The President sent out an update on the 2023/24 Pay Offer on 19 June announcing that the employees at Richmond are being offered an overall pay increase of 2%. 

The UCU is deeply disappointed with the offer and have been frustrated with the University Executive Team’s (UET) inability to meaningfully negotiate with faculty and staff. A 2% increase is an insult to employees: it doesn’t begin to address the significant devaluation of our pay over the past 10 years or the imbalance we face in regard to wider HE sector pay. (See: research on Richmond pay.)  

We have been adamant during negotiations with the UET that the employees can no longer be expected to bear the burden of the University’s poor financial position. We have also been clear that our poor pay reflects the priorities of the University. While we appreciate the UET’s transparency in sharing the University Board’s salary information, the UCU is shocked and dismayed that these 9 individuals use up approximately 18% of the total salary budget. The President’s salary alone is around 3% of the salary budget!  

You have expressed to us your frustration over poor pay and a loss of goodwill towards the UET after years of financial sacrifice, increasing workloads, and more intensified working conditions. 

We are committed to continuing to negotiate with the UET for a meaningful pay uplift, as we have been doing the past six months. The UCU will meet to discuss the distribution of the 2% across all employees on 27 June. While this is a paltry amount, we will insist that everyone needs a 2% increase and that the UET needs to find ways to increase this amount for our most poorly paid employees. We will insist that if there are better than expected student numbers that the financial benefit is passed onto employees. We will also push for negotiations to consider a multi-year pay uplift that brings faculty salaries in line with HE sector norms. Richmond’s future stability requires addressing our pay and meaningfully recognising that the success of Richmond rests on our labour.  

Given another year of inadequately addressing poor pay, the UCU feels there is no choice but to reject the offer, which will be imposed on 1 January 2024. In response to the pay conditions at Richmond, a motion was passed at UCU’s Annual General Meeting in May to conduct a consultative ballot to determine how members feel about taking potential industrial action. Please look out for updates on this in the coming weeks. As only members can participate in the ballot, if you wish to vote, we encourage you to join the UCU and have your voice heard (see: join UCU). 

We understand that this ongoing situation is causing concern, and we encourage you to reach out to the UCU with any questions, comments, or concerns you may have. Your input is vital to ensuring fair pay and positive working conditions at Richmond. Contact us at richmonducubranch@richmond.ac.uk.