09 June 2006
The university lecturers' pay dispute, which threatened to disrupt examinations for students across the country, has been settled after trade union leaders accepted the improved offer first tabled by employers last week.
The University and College Union, launched on June 1 following a merger of the Association of University Teachers and lecturers' union Natfhe, has agreed to the 13.1%, three-year deal.
An independent review will also be commissioned into the finances available to institutions to pay staff and, if it concludes there is more money in the system, will feed into the 2008/09 negotiations.
Joint UCU presidents Dennis Hayes and Steve Wharton said the deal had been reached after 'tough negotiations'. UCU members will be balloted on the new offer, they said.
Geoffrey Copland, chair of the Universities and Colleges Employers' Association, said: 'We are particularly pleased that the immediate suspension of industrial action will stop disruption for students and allow completion of examination processes.'
PFjun2006
