UNISON and other unions today met with UCEA, the Universities and Colleges Employers Association, to submit a pay claim for 2012-13.
Following years of sub-inflation pay increases, UNISON members in higher education have seen the real value of their pay fall significantly.
Last year higher education workers received an increase of just £150, and over the last three years, most staff have seen a pay increase of around 1.4% in total. Over the same period, the Retail Prices Index has risen by 12%. So the reality is that HE workers have suffered major pay cuts.
For lower paid staff the impact of inflation has been far worse. The cost of essential goods such as food, fuel and energy has increased at an even higher rate than general inflation and with less disposable income, many lower paid staff are struggling to make ends meet.
UNISON is therefore calling on higher education institutions to pay a significant pay increase to HE staff: An increase of 3.7% on all salary points to match inflation in the year to February, and a further increase of 3.3% to begin to catch up with the real terms cut in pay over the last three years.
The claim also makes clear UNISON’s demand for a living wage for all higher education workers, so that they are paid enough to provide them and their families with the essentials of life.
Mike Short, UNISON’s head of higher education, said “UNISON’s members in HE play a crucial role in higher education – without them the system would not work. But while the government focuses on opening the way for profit-making companies to enter the education system, our members are struggling to survive, as their pay falls and jobs are cut. They deserve decent pay, backed by a living wage guarantee, and that is what UNISON is campaigning for”.