Scotland moots idea of pay deal breakaway

SCOTLAND'S eight traditional universities may break away from United Kingdom pay negotiations if the current dispute continues.

Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Strathclyde universities have already decided to pay non-clinical staff a backdated 2.5 per cent rise in January. They have pledged to increase the rise if a more generous national settlement is reached, but will not claw back any pay if the settlement is lower.

Edinburgh principal Sir Stewart Sutherland said he had agreed to "hold the line" until after the budget and the Universities and Colleges Employers Association negotiating meeting in the hope that there would be a settlement.

"It seemed to me we were a long way from that, and I couldn't reasonably withhold money from staff who are badly underpaid."

He stressed that he remained committed to the principle of UK pay bargaining. But the Scottish principals have been privately debating the prospect of setting up their own negotiating body, which would not be hampered by the complexity of the UCEA negotiations south of the border.

Glasgow principal Sir Graeme Davies said: "We have been saying to the UCEA for some time that we can afford 2.5 per cent, and are pretty unhappy about the way in which the dialogue has been going."

Strathclyde principal John Arbuthnott said: "We are not satisfied that the UCEA has done enough to resolve the issue and we are not prepared to wait any longer to demonstrate to Strathclyde staff that their work is recognised and valued by the university."

But Chris Moore, secretary of Strathclyde's Association of University Teachers, rejected Professor Arbuthnott's plea for staff to work normally "while the present difficulties are being overcome". Mr Moore said staff would continue to take part in the AUT's industrial action campaign, since this was a national dispute which could only be resolved by a national settlement.

David Bleiman, AUT assistant general secretary, said: "In the case of the AUT, we are not just looking for a better figure for 1996. We want a commitment on the part of the employers to support a pay review body."

* Staff in Scotland's new universities are set to strike on January 14 in protest against a 2.5 per cent pay offer linked to changes in conditions of service. The former centrally funded colleges, which include the University of Abertay Dundee, Glasgow Caledonian, Napier, Paisley, and the Robert Gordon universities, have their own pay negotiations.

Members of the Educational Institute of Scotland's University Lecturers' Association, which dominates the sector, voted 75 per cent in favour of striking.