Labour vows to work with HE unions ‘as partners, not adversaries’

Labour’s shadow minister for higher education Matt Western has accused government ministers of “collective amnesia” regarding the work of the “dedicated, compassionate people working in Britain’s universities.”

Mr Western was speaking at UNISON’s national higher education conference, in Newcastle, where he told delegates: “The pandemic reminded those that needed reminding that society and institutions cannot function without those working in important services and support roles.

“People such as yourselves and those you represent keep the proverbial show on the road, keep the lights on, the doors open and the rooms ready so that young people can access education.”

The MP for Warwick and Leamington said that his parents – his mother a school assistant, father a primary teacher – had instilled in him “their principles of fair reward, of the value of public service and believing in education as a tool for social justice”, principles he was determined to bring to bear on a Labour government.

In the meantime, continuing to criticise the current government, he noted that in 2022 there were 16 education ministers across both Houses of Parliament, and no fewer than nine held responsibilities for higher education.

“Higher education, in particular, has too often been viewed more as a political battleground than a force for public good. Higher education’s potential to reduce inequality, drive economic growth, and support regional development has been side-lined in favour of culture wars.

“I can hardly believe my ears when ministers make bold statements on how much they seemingly care about education. They have had almost 13 years to harness the power of education, but instead they have presided over a decade of underfunding of every part of the education sector, a period of growing inequalities, and sought to introduce measures to restrict access to university… I fear that the government’s policy is closing the door on many people’s dreams of a university education.”

Addressing the experience of the hall directly, he said: “Clearly, ministers’ total lack of interest has also impacted on you and your colleagues. The sector is under far greater financial strain than it was 30 years ago, it is expected to do more with less and has, at times, been asked to do the impossible.

“If your pay has failed to match inflation for the past 14 years, your collective frustration should come as no surprise to your employers. [Your] goodwill and values of public service only stretch so far. They do not pay the bills, and they do not put food on the table.”

Mr Western acknowledged that, were Labour to win power in 2024 or early 2025, the Tories’ “reckless” handling of the economy would leave huge challenges and no quick fixes.

However, “the mess we will inherit should we enter government should not dent our ambition for long-lasting reform, guided by a belief in education as a force for shaping the citizens of the future.

“I am committed to working with you, other education unions, and sector bodies as partners, not adversaries. These relationships will prove to be the building blocks for meaningful change.

“From there we can go about finally introducing Lifelong Learning entitlements, reforming the skills landscape, preparing our young people for the green economy of 2030, and equipping them with the skills they need to be ready for work, ready for life.”

 

The article Labour vows to work with HE unions ‘as partners, not adversaries’ first appeared on the UNISON National site.

UK’s model for funding higher education is a ‘broken system’

UNISON assistant general secretary Jon Richards opened the national higher education conference yesterday with a damning critique of the government’s approach towards university education, and of ministers who are out of touch with the crisis affecting so many of the country’s population.

“We meet at yet another really difficult time in higher education,” Mr Richards, who was once the union’s head of education, told delegates. “We’ve had a continued funding crisis for years, but it’s becoming particularly acute. The funding models across the UK seem to be broken.

“The English model of fees, particularly, is causing huge problems for both students and universities, forcing the former into massive debts and leaving the universities with massive budget problems.

“The government has its favourite sort of privatisation, of using fees, but then it holds them at £9,000 and won’t fill the gap with funding, making it ever harder for universities to deliver the services that they think they need to do.

“But it’s not just an England problem, because of limited government funding across the whole of the UK.”

The effect was a “de facto” cap on home student numbers, while “this xenophobic government has trashed our reputation in Europe” leading to big drops in overseas students, which was once a guaranteed source of university income.

At the same time, Mr Richards said, the chancellor was repeating mistakes of a decade ago to create “austerity mark 2”, which was fuelling the cost of living crisis.

On the crisis, he noted the number of prime ministers and others from “the leading echelons of public society” who had attended Oxford University, via public schools.

“And the problem is, we have a cost of living crisis which they don’t understand, because they never had to face it. Not all of them, but the vast majority of politicians have never been through something like this. Few of them know what it’s like to go to a food bank, few of them know what it’s like to make a choice between heating or eating.

“And that’s why their focus is on tax cuts and not an improvement on benefits, and not an improvement on the vital public services which you and others we represent deliver.”

UNISON’s cost of living campaign was making it clear that “poverty is a government choice”, while also linking the impact of low pay on services, he said.

“We’ve reinforced in the public’s mind that unions are an intrinsic part of the workforce defending our public services. Attempts by the government in the past few months to portray us as ‘nasty unions’ have flopped badly.”

Mr Richards saw other positives, including the way that UNISON had been learning from its industrial action ballots, and the strikes themselves, to adapt its strategies moving forward – for example, when to employ shorter or targeted strikes, or action short of strike, and when to re-ballot, or not. The union was also improving engagement with its members.

Finally, Mr Richards welcomed the union’s growing membership in recent months, including over 1,200 members in higher education last year.

“It’s not all down to the strike, nonetheless it’s activity which is making people interested in us, because we’ve been in the public battle. So, this is a testament to the work you’ve done. You’re the backbone of our union. Our collective strength sits in this hall.”

 

 

The article UK’s model for funding higher education is a ‘broken system’ first appeared on the UNISON National site.

Unions ‘shocked’ by revised higher education pay offer

The joint higher education unions met the employers this week – the final meeting in a series of three to negotiate on pay.

The employers made a marginally improved offer which, compared to the original one, provides an improved – but still below inflation – offer for those on and above spinal column point 42. However, it did nothing to address issues of poverty pay and declining pay for all.

UNISON’s negotiators were shocked that the employers thought it appropriate to direct the £140m they added to the pay bill, across the country, at the 60,000 highest paid staff on national pay scales, leaving those at the bottom end struggling.

The joint unions responded that:

  • they were disappointed by employers continuing to insist on a pay cut for 2023-24, which also fails to address the 2022-23 dispute;
  • they were looking to the employers to make an offer that would meet any nationally recognised measure of inflation, backdated to August 2022, as well as a commitment to resolve pay-related issues.

Higher education workers have suffered year-on-year pay cuts and this offer fails to offer any improvement. While still committed to a negotiated settlement, the unions are now consulting members.

The offer will be confirmed in writing (and be split between February and August), but the overall percentage rises for both offers are:

Original offer

Spinal points 3-5 – 7%

Spinal points 6-14 – 7%

Spinal points 15-25 – 6%

Spinal points 26-42 – 5%

Spinal points above 43 – 4%

Latest offer

Spinal points 3-5 – 8%

Spinal points 6-14 – 7%

Spinal points 15-25 – 6%

Spinal points 26-42 – 5%

Spinal points above 43 – 5%

An electronic consultation of all UNISON members on national New JNCHES (the new joint negotiating committee for higher education staff) pay scales is now open until 9am on Thursday 9 February.

UNISON also has a further round of industrial action planned, focusing on the 2022-23 pay dispute.

The following dates are planned (though any of these could be withdrawn):

Glasgow School of Art – 16, 21, 22 February

Leeds Beckett University – 8, 9, 10 February

Manchester Met University – 6, 7, 8 February

Queen Margaret University – 21, 22, 23 February

School of Oriental and African Studies (University of London) – 1 and 8- 10 February

University of Brighton – 16- 17 and 20-21 February

University of Leeds – 8-12 and 22-24 February

University of the West of England – 14, 15, 16 February

The article Unions ‘shocked’ by revised higher education pay offer first appeared on the UNISON National site.

NEC hears plans for industrial action, plus new ballots

UNISON’s national executive council (NEC) met today and heard reports on the preparations for strike action, balloting and re-balloting across the union, as the third Conservative prime minister of the year shows little sign of improving the lives of working people.

Addressing the meeting, general secretary Christina McAnea said that the “last time we met was just after Liz Truss was elected – by the Tories, not the country”.

The autumn statement from Chancellor Jeremy Hunt “did nothing to reassure us,” she added, noting that whatever the claims to the contrary, “we’re not all in this together”.

Ms McAnea stressed that UNISON was working with the TUC to try and put as much pressure as possible on the government. She has written to Mr Hunt and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, but as yet had no responses.

The general secretary thanked branches and staff for helping to build an average of 35% turnout in the NHS ballot, noting that UNISON has “never had that level before” and it gives a great base to build on.

She also cited the 183,000-signature petition that was handed in to Downing Street, calling on the government to end the pay crisis, observing too that the union had been gaining good press coverage, nationally and in local media.

As well as hearing about the NHS pay ballot and industrial action plans, the meeting heard of the preparations for strike action in the Environment Agency, and how the union organised to meet the legal thresholds for the ballot.

In higher education, UNISON is also re-balloting 49 higher education institutions and a few more for the first time.

With a packed agenda, the council also:

  • heard an update on organising, which revealed that the union has seen growth in five regions, driven by industrial mobilisation;
  • welcomed the news of growth, it also discussed the importance of retention;
  • heard about the landmark legal case of Polly Jones that the union supported;
  • examined a raft of proposals on standing orders;
  • passed a budget for next year.

The article NEC hears plans for industrial action, plus new ballots first appeared on the UNISON National site.

Workers at Leeds Beckett University begin strike over pay, says UNISON

Low-paid employees at Leeds Beckett University will walk out today (Tuesday) in a row about pay, says UNISON.

The workers – including those in administrative, cleaning, library, security and catering services – will continue their strike tomorrow and Thursday after rejecting a 3% pay award from the University and Colleges Employers Association.

UNISON had called for an increase of 2% above the rate of inflation, currently running at 9.9%.

With further rises in the cost of living expected, the award effectively amounts to a pay cut, the union says.

Rising prices mean household budgets are stretched to the limit and the employer must make a significant improvement to the offer, says UNISON.

Yorkshire and Humberside regional organiser Neelam Bhambra said: “Low pay has been a massive, and growing, problem in the university sector for a decade and more.

“But the cost of living crisis is pushing people to the brink. They can’t even cover the basics.

“Going on strike is always a last resort. The university should do the right thing and come back with a better offer to show it cares about its staff, as well as ensuring students receive the support they need and deserve.”

Notes to editors
– Staff at the University of Leeds will also strike today (Tuesday) and on Saturday (8 October) in a similar dispute over pay.
– UNISON is the UK’s largest union with more than 1.3 million members providing public services in education, local government, the NHS, police service and energy. They are employed in the public, voluntary and private sectors.

Media contact:
Neelam Bhambra E: n.bhambra@unison.co.uk M: 07908 124592

The article Workers at Leeds Beckett University begin strike over pay, says UNISON first appeared on the UNISON National site.

Higher education members vote to reject pay offer

UNISON has given notification of a formal dispute with the higher education employer, the University and Colleges Employers Association, after a consultative ballot of members showed that 83% of members across the UK reject the 3% pay offer and wish to move forward into an industrial action ballot.

The national turnout was 36.2%, but 11 branches had a turnout of over 50%, with 17 others managing between 40 and 50%.

The next steps will see branches have the opportunity to opt out of an industrial action ballot, with that ballot opening on 22 July. It will close for Scotland on 19 August and for England and Wales on 26 August, with potential industrial action in Scotland from 9 September and in England and Wales, from 19 September at the start of university term during student welcome weeks.

The union believes that the results of the consultative ballot reflects the widespread worry and anger of relatively low-paid members who are struggling in the face of rising bills.

Pay rises in higher education over the last 13 years have all been below inflation, so the purchasing power of members’ earnings has fallen over that period, and the current cost of living crisis has brought this to a head.

• Members at the University of Leeds will be out on strike again from 20-24 June as part of our continuing national dispute over last year’s national pay rise, which was only 1.5%.

The article Higher education members vote to reject pay offer first appeared on the UNISON National site.