Unions and employers in UK higher education have been unable to reach an agreement on a proposed pay rise offer for university staff, making it more likely that further strikes will disrupt the sector in the new academic year. 

The Universities and Colleges Employers Association (Ucea) did not improve on its offer of a 3 per cent rise for most staff at the final dispute resolution meeting on 14 July, leaving the five higher education trade unions considering next steps including potential industrial action. 

The University and College Union (UCU) has already outlined plans to ballot members to take further action in the autumn, having held 13 days of strikes in the 2021/22 academic year. This time the ballot will be aggregated, meaning all universities with union representation could potentially be affected. 

Ucea said it had consulted the 145 employers it represents to see if they could afford further uplifts, given the effects of the cost-of-living crisis that has driven up most household bills.

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These consultation responses “confirmed that there was no sector affordability to change the existing pay offer as HE institutions face similar unprecedented financial challenges”, a statement said. 

The final offer included 3 per cent pay rises for those on higher pay – rising to 9 per cent for those in the lowest salary points – and was first tabled in May, representing 3.18 per cent on the sector’s total pay bill. Ucea said it was disappointed that most of the trade unions – including UCU – "had not consulted their members over the pay offer during the considerable period since it was made."

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After failing to reach an agreement with the unions, Ucea said its board has decided to move forward with implementing the pay rise for all staff from 1 August, or as soon as possible and backdated to that date.

UCU responded that the offer was “too insulting” to need consulting its members and confirmed preparations for the ballot would now proceed. 

General secretary Jo Grady said that the pay offer was “meagre” and would represent “another devastating real-terms pay cut”, given spiralling inflation. 

“Vice chancellors were given the opportunity to call on Ucea to increase its offer, but they refused, despite acknowledging the cost-of-living crisis has got worse for staff. Employers understand the significance of this decision and have chosen to fuel a sector-wide dispute which will hit universities in the autumn,” she added. 

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Raj Jethwa, chief executive of Ucea, said the “extremely difficult inflationary costs are a shared concern for employees and employers alike” and pointed out that his organisation’s offer would most benefit the lowest-paid.

Some employers have decided to offer additional bonuses to staff outside the national negotiating framework, he said, but added: “Many HE institutions are working hard just to avoid redundancies while others are struggling to balance budgets to maintain staffing levels while awarding this pay uplift into staff pockets.”

tom.williams@timeshighereducation.com