Queen’s University Reaches New Pay Deal with Trade Unions

Queen’s University Belfast and the three major trade unions in Northern Ireland, NIPSA, UCU and Unite, have agreed a pay deal to benefit all staff employed by the University and protect students’ education from disruption.

This deal will usher in a new era of industrial relations at Queen’s, and will see staff receive a 13% salary increase over three years, a one-off non-consolidated payment dependent on salary, and an additional day’s leave, effective from 1 August 2024.

This announcement comes at a challenging time for the higher education sector including in Northern Ireland where funding for universities and colleges has been cut by 40% since 2011. Queen’s is bucking the trend and will be investing in its people to reap the benefits in the longer term, echoing the Vice-Chancellor’s comments earlier this year to the newly returned NI Executive.

This new deal agreed by the unions and University will provide assurance to students that the potential for disruption to their studies has been greatly reduced.

Welcoming the new pay deal for staff and the new era of industrial relations, Vice-Chancellor of Queen’s University, Professor Sir Ian Greer said:

“At Queen University, we consider our people to be our key asset and today’s announcement underlines this. This pay deal recognises the remarkable body of work our people have delivered across teaching, academic research, hosting major events and bringing positive and real change to communities and our society. It will provide certainty for our staff and their families, as well as assurances to students that potential disruption to their studies has been hugely reduced.

“Echoing the same advice I gave the returning Executive earlier this year, it is crucial we invest in people to reap the benefits longer-term. This deal adds to our existing top-class terms and conditions as a major employer in NI, and we remain committed to our mission to recruit and retain the best people with the University’s ultimate aim of producing the most talented and high achieving graduates that will make a difference to our society and the world.”

Sean O’Connell, President of UCU at Queen’s, said:

“We’re delighted to have reached a fair settlement with management on pay. This is an important step towards pay restoration and a fitting reward and recognition of the efforts of all Queen’s staff. Significantly, this deal means we can now all focus on providing stability for both staff and students, and management should be congratulated on the vision they have demonstrated by making this pay agreement possible. With this agreement on pay now ratified, we look forward to working to find equally positive resolutions to the other issues that have been the trade unions’ focus in recent years.”

Julia Farkaš, NIPSA Branch Chair at Queen’s, added:

“Collectively, the University and the unions see this as a new start to industrial relations at Queen’s with partnership and collaboration at the heart of the new agreement. The unions believe this deal will provide clarity to both students and colleagues over the next three academic years.”

Beth Elder, Queen’s Students’ Union President added:

“Queen’s Students’ Union welcomes the announcement of the pay deal. Like our peers at universities across the UK, many of our current students experienced disruption during their educational journey as a result of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and industrial action in recent years.

“The pay deal means that Queen’s students now find themselves in the fortunate position of having certainty that their studies are highly unlikely to be affected during the period of the deal. This is really important, reducing unnecessary stress and ensuring the stability needed for students to thrive and get the most out of their time at university.”