SWANSEA UCU NEWS
Newsletter of the University and College Union, UWS
14February 2007
GENERAL MEETING
Wednesday21 February 2007, Lecture Room G, Faraday, 1.00-2.00pm
AGENDA
1 Minutes of last meeting3 Pay and the framework agreement
2 Matters arising 4 AOB
WHY YOU MAY LOSE PAY IF YOU ARE EMPLOYED AT SWANSEAUNIVERSITY
In April 2004 AUT agreed a pay settlement with the employer which included a commitment to a new pay scale to be implemented as soon as possible in all British universities. This settlement was known as the ‘framework agreement’. One of its key aims was to create a pay structure in which employees would receive ‘equal pay for work of equal value’. The universities’ purpose in supporting this was to comply with equal pay legislation, without which they could be liable for costly discrimination claims. On grounds of fairness AUT also backed the ‘equal pay’ argument, but at the same time wanted to secure a better deal for its members under the new pay scale. The terms of the agreement accepted by AUT reflected these aspirations giving not just a pay rise at the time but also a general pay uplift built into the new structure which it was accepted by both sides would cost the Universities a certain amount of money.
It was also accepted by both sides that the new pay structure under the framework agreement would take some time to be implemented since fundamental to it was the need for institutions to carry out a fairly lengthy process of job evaluation. The earliest date agreed for concluding this process was August 2004 and the latest August 2006. Many institutions implemented the agreement before or by August 2006 and staff moved on to the new scale.
In a few institutions, however, including Swansea, the process has not yet been completed. We are not necessarily critical of this, since a large number of difficulties have had to be overcome and we are hopeful that the current aim of implementing in August 2007 will be achieved. A key problem for staff, however, is: what about the pay uplift that, as part of the agreement, should have been implemented by August 2006 at the latest? Members who were present at the Vice Chancellor’s recent forum will have heard him respond to a question on this by saying (or appearing to say) that there would be no money available for backdating of pay to the deadline date of August 2006. This was of great concern to the campus unions, and, when we sought advice from UCU national office on the matter, the message we received from the official in charge said: ‘Swansea is the only institution that I am aware of that has publicly declared its intention not to backdate to at least August 2006 (……) all those agreed since August have backdated to that date. We will shortly be doing a comprehensive review of the position in the institutions yet to implement (…..) but to date, as far as we know, Swansea is the only one.’
We have discussed this further with the University management and they seem to have rowed back to a position of ‘we are not sure’. However the Vice Chancellor has also said that the institution is strapped for cash and raised the question ‘Where would it come from?’ He has also said the purpose of the framework agreement was ‘equal pay’ not ‘more pay’ and we should not give our members ‘false expectations’. In addition, he said, it would not be up to him to make the decision about backdating or otherwise but the University Council. Our position on these matters is clear. Though not every individual will necessarily gain pay from implementation of the agreement, the new structure will mean an overall uplift in salaries, especially for those at the lower end of the scale (if not, backdating would have no cost, so what would be the problem?). As for who makes the decision about backdating, while it is true that formal power lies with the Council, past experience is deafening – the Council will go along with the Vice Chancellor’s recommendations.
So Swansea is out on a limb. In his forum speech the Vice Chancellor outlined the very large sums being spent on new developments which he said would bring new staff and new prestige to the University and told us that this had put the University into a ‘planned deficit’. Fine, butthe question we must ask is if such large amounts can be found to fund projects dear to the Vice Chancellor’s heart and to employ new, often very highly paid, staff, why cannot a much smaller amount be found to meet a one-off commitment to existing staff, one that was agreed nationally and which is being adhered to everywhere else? How low down in the Vice Chancellor’s priorities does this put this issue? And to attempt to hide behind University Council and ‘governance decisions’, as he did in his forum address, just will not do.
This will be the main item on next Wednesday’s General Meeting agenda (details above). We want to hear your views. We want to hear what action should be taken. So please come along. If you are not to lose pay, we need your support.a
IS YOUR SUBSCRIPTION LEVEL CORRECT?
All fully paid-up UCU members are eligible to use the Union’s legal services free of charge. However any application for legal help presupposes that the applicant’s subscription level is correct. The UCU legal scheme regulations (regulation 3.4) state: “We will not make you an offer of legal services if we discover that you have not been paying the proper amount of membership subscriptions (unless we are satisfied that this arose out of a genuine mistake).”
So if you are unsure whether your subscription rate is at the correct level for your salary, please contact the Swansea University UCU membership secretary, Chiara Ariotti (email: c.ariotti; tel: 2245). Full details of subscriptions arrangements can also be seen at
In addition to eligibility for legal services, obviously it is generally desirable and in everyone’s interest that members pay the correct subscription in order to maximise the union’s resources.
UCU ON THE WEB ()
Recent reports that will be of interest to members:
‘Losing our tongues? Declining numbers of language degree courses, 1998-2007’ (
‘Degrees of decline? Core science and mathematics degree course in the UK, 1998-2007’ (
‘Equality News’ – UCU bimonthly publication on equality issues. January 2007 issue contains items on: the gender equality duty – how ready is your college or university?;
forced retirement at 65 – where do things stand now?; disability equality; sexual orientation regulations. (
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UCU Committee for 2006-07
President: Andrew Morgan (Staff Development)
Vice-President: Chris Whyley (Computer Science)
Secretary: Ann Lyon (Law)
Treasurer: Howard Moss (Italian)
Membership Secretary: Chiara Ariotti (Italian)
Kevin Child (Applied Language Studies)
Dave Dunbar (Physics)
Matt Jones (Computer Science)
Sue Jordan (Health Science)
Peter Neville (Applied Language Studies)
Warren Perkins (Physics)
Suranjit Saha (CDS)
Personal Cases Co-ordinator: Howard Moss
Equal Opportunities: Suranjit Saha
UCU Local Website ( : Dave Dunbar