from 1 August for all staff covered by the higher education national agreement, who are on point 8 and above of the national pay spine;
- increases of between 3.1% and 1.6% for staff on points 1 to 7 of the spine (note this is not the same as "grades" at the universities – see below)
For full details, please see the Branch Consultation HE Pay 2016-17 (PDF, 593KB)
The actual percentage increases for points 1 to 8 on the national pay spine, and how they link in with grades at the two universities are:
| National Spinal Point | RGU Equivalent |
UofA Equivalent |
Percentage Increase |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Unused | Unused | 3.1% |
| 2 | Grade 1, Point 1 | Unused | 3.1% |
| 3 | Grade 1, Point 2 | Unused | 2.7% |
| 4 | Grade 1, Point 3 | Grade 1, Point 1 | 2.7% |
| 5 | Unused | Grade 1, Point 2 | 2.2% |
| 6 | Unused | Grade 2, Point 1 | 1.7% |
| 7 | Unused | Grade 2, Point 2 | 1.6% |
| 8+ | All others | All others | 1.1% |
UNISON’s Higher Education Service Group Executive, the union’s national committee for HE, is consulting members on this offer.
UNISON’s HESGE Committee’s views on the offer:
UNISON’s Higher Education Service Group Executive (HESGE) met on the 10 May 2016 to discuss UCEA’s full and final offer on 2016 / 17 pay.
The Service Group Executive’s recommendation is to reject the pay offer in this branch based consultation and move to an industrial action ballot of members.
Rejection of the pay offer in an industrial action ballot would initiate a campaign of escalating industrial action in line with conference policy. UNISON will endeavour to work alongside other unions wherever possible.
UCU has started their campaign of industrial action by targeting exams in May 2016 and we need to be ready to take the campaign forward together with our UCU colleagues by intensifying the industrial action at the start of the new academic year.
HE conference policy means that a final offer must be subject to a branch based consultation.
UNISON Branch Members should submit their views in the local member consultation.