Northumbria University has stepped back from its decision to make immediate deductions of 100 per cent of pay from hundreds of lecturers belonging to the lecturers’ union NATFHE.
At a mass meeting on Monday, NATFHE members endorsed an agreement reached between the union and the university that includes the withdrawal of the draconian deductions affecting NATFHE members.
The decision by the university, which NATFHE welcomed as ‘a constructive change of heart’, followed the decision by Northumbria lecturers to launch an all out strike yesterday, 23 May, in response to the deductions.
Northumbria lecturers will continue their assessment boycott but the university has agreed to suspend any response until at least 17 June in the hope that the national dispute will be settled by then.
Northumbria bosses say they will revisit the situation then if the dispute is still running, as students will not graduate if marks are not submitted by that date.
NATFHE has announced that the strike action is suspended and a demonstration called for June 1st in Newcastle in solidarity with the Northumbria lecturers will now be turned into a national demonstration in London against all deductions being made against NATFHE and AUT members.
Northumbria NATFHE said: ‘The Northumbria outcome will inspire all members of both NATFHE and its sister union AUT.’
Meanwhile, another concern at Northumbria, the fate of five staff in the university’s English Language Centre threatened with redundancy, remains unresolved and industrial action on that issue continues.
Martin Levy, NATFHE branch chair at Northumbria said after Monday’s meeting: ‘This was a tremendous meeting with over 450 members present.
‘Members were solidly in support of English Language staff facing redundancy as well as in agreement on the national pay issue.
‘We have agreed to withdraw notice of strike action because the employer has withdrawn pay deductions.’
Andy Pike, national official at NATFHE added: ‘A sensible way forward has been reached at Northumbria and we applaud the employer’s constructive change of heart.
‘Elsewhere, employers would do well to recognise that provocative action such as punitive pay docking will meet firm resistance from NATFHE.
‘The first employer to try to dock 100 per cent of pay has had to abandon the idea.
‘Only a swift solution to the national dispute can now prevent massive disruption of student assessment and graduation.
‘The message is now clear: lecturers are united and determined to hold out for a fair deal.
‘The employers must allocate much more of their massive new funds to significantly restore the level of university pay.’
NATFHE’s annual conference takes place in Blackpool this weekend.
The higher education pay dispute will be debated on Sunday.
NATFHE has invited university employers’ organisation, the University and Colleges Employers’ Association (UCEA), to address the conference on Sunday, to feel the strength of feeling amongst lecturers, which NATFHE says UCEA has underestimated.
Higher education minister, Bill Rammell, speaks at the conference on Saturday morning.
In another development in the national dispute, arbitration service ACAS have called talks tomorrow between employers and unions.
Roger Kline, head of the universities department at NATFHE said: ‘NATFHE has always said it is willing to talk, but at this stage if there is no new money available I am not optimistic that talks will achieve anything.’
Sister union, the AUT on Monday welcomed confirmation that the UCEA will meet with the unions involved in the current pay dispute.
The AUT said in a statement on Monday: ‘Since the talks stalled on Monday 8 May, AUT, and sister union NATFHE, have been seeking further negotiations to try and resolve the current crisis that has left students in real danger of not receiving their grades this summer.
‘UCEA has approached the arbitration service ACAS requesting talks without pre-conditions. AUT and Natfhe have confirmed that both unions will attend the talks tomorrow (Tuesday 23 May).
‘AUT remains committed to resolving the dispute as swiftly as possible and approaches these talks positively.’
AUT general secretary, Sally Hunt, said: ‘We hope that the offer of talks without pre-conditions indicates that the employers share our desire to bring about a swift resolution to the dispute.
‘We have hit a critical stage of the year now and it is in everyone’s interests to get things resolved as quickly as possible.
‘This is a golden opportunity to bring an end to what has the potential to be an incredibly damaging dispute.
‘The encouraging noises from the employers suggest that they are as keen as us to sit down and thrash this out.
‘Students do not deserve any additional stress at this difficult time of the year. Now is the time for resolution.’
The AUT noted: ‘University vice-chancellors had hoped that docking lecturers’ pay would break the dispute, but it appears to have merely hardened their resolve.
‘A new report from AUT reveals that the universities who are, or will be, docking pay, reward their vice-chancellors with salaries more than £23,000 in excess of the national average.
‘The analysis of vice-chancellors’ pay reveals that universities where pay is being, or will be, docked pay their vice-chancellors, on average, £177,590 a year.
‘The national average pay for vice-chancellors is £154,060. The report also reveals that the vice-chancellors at those institutions have enjoyed pay rises of 27.8 per cent over the past three years.
‘The national average rise over the last three years for vice-chancellors is 25 per cent.’
AUT general secretary Hunt said: ‘We can see from the vice-chancellor pay table and annual pay rises that there is plenty of money around when it comes to their pay packets.
‘The fact they do not think their staff are worthy of a similar rise is incredibly insulting.
‘University mission statements place great emphasis on the high regard staff and students are held in.
‘However, the way in which staff and students have been treated over the last eight months is nothing short of disgraceful.’