Deals avert two academic boycotts

LECTURERS at two universities and a college have settled disputes with managers, while strike action continues at a fourth institution.

Both Derby and Westminster universities have reached agreement with lecturers in their disputes over pay and redundancies. Industrial action at both universities has now been called off.

Derby University has now agreed to pay lecturers a 2.2 per cent increase this year, and a further 2.9 per cent next year. The university had said that it could not afford to honour the nationally agreed 5.8 per cent two-year deal. This led to an academic boycott by both Natfhe and the Association of University Teachers, which has since been called off.

Following a meeting at the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service, lecturers have also ended their marking boycott at Westminster. Managers agreed to a Natfhe proposal to redeploy two staff threatened with compulsory redundancy. The two, whose jobs were axed in the decision to close the podiatry school, will now have first claim to any suitable vacancy arising within the university.

At Kingsway College, also in London, lecturers have called off threatened strike action. Union members were meeting this week to discuss management proposals on new contracts. The union had earlier agreed a compromise deal on the use of agency lecturing staff.

The picture is gloomier at London's strike-hit Southwark College. A bargaining team from Natfhe's head office met with managers last week to discuss revised proposals regarding redundancies and the threatened use of private agency staff in place of part-time lecturers.

Natfhe negotiators said they were "extremely disappointed" by the "inflexible" stance of the college. Natfhe members at Southwark were balloted on the revised proposals this week.