Lecturers embark on pay round in the dark

Lecturers will begin a pay round for a second year without knowing the future shape of pay and conditions in the sector because of delays to the Bett report. Sir Ron Dearing originally recommended that an independent review committee should report by April this year on a framework for negotiating pay and terms of service. But the committee was not set up until early spring, and the pay round went ahead in anticipation of news from Bett by the end of this year. Now, the Bett committee is unlikely to report until April 1999, after the settlement date for lecturers in old universities. Peter Thorpe, secretary to the Bett committee, acknowledged the timing could be difficult but said it was up to employers and employees to work with it.