Following the period of industrial action over pay and pensions towards the end of last year, the Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA) and the University and College Union (UCU) have continued to engage in discussion at a national level with a view to seeking a meaningful way forward in resolving the dispute.

UCEA has developed a series of proposals for the collective consideration of the recognised trade unions regarding working conditions within the context of our national pay bargaining arrangements.

For its part, the University is strongly committed to providing a working environment where we all feel valued and are treated fairly and with respect. We will continue to work in partnership with the recognised trade unions to develop solutions that are appropriate to particular circumstances and consistent with institutional needs.

The UCEA proposals can be summarised under five key themes (full details can be found at this UCEA webpage).

These include: 

  • Fair & flexible employment arrangements
  • Workload & mental health related issues
  • Gender & ethnicity pay gaps
  • Working in partnership to review & implement actions at an institutional level
  • Sector level actions

Over the last five years the University of Glasgow has made good progress towards providing fair and flexible employment arrangements through the introduction of the Extended Workforce Policy, developed in consultation the trade unions.

A Mental Health Working Group has been formed and an Action Plan created, details of which are at this UofG webpage. Part of this activity has included the development of a Mental Health First Aid Network, and 400 staff across the University have been trained in Mental Health First Aid. In addition, the University has recently launched a new Carers Portal and extended our policy provisions to support staff with caring responsibilities. Additional information on this can be found at this HR webpage.

While more remains to be done, the University has made good progress in developing and addressing the gender pay gap. This has reduced by some 10% over the past decade, with a 3.5% decrease in the pay gap since 2013/14, and we are on track to achieve the target of 33% of females in senior management, professional and professorial roles this year. Similarly, the University has more than achieved gender balance within our Senior Management Team with a 52/48 female:male ratio.

We continue our progress towards Athena Swan Institutional Silver accreditation level and this year, for the first time, we will publish our ethnicity pay gap data as well as our gender pay analysis.

The University will continue to work constructively and collaboratively with our partners at a local and national level to address issues across these themes. We will also participate fully at sector level work in seeking a mutually agreeable way forward to resolve the current dispute. We will provide more information on further developments as these emerge.

 

 

First published: 4 February 2020

<< 4 February 2020