Student representatives from students’ unions from across the UK, including national NUS and NUS Scotland officers, have today written to the Independent laying the blame for the current action firmly on university managements and Universities UK.
The National Union of Students has also issued a briefing paper which reiterates its standing policy to support industrial action by UCU and which says ‘we now urgently need to see both sides getting round the table and negotiating a fair and sustainable agreement’.
From today, academic staff at 69 UK higher education institutions are set to begin a marking boycott; the next step in ongoing industrial action by the University and College Union. The proposed changes to pensions that have led to this action will cost university staff thousands of pounds a year in lost benefits and create inequality between institutions.
Since 2009, average academic pay has fallen by 14.5 per cent, while vice-chancellor salaries increased by 5.1 per cent in the past year alone. The average gender pay gap in higher education is 17 per cent, and 53 per cent of universities employ staff on zero-hours contracts.
Students are angry that this boycott is happening. But our anger is aimed squarely at university managements and Universities UK, who oversee lucrative salary increases for vice-chancellors while leaving staff out in the cold.
Any draconian response from universities – such as the legally dubious threat of withdrawing the full salary for those partaking in a boycott – will be met with discontent from students and staff, who are united on this issue.
The University of Aberdeen has joined a growing list of UK universities to criticise damaging plans put forward by the employers’ organisation, Universities UK, to change the pension scheme for academic and related staff at nine Scottish universities.
In a letter from the university to UCU a key proposal put forward by the employers is not backed because the university states that they haven’t seen ‘sufficient evidence’ to justify the damaging change. Specifically, the university said it hasn’t seen grounds to allow it to support the proposal to introduce a limit to a defined contribution scheme and that even if a limit were to be introduced it should be above what is being proposed.
The letter also indicates that, in their view, there may be scope to make efficiencies within the operational costs and overheads of the pension scheme rather than all difficult choices with regard to the scheme’s deficit falling on staff. Additionally, in the letter’s final paragraphs the university concludes that their own view ‘correlates to a significant extent’ with that of the union.
Members are encouraged to complete this THE survey.
What’s the best thing about working at your university? How do your colleagues and managers make you feel valued? In what areas do you need more support? These are among the questions THE will be asking in the second annual Times Higher Education Best University Workplace survey, which is online now.
THE want to find out which UK universities excel when it comes to keeping employees content – from pay levels to recognition of the extra hours staff put in. THE also want to know how the experience of working in a university differs according to role, discipline, level of seniority, age, gender, terms of contract and other variables.
THE editor, John Gill, said: “We really want members of the UCU to get involved, and tell us what they think about their university. Our aim for the THE Best University Workplace survey is to get a broad picture of what it is like to work in a UK university in 2014, but also to allow us to dig down into the data and assess how individual factors affect the experience of university staff at all levels and in all roles.”
It is hoped that the survey will shed light on aspects of university life that are often overlooked, and also help to provide new and valuable data on what it is like to work in the UK’s universities day to day.
Venue: PCS, 3rd Floor, Town Centre House, Merrion Centre, Leeds, LS2 8LY.
Come and join us for two days of activity celebrating the heroes and reflecting and discussing the horrors (injustices) within Black History and what we can do to change things.
Wednesday 12th November 5.30 PM – 8.00 PM
HEROES: Showing Nelson Mandela Film: The Long Walk to Freedom
Come and watch the film about one of the biggest heroes in our lifetime and find out more about heroes past and present. (Bring friends/family and we’ll bring the popcorn).
Friday 14th November 5.30 PM – 7.30 PM
HORRORS: Death in Custody – when will it end?
From David Oluwale, Christopher Alder and beyond, come and listen to speakers including Janet Alder (Christopher Alder’s sister) discussing the shocking facts and the continued fight for justice. Refreshments will be included.
TUC BLACK WORKERS FORUM BRINGING BLACK WORKERS AND ANYONE WHO HAS A INTEREST IN THESE ISSUES TOGETHER ACROSS YORKSHIRE AND THE HUMBER
To keep your students informed please use this draft letter.
Dear students,
Beginning on November 6th, members of the University and College Union (UCU) are undertaking a boycott of setting and marking course work and assignments. Other teaching will carry on as normal.
The reason for this is that our pensions are threatened with substantial cuts. Needless to say, the boycott is not a decision we have taken lightly. UCU’s members don’t want to take any action which damages the interests of students. But we believe that it’s in your interests that universities are able to recruit and retain excellent, highly motivated staff. We believe these proposals put that in jeopardy.
Our members are the people who support and teach millions of young people and they are passionate about what they do. We hope that you will support us in turn. For more information about the dispute, have a look at the student briefing or the UCU blog.
I’m asking for your support in this action. We believe that if student bodies throughout the country make their opinions known to vice-chancellors, there is a good chance that the employers will moderate their position. Please email vc@sheffield.ac.uk calling on him to press the national negotiators to produce a fair and sustainable proposal.