Author: Shaun Williams, Executive Director Engagement and Advancement
- There was an update on the ongoing national industrial action by members of the University and College Union (UCU), relating to pay and working conditions, and changes to the USS pension scheme. A new phase of industrial action starts on Wednesday 1 February, with 17 further dates set during February and March.
- UEB were briefed that last week the Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA) put forward an improved final pay offer on behalf of participating employers, including Southampton, providing for increases of between 5.0% and 7.0% to the spinal points we use at Southampton. UEB also heard that the latest pay offer from UCEA, when combined with the enhancements we announced last December to our University pay scales, would deliver cumulative base pay increases during 2023 that average 9.2%, and range from 7.1% to 16.8% for our Level 1 to 7 employees, in addition to last year’s pay settlement and any contractual incremental progression due.
- Separately, UEB noted that UCEA is currently conducting a consultation with its members, including Southampton, on the future of collective pay bargaining in higher education, with options being considered around sticking to, adapting or replacing the current structure of negotiations. UEB heard that given that the unions are clearly not satisfied with what is coming out of collective national bargaining, resulting in the on-going industrial action, that was likely to accelerate the fragmentation of national bargaining.
- UEB were also briefed that this week sees the start of industrial action by some teachers, which could result in some short-notice school closures, causing concern for some colleagues needing to balance workload with unexpected caring and parenting responsibilities. Line managers have been encouraged to show flexibility and consider a number of potential options to manage such eventualities.
- UEB heard that although incidents of crime affecting personal safety are rare in our community, there have been a small number of unrelated occurrences recently. We take the safety and wellbeing of our community extremely seriously, so as a precaution, and to provide reassurance we have increased our on-site security patrols of campus grounds, including car parks and fringe parts of campus.
- There was a further update on the progress, current priorities and next stages of the University website development. This remains a highly complex and challenging project, one of the most difficult the University has embarked on in this area, and we know there are continuing concerns and frustrations at the pace of implementation. More than 170 technical upgrades have taken place across the site since July, but there are still further complex developments to undertake. The Web Oversight Board is now looking at pragmatic opportunities to devolve some content creation and editing access to school and professional services level, in addition to ten new roles being created in Faculty Operating Services, to supplement the small core digital team.
- Finally, as part of our regular four-yearly review of the University Financial Regulations and Policies, UEB approved recommendations for changes to Finance Policy 19 – Capital Expenditure, which will delegate more financial authority from Council to Finance Committee, in the context of our extensive future estates capital programme; and carried out the regular review of the University Risk Register.