HC Deb 08 July 1980 vol 988 cc213-6
2. Mr. Ancram

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science when he expects to be in a position to make a statement on the university teachers' pay settlement.

16. Mr. Hal Miller

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science when he expects to reach a decision on the pay of university teachers.

22. Mr. Canavan

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he will make a statement about the Association of University Teachers salaries claim.

Dr. Boyson

I hope that a meeting of the negotiating committee can be arranged very shortly.

Mr. Ancram

Is my hon. Friend aware that great frustration and domestic difficulty are being caused to university teachers in my constituency because of the delay in announcing the decision? Is he further aware that they are particularly frustrated because they have completed their side of the negotiations in line with Government directions? Will he give an assurance that an announcement will be made soon?

Dr. Boyson

We hope that a meeting will be arranged shortly. If the Clegg Commission had reported when it had intended to, the payment would still not have been made by September. We trust that the issue will be settled well before then.

Mr. Miller

Does my hon. Friend understand that the main concern of such articulate, not to say literate, people is that they may be caught—as they were before—by a policy change? Does he accept that their anxieties rest on that score, rather than on the amount of the increase at issue?

Dr. Boyson

I understand my hon. Friend's point. I know that there is strong feeling in the country on this issue. I have received letters, as I am sure every hon. Member has, about the settlement. However, we intend to call a meeting shortly to sort out the matter.

Mr. Canavan

Why has there been a delay of more than seven weeks since the pay proposals were first agreed with the employers and set within the Government's cash limits? Will the Minister assure us that he will not allow university teachers to be used as scapegoats for the failure of the Government's counter-inflation policy, particularly in view of yesterday's announcement that Cabinet Ministers will get as much as £90 a week extra, which will take them up to over £30,000 a year?

Dr. Boyson

One of the concerns of university teachers is the way in which they were treated in 1975 by the Labour Govt. The hon. Gentleman did not mention that. That is why university teachers feel so strongly about this matter. We are considering cash limits and comparability. As I have said, we shall call a meeting shortly.

Mr. Rhodes James

Is my hon. Friend aware that university teachers will never forget the manner in which they were treated in 1975? Will he give an assurance that there will be no repetition of that lamentable episode?

Dr. Boyson

The Government do not intend to treat university teachers differently from other people, or in the way that they were treated in 1975.

Mr. Race

Has the settlement that was agreed between the employers and the unions on university teachers' pay been approved by the appropriate Cabinet sub-committee? Clearly, a Cabinet sub-committee is vetting public sector pay. The hon. Gentleman has only to tell the House whether the Government approve the settlement reached between the unions and the employers. Do the Government approve?

Dr. Boyson

There is a proper place in which to make this announcement. It will not be made to the hon. Gentleman in this Chamber. Presumably, trade unionists on the Opposition Benches would expect proper negotiations to take place. The recommendation will pass from committee A to committee B, and that is where the announcement will be made.

Mr. Beith

Will the Minister give a specific assurance that the settlement that is reached will not be subject to the new 9¾ per cent. pay policy?

Dr. Boyson

Committee B has not yet been called. When the committee is called, and when the Government are represented, a statement will be made about the acceptability of the settlement that came from committee A.

Mr. John Patten

Despite my hon. Friend's remarks about the original September announcement in the Clegg report, does he agree that it is unfair that university teachers should suffer from the prevarications and incompetence of the Clegg Commission in the meantime?

Dr. Boyson

I agree with my hon. Friend. As soon as teachers indicate that they would prefer direct negotiations to waiting for the Clegg Commission, we shall agree to undertake them.

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