Author Archives: David Moon

Energy Price Cap vs. the Pay “Rise” we can’t afford

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This morning, OFGEM, the UK government regulator for electricity and gas markets, approved an 80% increase in the energy price cap. This mean the average household utilities bill is going to increase to £3,549 in October – that’s a £2,149 increase from the same time last year.

UCU represents staff on Grades 6 to 9 and the Professoriate – and for all those on the pay scale (and even above), UCEA’s pay offer of 3% in May 2022 won’t even cover the extra amount you’ll be paying for your gas & electric alone in October – let alone in January and then April, when analysts predict the energy cap will rise to over £5,000.

Graph showing 3% pay rise versus energy bill increase

UCU Bath committee looked at the figures and here is how far the 3% offer set to be implemented will help you meet your increased energy needs:

  • At Grade 6, you will only get an extra £838. Less than half of what you need.
  • At Grade 7, the £1,060 you will receive is still less than half of what you will need.
  • At Grade 8, the £1,302 increase will get you more than halfway, but still around £900 short.
  • At Grade 9, your raise of £1,601 will be getting you closer, but still no cigar.
  • Even if you are employed at the highest level of the Grade 9 salary scale, the £2,026 increase will still leave you short of what you need.

And that’s just energy.

Households are facing an annual average food bill increase of £454.

Inflation is running at around 12%, predicted to rise to 19% in the new year. Rental costs are going up.

Everything is going up – except our real terms pay.

We are living at a time where a 3% pay increase means a dramatic and, for many, devastating pay cut.

We literally cannot afford to accept a 3% pay “rise”!

We deserve a better deal.  And together, we can win one.

Marie Morley Scholarship for asylum seekers: update

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Post by Dr Galadriel Ravelli (Bath UCU International Members Rep)

Bath UCU members are currently co-funding a postgraduate scholarship for an asylum seeker student here at Bath, the Marie Morley Scholarship (the scholarship is equally funded by UCU – through your local subscriptions – and the University).

The scholarship has now been running for two years, and UCU Committee members have met with this year’s scholarship recipient a couple of times throughout the academic year. We have shared with them our members’ welcome and solidarity message, and we wanted to pass on their positive feedback:

‘I have a firm conviction that without the scholarship program, pursuing higher studies and subsequently chasing my career aspirations would have been nothing but utopia. Finally, I and my family are now living comfortably; I have a little baby boy who was born on 28th February 2022. Life can’t be more beautiful than this. There is just an immense amount of gratitude to all those who have made this possible’.

Asylum seekers in the UK who wish to pursue an academic degree are usually charged international student fees and are not automatically eligible for finance support. In this sense, the Marie Morley Scholarship is a great opportunity, which is made possible by Bath UCU memebers’ monthly local subscriptions.