On one level, there’s not a lot to say about the current pay dispute.
Staff deserve to be paid more, university managers need their universities to be financially viable.
The compromise will – as compromises tend to – be found somewhere in the middle of the two asks. Meanwhile the rhetoric from both sides will make this compromise look as far away as it possibly can be.
Union leaders are keen to create an impression that universities are well off. This gives hope to their members – the idea that the money is there – and offers easy attack lines on university profligacy and waste. Frequently, the bugbear is “shiny new buildings” – apparently built in preference to paying a fair wage.
University leaders, conversely, tend to give the impression that their institutions are struggling financially – and that the money simply isn’t there for pay rises. It gives the impression that unions are being unreasonable, and that pay demands are not at a level that supports the continued existence of universities.
