There is a funding crisis in higher education— workers have been facing years of low pay, real terms cuts amidst the rising cost of living. Fair pay must be a priority.
Results of the 2025/26 Pay Dispute
Last year’s pay dispute highlighted the dire state of funding within the higher education sector. The Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA) presented unions with a pay offer of 1.4%, the lowest settlement across the public sector and significantly below the 3.8% average. In consultative ballots, members from EIS, GMB, UCU, UNISON and Unite voted to reject this offer. In the ballot for industrial action, 85% of voting members at SOAS rejected the pay offer, with a turnout exceeding 50%. Consequently, our branch participated in nationally organised strike action alongside colleagues from King’s College London, the University of Bristol, Manchester Metropolitan University and the Royal Northern College of Music. This widespread rejection of below inflation offers sets the stage for the current 2026/27 pay round.
Status of the 2026/27 Pay Negotiations
For the current year, negotiations remain challenging. UCEA has presented the unions with a final offer of 2% across all points alongside an offer to negotiate the national pay spine. However, this is still below the current rate of inflation (CPIH at 3.1% as of July 2026), representing another cut to real-terms pay. As an example, this translates to a £250 cut in take-home pay for a worker on Grade 4. The response has been unequivocal— in consultative ballots all unions have voted to reject the current 2% offer.
Following the comprehensive rejection of UCEA’s current pay offer, further national negotiations are likely to take place. If these negotiations do not result in an improvement to the current offer, it is expected that UNISON will formally ballot members on industrial action. You can stay up-to-date with the status of negotiations by checking UCEA’s page on the 2026/27 pay round here, or through UNISON’s page here.
Local Negotiations
Alongside national negotiations, our branch also negotiates locally with SOAS. This year, our focus is on securing sustainable improvements to the London Weighting component of pay, as core pay remains a matter for national decision-making through JNCHES.