Union fears rift on local deals

Local settlements pose a threat to national pay talks, report Phil Baty and Olga Wojtas

Lecturers' claims for a 23 per cent pay rise over the next three years could be fatally undermined, unions feared this week, as two universities looked poised to reach local pay deals worth just half that amount.

The St Andrews University branch of the Association of University Teachers defied the position of its national negotiators, recommending that the 450 AUT members accept a local 12 per cent offer. A similar offer was being put to the AUT branch at Aberdeen University as The Times Higher went to press, but the local union's response had not been agreed.

Officials close to the national pay talks said the deals, if accepted, could be a disaster for national negotiations. Offers of 12 per cent fall far short of what AUT and Natfhe negotiators are prepared to accept nationally, it is understood.

But it is likely that other universities will move to make similar local offers, once a precedent is set, potentially leading to a local free-for-all and the collapse of national pay bargaining.

Sally Hunt, AUT general secretary, put a positive spin on the development, claiming that the local offer showed that employers were divided. But she added: "My advice to members at St Andrews is to wait for a national settlement.

"Members' action is hitting hard and employers really must present us now with a credible national offer to get this dispute resolved as quickly as possible."

In an urgent memo to branches, Roger Kline, head of universities at Natfhe, said employers were seeking to "divide and rule" and that branches were "not authorised" to strike local deals, which would lead to "inequality and enormous waste" and would "set a small number of richest universities against the rest of the sector".

Christina McAnea, higher education national official at support staff union Unison, said the St Andrews position was "deeply worrying" and "confirms our worst fears that the AUT's strategy on pay will lead to local bargaining".

The deal at St Andrews is worth 5 per cent for 2006-07, followed by two annual rises of 3.5 per cent. The university said it would match any higher pay increase that might be achieved through national negotiations.

St Andrews AUT president Greg Woolf said: "My personal view is that this is a good offer. I hope it will be accepted and will be an incentive to other universities, and bring the dispute to a speedy resolution." The same figures have been offered to staff at Aberdeen, which said the news from St Andrews was a clear indication that local solutions were possible.

Meanwhile, after five sets of informal talks about talks, the employers and unions finally agreed to meet for the first formal pay talks next Monday.

The Universities and Colleges Employers' Association said it would allow the AUT and Natfhe to join formal talks, despite their refusal to put their exam and assessment boycott on hold. Ucea said it would improve on its initial offer of 6 per cent offer over two years, with a "realistic and affordable" offer. But it looked unlikely that it could improve sufficiently on 6 per cent, even with a more attractive three-year deal, to convince unions to call off the action.