July Branch News: Pay offer rejected, local campaigns, and a new VC
Published on
July Branch News
This month has seen significant milestones in our campaigns to end casualised labor and sexual harassment at the university, the announcement of a new VC, a result on the pay consultation, and USS updates. Lots to follow!
National UCU news
UCU has now announced its USS negotiating team, to be chaired by Renee Prendergast (delegated by Douglas Chalmers as Chair of the HEC), and including our Branch President, Sam Marsh, Carlo Morelli and Amanda Williams, with Marion Hersh in reserve.
Sheffield was one of 20 HE branches to call for a special HE sector conference on USS, and we sent 4 delegates to the conference, held on 21 June in Manchester. A range of important motions were passed, particularly centering around transparency by the Joint Expert Panel, and their accountability to members.
Speaking of the JEP, they met for the fourth time this past week to hear evidence from actuarial advisors representing UCU and UUK, on the assumptions underlying the 2017 valuation, alternative valuation models, and Tests 1-3 used by USS (particularly Test 1). The JEP has since released the following, somewhat less than transparent statement about the meeting.
Pay offer rejected!
The results of UCU’s e-consultation on UUK’s final pay offer are in! With a 47.7% turnout, HE members have overwhelmingly rejected the pay offer (85%), and are prepared to take industrial action in defence of pay (65%). UCU has announced that, beginning in August 2018, it will ballot higher education members about industrial action. You will be hearing much more from us about this ballot over the next month, and it will be absolutely crucial for us as a branch and union to have the highest level of participation possible, in order to send a strong message that unfair pay is unacceptable.
Congress rescheduled
A recall UCU Congress has been rescheduled for 18 October, 2018, to continue the business of the meeting earlier this month, which was disrupted by staff walkouts (our delegates’ report). We have been informed that Motions 10 and 11, which criticise the general secretary, are on the agenda and will be heard without further disruption.
Local SUCU news
Following over a year of negotiations, we are very happy to be able to announce a significant milestone in our ongoing campaign to improve terms and conditions for teaching staff. The University has committed to a number of significant positive changes, and we hope to build on this major win in the continuing fight for fair and secure employment for all university staff.
After running an action group with UCU members in January, we have worked with representatives from the other campus unions to form a sexual harassment working group. We are meeting regularly with HR (approximately every 3 weeks) to work towards (1) creating bespoke institutional guidance, support and policy around sexual violence, (2) developing training in this area, and (3) revising reporting mechanisms and disciplinary processes related to sexual violence. This is an urgent issue which we're hoping to make fast and meaningful progress on in the coming months, and we will keep you informed of how it developments.
We also want to highlight UCU’s dedicated 24/7 sexual harassment support helpline, in collaboration with Education Support Partnership. This helpline is confidential and free of charge to any UCU member, and can be reached at 0800 138 8724.
A new VC
Last week, the University announced that Professor Koen Lamberts will begin as VC on November 1, 2018. Professor Lamberts has recently stepped down from his prior role as Chair of the Employers’ Pension Forum for HE, which he held since 2015. In this role, he chaired the EPF’s writing of a report on HE pensions for UUK which “puts forward a set of principles, designed to underpin decisions on pension provision”. As we stated last Monday, the committee is looking forward to working with Professor Lamberts, and to discussing issues, including the USS pension scheme, which are important to our members.
Ongoing restructures
In last month’s branch news, we noted that the university has been conducting an extensive series of restructures, currently directed at Professional Services. Reviews and restructures usually mean a heightened period of uncertainty for staff as roles, teams and services are altered, with some staff at risk of redundancy throughout the process. In the past 18 months we have supported members in the restructures of Research Services, Student Recruitment and Admissions, Academic Programmes and Student Engagement (APSE; which is ongoing), and the restructures of many smaller teams -- and there are more restructures scheduled to begin in Autumn 2018. These restructures have already impacted hundreds of staff members at the university, and we are increasingly concerned about both their scale and the pace at which they are being implemented, as well as the considerable casework pressure they place on trade union representatives. We are addressing these major concerns with university management, and are continuing to insist that restructures occur according the procedures they have agreed on with us.
Message of Solidarity
We would like to offer our support to the Hungarian Academy of Science and Central European University, and make our members aware of their fight against anti-democratic government encroachment on their academic freedom.
Upcoming events
On July 13 and 14, Stand up to Racism has organised local and national demonstrations against Trump and Tommy Robinson. We encourage members to sign their related petition “We must unite to halt the rise of the far-right”.
Statement on the appointment of the new President and Vice-Chancellor
Published on
Sheffield UCU would like to extend a warm welcome to Professor Koen Lamberts. We look forward to working with him very much.
The University of Sheffield’s Chief Operating Officer, Andy Dodman, wrote to us recently to reiterate that the incoming President and Vice Chancellor will ‘play a key role in building strong and meaningful industrial relations here at Sheffield.’ Sheffield UCU members may recognise Professor Lamberts’ name from his role as Chair of the Employers’ Pension Forum for Higher Education, where he was also Chair of the USS sub-committee. In August 2017 he wrote for Universities UK1 about the USS scheme, noting that the scheme was £12.6bn in deficit. ‘With a deficit this large’, he wrote, ‘doing nothing is not an option’.
We hope to have the opportunity to discuss this and other matters with Professor Lamberts very soon.
Dr Sam Marsh
President
Sheffield UCU
1 https://www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/blog/Pages/Addressing-the-university-pension-fund-deficit.aspx
June Branch News: a ballot on pay, and the VC hears our concerns
Published on
Come to our AGM and party tomorrow!
AGM, Thursday 7 June, 1pm (sandwich lunch from 12.45), Council Room, Firth Court
End of year party, Thursday 7 June, 7.30pm, Hagglers Corner (get your free ticket)
June Branch News
With pension discussions delegated to an expert panel, the annual pay offer is badly judged, and we meet again with Sir Keith to firm up plans for the future.
Last week saw the first meeting of the Joint Expert Panel (JEP), established to report on the valuation which resulted in the bitter dispute over USS earlier this year. Joining the chair are three nominees from UCU and three from UUK. The terms of reference include a presumption of confidentiality, but we have been told that the chair is keen on transparency where possible. We have yet to hear any reports on how the work is going, but will share whatever we get. Our fingers are crossed.
We expect a consultative ballot over the annual pay offer to land imminently. With mammoth gender pay gaps, chronic casualisation and unmanageable workloads across the sector, the final offer from the employers falls short of the action UCU demanded, and is backed by a headline figure of just 2% on the pay spine: yet another real-terms pay cut. This is a dismal response to a spring of discontent. Time for vice-chancellors to think again? The ballot will come with a recommendation from UCU to reject the offer, and we strongly recommend that members vote in favour of industrial action.
A panel of UCU committee members met with the vice-chancellor again on Monday to discuss unfinished business from the USS dispute. Top of the agenda was the use of the strike pay deductions, likely to total over £1m. We will be in touch with departmental contacts to provide details of this discussion, but we have confirmed that the money does not need to be spent by the end of the academic financial year, and that departments who choose to do so could return the money to a central pot to be allocated to student-facing projects, in discussion with the Students Union. There may also be scope for departments to donate the money to specific university level projects of their choosing. We strongly recommend that student-staff committees be involved in discussions about how the money is spent, to ensure that it is used for students.
The wide-ranging discussion with the VC also included the need for greater support for our international staff (and for Sheffield to put itself at the forefront of a campaign), improved representation of the staff voice in the university's governance, the need for a reformed USS Working Group to prepare for the outcomes of the JEP and more. We pointed out how constructive the meetings with the vice-chancellor have been, and asked for them to become regularised. We hope that they will.
You may not be aware of the large-scale restructuring that is going on at the university, with many fellow members in very uncertain positions. The university management has a right to review its operations, but it must do so according to the policies and procedures they have agreed with us, and we holding them to this as best we can. Added to this, those in Jessop West have been banned from opening windows due to a dangerous design flaw, and this policy has had significant knock-on effects including a ban on out-of-hours access. The claim that there is nothing that can be done until the legal aspects have been looked into (which could take up to a year) is hard to accept and causing significant anger.
Finally, if you haven't yet lost office bins from your department, it may only be a matter of time. Sold as a green initiative, but more likely to be a misguided attempt at an efficiency saving, you might like to read and sign this open letter to EFM on concerns that this could lead to job losses for cleaners and increased workload elsewhere. Those who attended our 'how to write like a manager' teach-out may be especially amused by Aberystwyth University's announcement of a similar policy.
Appeal for Ahmed
You may have heard about the case of Ahmed Sedeeq, the Sheffield University PhD student held for 10 days during the Christmas holiday season in Morton Hall Immigration Removal Centre, who is fighting against being deported to Iraq.
Because of the hostile environment policy, Ahmed is now finding himself with impending housing issues as his passport is still with the Home Office and he is unable to get adequate housing without showing a landlord proof of his right to stay in the UK. Ahmed must move out of his flat by the end of July.
Unis Resist Border Controls is looking for lecturers and/or PhD students who might have a spare room in Sheffield that they could provide Ahmed so that he does not find himself destitute. If you can help, please contact them at UnisResistBorderControls@gmail.com.
What on earth happened at Congress?
You may have heard about last week's fraught national Congress meeting, where staff walkouts brought about significant disruptions to proceedings. Please do read our delegates' report on what went on, which will be discussed at our AGM on Thursday. We also highly recommend the superb USS Briefs podcasts made this weekend, featuring discussions with delegates from Sheffield, Exeter, Oxford and KCL among others, and this highly articulate article by Craig Gent.
Sheffield UCU Committee
May Branch News: USS latest, international staff and more!
Published on
Come to our event on Casualisation in Education, featuring Lousie Haigh MP on 10 May! Full details lower down this email...
May Branch News
As the USS dispute pauses, attention turns to pay; we make progress on the rights of our international staff; and the university listens to our ideas on combating sexual harassment.
With the dispute over USS paused and the defined contribution proposal officially withdrawn, the current focus is on the establishment of a Joint Expert Panel to provide an assessment of the valuation. Applications to be one of the three UCU-nominated members are open until 14 May, and are not restricted to UCU members or to those working in higher education. If you know of any ideal candidates, please encourage them to apply (or apply yourself!).
Controversy has been generated by a confidentiality clause in the terms of reference for the panel. We think this is a worrying development, as a lack of transparency over the valuation methods has been a running feature of the dispute to date. If you agree, please join those who have signed this petition to try to get the terms modified.
In Sheffield, we are hoping to reform the USS Working Group that met with university management in the year preceding the dispute to understand the technical material behind the valuation. We expect to put out a call for expressions of interest for serving on that panel soon: please put your name forward if you have relevant skills.
With the annual pay negotiations well under way, the employers' opening offer sees yet another real-terms cut of 1.7%, accompanied by resistance to national action to address precarious employment and workload issues. The gender pay gap will receive some further work, with the approach in Sheffield - where we were involved in the gender pay gap reporting process - being held up as good practice.
A newly formed working group to discuss the University's approach to sexual harassment met for the first time this week. We hope that this group, requested by us, will be able to make significant progress on the University's policy, based on the work of the 1752 group. We're keen for the Students' Union to be represented on the group, especially when considering the rights of postgraduate students who also work for the University. We will keep you updated as things progress, but initial discussions have been positive.
Our campaigning for better treatment of our international staff has resulted in the University Executive Board agreeing to significant amounts of extra support. Funding has been allocated for Tier 1 and 2 visa, NHS-surcharge and indefinite leave to remain fees for staff, along with the provision of dedicated HR support and some external legal advice. Costs associated with dependents are to be supported through interest free loans. We will continuing to work on reimbursement of costs for existing staff who are out of pocket to work at the university. We’re eager to hear from any such members, particularly those who applied for visas, extension or ILR in the year prior to the start of this new scheme on 1 April 2018 and were denied reimbursement.
We have also raised concerns with the UEB about how current Home Office regulations prevent our international staff from fully participating in collective bargaining and strike action. Deputy Director of HR, Ian Wright, has agreed to meet with UCU members currently on Tier 2 and 5 visas to discuss Sheffield University's approach to addressing this unequal treatment of workers. The meeting is on Wednesday, 16 May at 1:30 pm in Hicks F35, and any members who are unable to attend are welcome to send questions and concerns to us to be raised.
Finally, our Annual General Meeting is approaching (add to Google calendar!), and nominations are still open for committee positions (deadline 4pm, 10th May). Please get in touch if you want further information. We are starting to organise a celebratory end-of-year party for all UCU members for the evening of the AGM: if organising parties is your thing, please get in touch to offer help!
Sheffield UCU Committee
Louise Haigh MP on Casualisation in Education, Thursday 10 May
In 2016, the Guardian ran a series of articles exposing "the new world of work" which focused on poor employment practices across the UK economy. Higher education came in for particular criticism, with high numbers of staff employed on insecure terms including zero-hours contracts, casual worker agreements and fixed-term contracts. We are delighted that Louise Haigh, Labour MP for Heeley, has agreed to come to speak to us. Join us for a discussion of the plight affecting tens of thousands of higher-education workers across the sector, and to hear about the work that Sheffield UCU is doing to secure better terms of employment at this university.
Casualisation in Education with Special Guest Louise Haigh MP
Thursday 10 May, 7pm
Arts Tower LT4
Facebook event
Dates for the diary
Thu 10 May, 7pm, Casualisation in Education with Louise Haigh MP, Arts Tower LT4
Thu 7 June, 1pm, Annual General Meeting, Council Room, Firth Court
Thu 7 June, evening, Sheffield UCU end of year party! (Details to be confirmed)
March Branch News: Back at work? Here is what you need to know!
Published on
March Branch News
We return to work after 14 days of strike action, as Universities UK comes under intense pressure over how they've been representing their members.
With the first wave of strikes over, the dispute will enter an unsettling time which is likely to lack the fast-paced developments of the past four weeks. Do not allow yourself to misinterpret this as momentum dissipating! UCU is currently planning for more strikes days soon after the Easter break, and another 14 days around the exam period. UUK called our bluff on the effects of the strikes last time, and it backfired spectacularly. They will not dare to second-guess us again.
Here's what you need to know about the next four weeks, and how to make sure you keep the pressure on.
1. Do Action Short of a Strike, and do it properly!
The four aspects of the ASOS are: working to contract, refusing to cover absent colleagues, refusing to reschedule classes cancelled due to the strikes, and refusing to undertake voluntary activities.
Do not routinely work more than your nominal contracted hours (in most cases, 7 hours a day). This is a VERY important aspect of the action. If you are unable to effectively complete your work, then you should ask your manager or head of department what work needs to be prioritised. It is the university management's job to attempt to maintain business as usual.
2. Resign as an external examiner from USS institutions.
Are you an external examiner at a USS instituion? Resign now! You can find more details about what you are being asked to do, including a template letter, on UCU's webpage. Then, add your name to this list.
3. Ensure you stay afloat financially.
Pay deductions for strike action will now take place over the next four pay slips, which should soften the initial blow. UCU have a national strike fund which will pay up to £50 per day of action, prioritised to those most in need. Applying requires evidence of pay deductions.
Sheffield UCU also have a hardship fund, though much smaller than the national one. Those on casualised contracts or in severe hardship may apply to us directly.
Our hardship fund can receive donations directly using the details on our webpage.
4. Notify about strike action when asked.
Given the clarification in our meeting last week about USS contributions, it is unlikely to matter too much how you go about this. If using a form, we recommend the versions on our webpage.
5. Keep following national and local developments.
Our Twitter account is the best way to go about this. There has been plenty of UUK-related news over the weekend, with their under-pressure CEO, Alistair Jarvis, attempting to diffuse tensions with a poorly judged piece in the Sunday Times, followed by a long, long-overdue response to questions from Athene Donald of Cambridge regarding the infamous 'September risk consultation', confirming what we suspected all along: that Universities UK had acted to obscure the detail and misrepresent the position of its members in a way that had a huge effect on the position we find ourselves in now.
6. Keep an eye out for local meetings and news.
We hope to reschedule a meeting with the vice-chancellor later this week, after last week's damp squib. and may also manage a meeting of members. We will let you know about these developments as they happen!
Returning to work is unlikely to be easy, particularly for those who have been on the picket-lines. Remembering the solidarity of the past few weeks, and keeping an eye out for new friends around the campus, should make things bearable. Stay strong!
Sheffield UCU Committee