Thank you to all members to participated in the survey.
This is a reminder of the indicative losses spreadsheet prepared by our committee to show approximately how much money individual members of staff across different pay grades can expect to lose (please click on the pink link ”Pay Deferral Losses”: https://reading.web.ucu.org.uk/2024/11/12/cost-to-individual-members-of-reading-senior-management-decision/pay-deferral-losses/). The RUCU context for this indicative spreadsheet is on our blog here: https://reading.web.ucu.org.uk/2024/11/12/cost-to-individual-members-of-reading-senior-management-decision/. Members have asked us if they can share this information with non-members: Yes, please feel free to do so, with the accompanying caveats.
The headline results of the survey are as follows:
• Roughly 12% of our branch members responded to the survey.
• Of those members who answered, an overwhelming majority felt that the key impacts on them were from:
-the non-implementation of the pay award (pay deferral) (97%) and
-the associated pension loss (73.3%). It is worth pointing out here that while the pension loss may not seem such a large amount, the cumulative effect of a small loss of pension ends up having a magnified effect on the Defined Benefit component of USS pensions.
• Roughly a third of members noted that increases in parking and freeze of spinal points as affecting them and other matters including the promotion freeze during 2023-24 and barriers to regrading processes, were placing a burden on them
• Members also noted the burdens placed by
-colleagues who had left not being replaced and the associated impact on workload and mental health
-additional PRP (Portfolio Review Project) work
-self-funding conference travel
-expenses for home working
-visa and NHS charges for migrant workers.
• Close to 60% of respondents said the non-implementation (delay by 11 months) of the nationally negotiated pay award (to a lesser degree) would have a significant impact on their income and expenditure.
• The qualitative responses also showed something quite striking : When asked what the pay award increase would have been used for, it was not luxuries or ‘like-to-have’ extras that colleagues will be doing without. The responses overwhelmingly showed that basic living expenses, covering costs of mortgages, rent, house repairs, bills and debt repayments were amongst the most mentioned areas our lost wages would be spent on.
• Also key were general living expenses with the increased cost of living, age, supporting the family (including childcare, after-school activities and grown children at university), diet and extra health-related costs. There is a clear impact on those confront equality barriers.
• The survey also revealed that nearly 40% (37.84%) don’t currently use all of their annual leave allowance. We will undertake further work in this area to find out why, and intend to include it as part of our workload working party’s agenda
• We asked members what they thought about senior management offering staff 2 further days annual leave to take at a time of their choosing. The overwhelming consensus was that these 2 closure days do nothing to change the workload and therefore the majority of our members would still be working on these days or feeling the pressure upon return to work, particularly given the introduction of exams in January. 38% replied that they do not even use their full annual allowance. Members noted that days off don’t pay the bills and they would have preferred the pay award. It was also noted that a closure day was taken away from Easter allowance. We will raise this at the next JUUC.
• It is revealing that only 12% of members who responded believed that UoR senior management would use the money gathered from our pay deferral losses in the corresponding 11 month period to ensure the financial sustainability of our University. Other respondents either didn’t know or thought not
• Members offered a range of suggestions about how your committee should raise these issues in dialogue with senior management.
• Members were clear they wished us to hold management to account and they wished to see clear evidence of long-term planning by UoR senior management that takes into account how any savings including those ostensibly justified by austerity and staff cuts would be used. Concerns remain that senior management pay rises / bonuses have not been clawed back, while staff bear the brunt of austerity. Sustainability bursaries, DTS spending and spending on travel / hospitality were also raised as concerns
• Members were keen for us to seek confirmation that the senior management team are also foregoing any pay increases this year. Members remain deeply concerned about, and committed to our lowest paid and vulnerable colleagues. Members remain worried about the necessity for some staff to use food banks to make ends meet.
• Circa 40% of members proposed a vote of no confidence in senior management as one of the responses to the non-implementation (deferral by 11 months) of the pay award.