Why is it important to vote?

• Reason 1: The value of ordinary university staff pay is falling.

In August 2009 a lecturer on point 44 was paid £45,155.  The RPI Index was 214.4
In August 2022 a lecturer on point 44 was paid £54,949*  The RPI index was  345.2

The RPI inflation rose by 61.0% between August 2009 and 2022, but your pay only rose by 21.5% for the same period. If the 2009 pay had risen at the same rate as RPI inflation – it would have been at £72,702pa

On average, university principals' pay has risen around twice the rate of ordinary staff.

We have modelled what your pay should be now if it had risen with RPI inflation since August 2019.

(CPI index was 87.0 in August 2009 and 123.1 in August 2022; a 41.5% rise.)

This means that the purchasing power of your pay has dropped since 2009, and you may no longer afford to buy what you could previously afford. The cost-of-living crisis has exacerbated the impact of these real terms pay cuts.

• Reason 2: University leaders are paying staff less in real terms because they can. Sustained UK industrial action would seem to be the only route left to change their minds… Universities need to take into consideration the voice of their staff and their trade unions.

Otherwise, Universities will undermine pensions, worsen other working conditions and increase workload….

Teachers, local government staff, train staff, and nurses have all shown the benefit of standing up to their employers and have ensured that their views and wishes cannot be ignored.

• Reason 3: Universities are well funded but spend a smaller percentage of their funding on staff pay than they did in the past – to allow more investment in capital projects etc.
• Reason 4: Workload has increased, as have expectations placed on staff by universities around teaching and research.

The EIS ULA Executive is urging you to vote YES to Strike Action and YES to Action Short of a Strike on this ballot.

It is time to stand up for fair pay, it's time to stand up for university academic staff!

If you have any queries – please contact your Branch Secretary or National Officer Deborah Shepherd dshepherd@eis.org.uk