Low paid university staff are staring down the barrel of further devastating cuts to pay and conditions, following the Government’s confirmation that university funding in England will be slashed by £125m in 2014/15, UNISON has warned.
In a remarkably brief letter to the Chair of the Higher Education Funding Council for England*, ministers also suggested that further reductions could take place in 2015/16. They expressed concern at the ‘upward drift’ of salaries amongst some top management figures, and urged leaders in the sector to exercise much greater restraint of their salaries.
The announcement is another cruel blow to Higher Education workers, who have endured a 13% drop in pay over the past five years, along with attacks on their conditions of employment. More than 4,000 higher education workers are paid less than the Living Wage, which is £7.65 and £8.80 in London.
Higher Education staff will be concerned to see the effects on their University, and the union will look closely at the actions senior managers take locally to make ‘savings’. The Government expects these savings to be delivered while still protecting high cost subjects such as science and engineering.
UNISON National Secretary for Education, Jon Richards, said:
“Ministers have recognised that Vice Chancellors taking whacking pay rises sits uneasily with the Government mantra of low public service pay increases.
“These additional funding cuts will see fewer staff forced to do more for little reward. It is particularly disappointing that often the more prestigious universities with the highest paid senior managers are those that won’t even pay the Living Wage.
ends
Notes to editors
*HEFCE distributes public money for higher education to universities and colleges in England.