This Guild Notes:

1. UNISON has balloted on whether to take industrial action.
2. The University of Liverpool UNISON Branch has voted 92.9% in favour of industrial action.
3. The key elements of this dispute are:
   1. Low Pay
   2. Working conditions
   3. Cost of living
   4. Inequality
3. UNISON members keep university services running, in roles including administration, library staff, student support, IT, maintenance, cleaning, catering, security, and many more.
4. UNISON continues to speak up for the needs of Women, BAME, and low-paid workers, and fights against all forms of discrimination and inequality.
5. The final offer on pay for 2022-23 from UCEA was a below-inflation pay rise of 3% for most Higher Education staff. Due to the astronomical rise in inflation during 2022-23 financial year, this offer is actually a real terms pay cut.
6. Most higher education institutions implemented these increases with effect from 1 August 2022, whilst UNISON and the four other trade unions (GMB, EiS, UCU, and Unite) were still in dispute with the employers.
7. UNISON and the other four recognized trade unions have argued that the pay offer for 2023-24 needed to be sufficient to settle the 2022-23 dispute as well as meeting UNISON’s claims for 2023-24.
8. Pay talks with the University and Colleges Employers’ Association (UCEA) ended in an impasse, rather than an agreement. UCEA made their latest final pay offer for 2023-24 during the ACAS-facilitated dispute resolution talks in February which resulted in another below-inflation pay rise.
9. With RPI inflation at 13.8% in February 2023 and even CPI at 10.4%, like many other workers across the country, between 2022-23 and 2023-24 UNISON workers are facing the prospect of the biggest ever real terms pay cut.
10. UNISON is campaigning for a properly funded HE sector accessible to students, which doesn’t result in a lifetime of debt.

This Guild Believes:

1. Staff working conditions are students’ learning conditions. By delivering decent staff pay, universities will deliver a better experience for students.

2. Overworked and stressed staff drastically decreases the quality of education for students at the university.
3. Senior management are in highly secure jobs with increased benefits while staff and students are squeezed year after year.
4. Staff and student solidarity is at an all-time high. They stand by us every day by campaigning on issues such as tuition fees. We should support them in their fight for a better working life. 
5. Students supporting staff in industrial actions means less disruption. The longer the picket line the shorter the strike. 

This Guild Resolves:

1. To officially support any industrial action that may take place.
2. To release an immediate public statement showing support if staff take industrial action.
3. To help educate students about any industrial action and explain why they should support it.
4. To organise ‘teach-out’ events to bring staff and students together to learn and discuss a range of topics including the industrial action, trade unionism, and higher education.
5. To lobby the university to meet the demands made by UNISON.