Autumn doesn’t last forever
By Raj Jethwa, UCEA Chief Executive
23 October 2023
This year’s pay round and the damaging repercussions of the pay dispute, including UCU’s marking and assessment boycott (MAB), has been one of the most trying and testing of all – for all – across our sector. Too often, too much time around the negotiating table is spent disagreeing rather than on genuine negotiation. It’s difficult to disagree that this is true of the 2023-24 New JNCHES pay round. HE institutions did everything they could to support students and to mitigate the impact of the strike action and the MAB, but reflections and lessons learnt are common themes now running throughout our sector (for UCU and other trade unions, UCEA and HE institutions).
While there are a minority of institutions with healthy surpluses at present, it is being made increasingly clear that many institutions are seriously struggling, having to shed courses and jobs to deal with mounting worrying financial pressures. The recent Times article - Cash crisis sparks chaos on campus – is just one example of this. This variation across the HE sector puts pressure on sector-level collective pay bargaining.
Months ago, in June, my Agreement needs to start with a shared perspective on finances blog explained that UCEA was seeking ways to work with the trade unions to arrive at a shared perspective on sector finances. The blog tried to explain how employers supported an independently facilitated exercise to establish the factual position in relation to the funding and financial challenges facing different sets of institutions. That same month Jo Grady made public that UCU agreed to this offer, explaining that ‘UCU is very happy to work with UCEA to put the sector on a more sustainable footing’.
It appeared as if we had come to an amicable way forward that just might help settle this disagreement and recurring disputes, as well as pave the way for a common understanding of sector finances. There was no restriction nor any reason not to make a start on this critical exercise.
This substantial package of joint work required employers and unions to collaborate with some urgency. It was sad that our requests and reminders went unanswered as the MAB continued to inflict harm and disruption upon students and staff in isolated pockets across the sector.
Finally, in September, we received the official union letter to get things moving. Simultaneously, a vote by UCU members to end the MAB boycott was welcomed by all. Despite the now painful priorities for trade unions and employers alike of dealing with the MAB’s consequences, both sides agreed to this important work. The employers even made the difficult decision to allow UCEA begin this work while UCU’s MAB was still underway. Although UCU is conducting another IA ballot at the time of writing, it has no impact on this crucial project. With renewed hope mounting, the initial meeting between UCEA and the unions on 22 September was positive and constructive.
I know that my UCEA negotiating team colleagues and I are ready to meet with the unions; we have offered dates and we await their availability. We really need to progress the independent review of sector finances. There is growing concern, though, that we will not allow for sufficient time to complete this detailed review prior to the start of the 2024-25 New JNCHES negotiations. Surely we must start the 2024-25 pay negotiations with a common understanding and in an attempt to avert the repeat cycle of IA?
For the good of our students, staff, sector and beyond, this would be a hugely disappointing missed opportunity to build common ground between unions and employers. Employers and trade unions have a responsibility to set aside recent disagreements, to engage with this essential undertaking and to help to re-set our sector’s industrial relations. But time is precious, we must use the window we have – Autumn doesn’t last forever….
23 October 2023
This year’s pay round and the damaging repercussions of the pay dispute, including UCU’s marking and assessment boycott (MAB), has been one of the most trying and testing of all – for all – across our sector. Too often, too much time around the negotiating table is spent disagreeing rather than on genuine negotiation. It’s difficult to disagree that this is true of the 2023-24 New JNCHES pay round. HE institutions did everything they could to support students and to mitigate the impact of the strike action and the MAB, but reflections and lessons learnt are common themes now running throughout our sector (for UCU and other trade unions, UCEA and HE institutions).
‘Swimming in cash’ or at the ‘limits of affordability’?
No-one needs reminding that UCU’s consistent campaign claim has been that our sector is “swimming in cash”. Meanwhile employers have had no choice but to be consistent in their own explanation, that for our sector the final offer is always at the “limits of affordability”. This is certainly true of this year’s early pay award, and the 5-8% pay uplift made way back in February was a genuine attempt to try to support all staff, and particularly the lower paid who may well feel the worst of the inflationary pressures.While there are a minority of institutions with healthy surpluses at present, it is being made increasingly clear that many institutions are seriously struggling, having to shed courses and jobs to deal with mounting worrying financial pressures. The recent Times article - Cash crisis sparks chaos on campus – is just one example of this. This variation across the HE sector puts pressure on sector-level collective pay bargaining.
Months ago, in June, my Agreement needs to start with a shared perspective on finances blog explained that UCEA was seeking ways to work with the trade unions to arrive at a shared perspective on sector finances. The blog tried to explain how employers supported an independently facilitated exercise to establish the factual position in relation to the funding and financial challenges facing different sets of institutions. That same month Jo Grady made public that UCU agreed to this offer, explaining that ‘UCU is very happy to work with UCEA to put the sector on a more sustainable footing’.
It appeared as if we had come to an amicable way forward that just might help settle this disagreement and recurring disputes, as well as pave the way for a common understanding of sector finances. There was no restriction nor any reason not to make a start on this critical exercise.
Time is slipping away…
Across the months of July and August, there was damaging silence over the financial review as the MAB continued. UCEA awaited the formal response from all of the five HE trade unions (UCU, UNISON, Unite, GMB and EIS) to our proposal for an Acas-facilitated independent review of sector finances, followed by further talks on the significant pay related matters raised by the UCU and the unions. These include the reform of the pay spine, action to deliver reductions in equality pay gaps, including ethnicity and disability, and gender, discussions on clear workload concerns, as well as more work on the use of contract types. While UCEA’s infographics use the most recent ONS ASHE data to show our sector’s gender pay gap has fallen significantly in recent years to below the UK average, HE employers have made clear that they want to better understand all equality pay gaps and work to reduce them all. The sooner this important joint work starts, the better for all.This substantial package of joint work required employers and unions to collaborate with some urgency. It was sad that our requests and reminders went unanswered as the MAB continued to inflict harm and disruption upon students and staff in isolated pockets across the sector.
Finally, in September, we received the official union letter to get things moving. Simultaneously, a vote by UCU members to end the MAB boycott was welcomed by all. Despite the now painful priorities for trade unions and employers alike of dealing with the MAB’s consequences, both sides agreed to this important work. The employers even made the difficult decision to allow UCEA begin this work while UCU’s MAB was still underway. Although UCU is conducting another IA ballot at the time of writing, it has no impact on this crucial project. With renewed hope mounting, the initial meeting between UCEA and the unions on 22 September was positive and constructive.
Optimism for a season of change
It is now nearly November and autumn is upon us.I know that my UCEA negotiating team colleagues and I are ready to meet with the unions; we have offered dates and we await their availability. We really need to progress the independent review of sector finances. There is growing concern, though, that we will not allow for sufficient time to complete this detailed review prior to the start of the 2024-25 New JNCHES negotiations. Surely we must start the 2024-25 pay negotiations with a common understanding and in an attempt to avert the repeat cycle of IA?
For the good of our students, staff, sector and beyond, this would be a hugely disappointing missed opportunity to build common ground between unions and employers. Employers and trade unions have a responsibility to set aside recent disagreements, to engage with this essential undertaking and to help to re-set our sector’s industrial relations. But time is precious, we must use the window we have – Autumn doesn’t last forever….
