09 October 2023

The value of your pay has dropped substantially since 2009. However, for the last 5 years, UCEA have been imposing pay awards that have made matters worse. Below inflationary pay rises, twinned with a cost-of-living crisis are putting massive pressure on your standard of living.

The table below shows, in stark terms, that de-valuing of pay.

SPINE POINT			Real Terms Pay Cut in 2023-24 compared to 2019-20 salary ( )
	Actual Salary 2019-20 ( pa)	Salary if it had risen with RPI inflation since 2019-20 ( pa)
20	25,217	32540	7323
21	25,941	33475	7543
22	26,715	35700	8985
23	27,511	35501	7990
24	28,331	36559	8228
25	29,176	37649	8473
26	30,046	38771	8725
27	30,942	39930	8988
28	31,865	41119	9254
29	32,816	42346	9530
30	33,797	43612	9845
31	34,804	44912	10108
32	35,845	46255	10410
33	36,914	47635	10721
34	38,017	49058	11041
35	39,152	50523	11371
36	40,322	52033	11711
37	41,526	53587	12061
38	42,793	55221	12428
39	44,046	56838	12797
40	45,361	58882	13521
41	46,718	60286	13568
42	48,114	62088	13974
43	49,553	64311	14758
44	51,034	65855	14821
45	52,559	67823	15264
46	54,131	69852	15721
47	55,751	71942	16191
48	57,418	74071	16653
49	59,135	76310	17175
50	60,905	78593	17688
51	62,727	80945	18218

If you sit on spine point 44, your pay is now 14821 below where it would have been if your employer had given flat inflationary rises, as measured by RPI. That is more than 7 times the average energy bill in Scotland, even after the rise in energy costs. It works out at £1235.08 per month before tax, missing from your pay packets.

If it was in your pay packet. Instead of your employer s bank account, it would also be pensionable. This pay cut lasts beyond this year, beyond your employment and even beyond your career!

UCEA, representing the employer have made absolutely no attempt to remedy the downward pressure on academic pay. Instead, they come to negotiations with a pre-determined outcome, which is always something less than inflation and therefore a real terms cut to the value of your pay.

Something must be done to stop this constant de-valuing of academic pay. It s time for EIS members to stand up for fair pay.

This week you have received your ballot paper and EIS Executive is recommending that you vote YES to both strike action and action short of a strike in this ballot.

Talking alone will not solve this problem. It s time to show the employers that we re not going to accept real terms, year on year pay cuts anymore.

Post your ballot today!