By James Rougvie

MILLIONS OF pounds of investment in sporting infrastructure at Dundee University and recruitment of staff may be frozen as a result of the eventual pay settlement of the damaging lecturers’ wages dispute.

Some universities are even talking in terms of sacking staff to pay for what may be a pay deal of 13.1% over three years, although the lecturer’s union has already rejected the offer made by the University Colleges Employers’ Association.

The acrimonious dispute, which has affected student examinations and subsequent degrees, has also led to some universities, including Abertay, to dock the pay of those lecturers who withdrew their labour and refused to mark exam papers.

Last night, Abertay warned that all guarantees of no redundancies could be off if the final pay settlement goes above 9%.

Dundee also revealed last night that a letter had been sent to all academic staff yesterday afternoon, which, while stopping short of a decision to dock pay, noted that the university senate on Wednesday had voted overwhelmingly in favour of staff marking student assessments and examinations of final year students to allow them to graduate on schedule.

The staff were formally asked, as a matter of urgency, to complete any outstanding marking for final year students, to proceed with examination boards for these students and to submit the marks to the registry as soon as possible. The staff were asked to confirm to the principal, Sir Alan Langlands, they were willing to take this step, adding, “I hope that you will accept the view of senate and return to normal working without delay. Our graduating students should not suffer any further disruption.”

A spokeswoman for Dundee University said the pay deal, plus higher pension costs and annual pay increments, would push up staff salary costs by around 3%. The combined effect of that was that staff costs would be expected to rise by around 9% in 2006-07.

She said the university could not put precise figures on how many posts might have to lie vacant if frozen, since they were still working out their budget for next year, but a number of prestigious building projects would have to be put on hold.

Among the temporary casualties might be a £4 million investment at the university Riverside sports ground.

At Riverside, two artificial grass pitches for hockey and six five-a-side outdoor pitches were planned, with a new pavilion with changing rooms and a social area to be established.

Buildings and pitches were due to open later this year at a cost of £4 million.

Another project put on hold may be the creation of the campus green, which would have sprung from the demolition of the former jam factory and crumbling squash courts at the heart of the campus.

However, a £3.6 million development of the campus sports complex will go ahead. It is planned to spend heavily on new hockey pitches, floodlit five-a-side pitches, a new fitness suite and three squash courts, which would be available for staff as well as students.

Jobs are to be lost at Glasgow Caledonian University. The principal, Professor Pamela Gillies, confirmed that redundancies were the only way to fund a pay increase of 13.1%.

Professor Gillies said the 13.1% offer would cause the university “severe financial difficulties.”

Professor Mike Pittilo, principal of Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen, also said redundancies could be inevitable.

Recruitment could also be hit at St Andrews University. A spokesman said, “Money is going to have to be found from somewhere and it is likely that we will have to look at staff levels through either a slowdown or a freeze on recruitment.”

Edinburgh University said 13.1% is at the absolute limit of affordability. Napier University said it would be the “maximum level we could afford.”

Glasgow University said it would not need to make redundancies after £10 million of savings were made in a voluntary severance exercise last year, which saw 230 staff leave. But it did announce that lecturers’ pay would be docked by 30% from next Wednesday.

Paisley University warned the 13.1% pay deal would have “inevitable consequences” for staffing.