Created on: 05 Apr 2023
Dear Member
The EIS-ULA statutory ballot on the 2022-23 pay round is underway and it is essential that every member use their vote. A strong vote for industrial action in pursuit of an improved pay offer is the only way left for university staff to get the pay rise that they deserve. We must secure a turnout of 50% or more, in each institution, to make the vote actionable. So, if you have not voted yet, please do so without delay.
Once again, in early 2023, Universities are pleading poverty. They told us last year that they couldn’t afford a better pay rise, and then they found 2% that they have imposed early for the 2023-34 pay round – money which should have been on the negotiating table in August 2022. They claim that below inflation pay offers are necessary as the financial health of the sector cannot sustain more. It’s not that they can’t afford to pay more to staff. It’s that they don’t want to.
The EIS has gone through the financial statements of all the Scottish Universities and HEIs, and your employers’ claims of financial hardship are simply not supported by evidence. Scottish Universities (inc. all HEIs) have combined reserves of £5.8 billion according to their 2021/22 published accounts. That is a record figure. In 2020/21 their reserves were £4.75 billion, in 2021/22 they were £5.5 billion, in 2022/23 they were £5.8billion. That means that their reserves increased by £0.3 billion in just two years. In part, this increase in reserves has been achieved using funds that could and should have been used to give a pay uplift to staff. Instead, Universities hoard this money or spend it on vanity projects at the expense of staff.
The fact is that the Universities are making a choice, and their accounts prove it. Their choice is to cut your pay year after year in real terms. Their choice is to reduce the cost of staff within their budgets and, thus, to devalue the important work that you do.
A summary of the ‘total reserves’ for Scottish HEIs is listed below: -
|
|
Total Reserves |
Total Reserves 2021-22 (£) |
|
Edinburgh Napier University |
44,851,000 |
147,582,000 |
|
Glasgow Caledonian University |
117,753,000 |
238,752,000 |
|
Glasgow School of Art |
34,102,000 |
65,372,000 |
|
Heriot-Watt University |
62,589,000 |
72,933,000 |
|
Queen Margaret University |
73,700,000 |
111,913,000 |
|
Robert Gordon University |
171,933,000 |
213,084,000 |
|
Royal Conservatoire of Scotland |
20,491,000 |
28,482,000 |
|
SRUC |
7,076,000 |
17,780,000 |
|
University of Aberdeen |
389,343,000 |
348,228,000 |
|
University of Abertay |
35,005,000 |
67,502,000 |
|
University of Dundee |
202,337,000 |
185,228,000 |
|
University of Edinburgh |
2,406,200,000 |
2,438,600,000 |
|
University of Glasgow |
1,007,997,000 |
981,800,000 |
|
University of Highlands and Islands |
-11,206,000 |
6,909,000 |
|
University of St Andrews |
376,463,000 |
380,589,000 |
|
University of Stirling |
159,070,000 |
139,494,000 |
|
University of Strathclyde |
342,600,000 |
219,100,000 |
|
University of the West of Scotland |
60,857,000 |
154,306,000 |
|
Totals |
5,501,161,000 |
5,818,309,000 |
Of course, not everyone is in the same boat. While reserves grow, so do Principals' salaries. The number of senior managers on more than £100k has also grown. It seems that the necessity to save on pay does not extend to the top.
They are paying ordinary staff less in order to feed the substantial and growing reserve pot plus fat pay packets for Principals and more senior staff. It’s time to act to force a re-think and a re-setting of the priorities of the sector. Staff are more important than reserves and the staff who work day in and day out in the delivery of Higher Education deserve to have their work valued, instead of experiencing real terms pay cuts, year after year.
The EIS-ULA Executive recommends you vote YES to Strike action and YES to Action Short of Strike.