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Having retired not long ago, I looked at the pay deal from the perspective of staff thinking of retiring in the near future. Someone retiring onJAugust 1, 2007, will have about 3.5 per cent for their final 12 months - not much above inflation and probably not far off the rise in average earnings for the period. Someone retiring on the same date in 2008 will have an extra 4.3 per cent for the year, a bit better, and someone going on August 1, 2009, may be lucky and get something similar.

But what if inflation goes up over this time and what will vice-chancellors add to their pension pots? It is hardly worth waiting for the rise, given the very sour relations and demotivation that the industrial action has generated. Go now if you can - it feels so good be free of the managerialism that in the past few years has gone well beyond anything remotely justifiable.

Christopher O'Hagan

Derby University