Further update on university pay negotiations

Dear colleagues, 

I am writing to follow up on our update sent 19 January on the university pay negotiations which have been taking place and which are negotiated nationally by the Universities & Colleges Employers’ Association (UCEA).  

The third and final pay negotiation meeting took place on Wednesday 25 January. Following this, UCEA made a new pay offer to the joint unions. The offer would uplift the 2023/24 pay by up to 8 percent for those on lower points, with a minimum of 5 percent for anyone earning between £31,000 - £69,000 at UCL. If implemented, the increase would be staged, with the first part backdated to 1 February 2023 and the remainder from August 2023. This would be in addition to any incremental progression due to individual members of staff. G10s would receive the same 5 percent uplift as those on spine point 51. A copy of the UCEA offer is available on the UCEA website.  

The unions have been consulting on this and UCU, EIS and Unite have now rejected the pay offer. UCEA have not yet had a response from UNISON or GMB. UCEA will now enter new dispute resolution discussions with the unions this week.  

UCU have confirmed that the planned strike action will continue to take place as there has not been any resolution to negotiations. The planned days of strike action this week are Thursday 9 and Friday 10 February, and next week are Tuesday 14, Wednesday 15 and Thursday 16 February. The full list of strike action dates over the coming weeks and further information for staff can be found here or in our updated staff FAQs. There is information for students here which you can direct students to if they have questions. If you are taking part in action, please use the online reporting system to declare each day that you are taking part in the strike.  

In recognition of the increases in the cost of living, we have been supportive of the pay uplift being brought forward and continue to push for an increase above levels we have seen in recent years. Where we have local control, we also implemented an uplifted 2022/23 London Allowance and extended the number of staff who are eligible to receive it. At the same point we also increased the salary range minimum and maximum for Research Assistants. All of these measures resulted in a median raise of 4% (excluding any automatic incremental progression that staff may have received in addition) at UCL last year, with a much higher percentage increase between grades 1-5. 

We recognise that these are exceptionally challenging times for our sector, for UCL and for our community. We are committed to pushing for improvements and driving progress within the constraints of this difficult environment. The dispute resolution discussions between UCEA and the joint unions should conclude by the end of next week and we will continue to keep you updated. 

Donna Dalrymple 

Chief People Officer, UCL