Written copy of the JTU pay claim 24/25 below (or download PDF: JTU pay claim 2024-25)

In previous years the Joint Trades Unions have focussed our pay claims on maintaining, at a minimum, the value of pay at Imperial since we left national bargaining in 2005. Again, this is in the context of significant inflation and several years of pay settlements below the rate of inflation, resulting in real-terms pay cuts.

Given the current rate of inflation we are basing our claim on the estimated value of London CPIH at the end of 2023 assuming a national CPIH of 4%, and using the past relationship established over 16 years of data.

2024 Cost of living claim

As a result, to protect the value of pay at Imperial, the Joint Trades Unions staff at Imperial require a 6.1% increase that will do no more than maintain the value of median pay at Imperial since 2005. This is based on the estimated CPIH at the end of 2023, taking account of the established relationship between London CPIH and national CPIH between 2005 and 2020 (see appendix 1). The value of pay at Imperial using London CPIH is shown below.

Affordability

While College feared a deficit last year at the time we first began negotiating pay in March / April, the outturn was a healthy surplus of £30.9m.  This year a similar surplus is also predicted; it may end up significantly larger in fact. Student numbers rose slightly and increases in fees contributed to a rise in income of 9.1%.  This year, fees for overseas students have risen again, bringing in even more.

Although staff numbers rose slightly for the first time in four years, the increase was minor and very closely targeted. As a result, expenditure on staff dropped last year to 52.2% of expenditure, the lowest level for the last ten years. Next year College will see its expenditure on staff drop further with the improvement in the fortunes of the USS pension scheme. We estimate this will provide a consolidated reduction of £15m a year in contributions, more than 2% of the total staff costs. In addition, College will save similar percentage of the staff budget (6.1% of salaries of the staff in USS) in deficit reduction payments now that there is no deficit.

Pay Claim

Given both the long-term erosion of pay that staff at Imperial have suffered, the background of pay falling to its lowest levels as a percentage of expenditure and the further reduction of expenditure on staff from the drop in USS contributions, our pay claim consists of two parts

• a 6.1% pay increase
• a £2000 consolidated flat-rate increase starting on 1 January when the lower USS contributions will come into effect

The flat rate consolidated element will particularly benefit those on lower incomes who have been disproportionately affected by recent inflation.

These are clearly affordable in terms of both current and anticipated College finances. Our pay claim is modest: management should regard it as shocking that pay has fallen back in value given the increases in staff productivity, with student-staff ratios more than 20% higher than just five years ago. There is now an opportunity for those who work at Imperial to be properly compensated.  

Further, we are renewing our request that the PTO pay scales be at long last updated to align to the AR and TL structures, starting from previous discussions that subsequently stalled. We held productive discussions on this issue in our ACAS discussions in relation to the 2023-24 pay dispute and we want to confirm a timetable for these negotiations as part of this pay round 

Appendix

Source: NIESR, ONS with projection by log-log regression, IC JTU