The powerpoint presentation from the latest EGM can be viewed here.
Questions from the floor:
Q – Is the University threat of 100% deduction likely to be implemented?
A – Current suggestion from management is that a 50% deduction for each day will be applied, but there is no detail on how that assessment will be made. Important that members share their experiences to allow branch to collate.
Q – I have completed form on HR website and then have been asked by line manager to identify time.
A – Branch advice is not t respond other than to HR online form, and only when prompted by HR.
Q – How does the branch feel the MAB is going?
A – Optometry seems to have carried on without impact by others including HoD taking up marking duties. Zero impact also reported in Law. It should be noted that if marking is covered by other staff then this could mean deductions are NOT applicable or limited to just the time between end of the marking deadline and completion of marks.
Q – any indication of what next steps should be?
A – This is to some extent dictated by national position and action. Locally, we could consider indicative online ballot in advance of seeking a mandate for local action if pay deduction is considered unfair or inconsistent. There is however some concern that there may not be that appetite which could make the branch appear weak if a ballot failed. A non-academic member assured the EGM that although not directly involved in MAB there would be some support over and above those currently participating.
Q – How can action impact be maximised
A – There is no doubt that strike action taken around the time of open days and graduation is more likely to illicit concern from management than other periods.
Motions
The following motions were voted upon – refer to PP slides for details
Motions 1a and 1b
Motions 1a and 1b were taken together under one vote:
For – 19,
Against – 0
Abstention – 1
Motion carried unopposed.
Motions 2a and 2b
Motions 2a and 2b were taken together under one vote:
For – 18,
Against – 0
Abstention – 0
Motion carried unopposed.
On Monday 12 June 2023 there will be a joint rally of UCU Yorkshire & Humberside further education branches that are taking industrial action as part of UCU’s ‘Respect FE’ campaign.
The ‘Respect FE’ Rally will start at 1200hrs on the 12 June 2023, at Quarry Hill Campus, Leeds City College, LS2 7BS – situated opposite the bus station and John Lewis.
The rally will take place immediately after the Leeds City College picket which will run from 0800hrs – 1200hrs.
Members of all UCU branches in the region are welcome, and if you are available then please feel free to join us for either the picket or rally, or both, this coming Monday.
Confirmed speakers include Maxine Looby (UCU President Elect), Janet Farrar (UCU Immediate Past President), representatives of striking branches, and councillors from the local area.
A pin for the rally location can be found below:
On behalf of the UCU Yorkshire & Humberside Regional Office
As UCU continues to debunk the HE sector’s claims of poverty, further details are emerging of the true financial state of institutions. Here we share the numbers for the University of Bradford:
At financial year end 2022, our employer had total income of £145m and was able to post a surplus of £2.9m.
During that period the University increased its cash and short-term investments to £66m, an increase of £22m over the previous year (£44m) and from £26m in 2020.
Despite HE’s most valuable asset being its staff, just 52.4% was spent on staffing, falling from 59.3% the previous year
UCU HQ has announced that it has ringfenced a quarter of a million pounds to support members who suffer punitive deductions as a consequence of taking part in the current marking and assessment boycott.
Details of how or under what circumstances a claim can be made have yet to be announced.
In addition to the national Fighting Fund, the branch has established its own fund in accordance with motions carried at a previous EGM. The branch will consider how the local fund can be implemented alongside the national scheme once those announcements from HQ are made.
Due to the financial nature of the above, proposals in respect of monies set aside for the local hardship fund will require ratification at the branch’s AGM provisionally scheduled for 29th June 2023 (subject to timely HQ announcements).
Please watch your inbox for your invitation to the online AGM.
UCU has recently updated its advice to members with more responses to MAB related Frequently Asked Questions.
You can find the latest list of FAQ’s here.
If you are a migrant worker you are advised to read FAQ’s more specific to your employment circumstances here.
The branch is holding a face to face surgery each Wednesday morning between 8:30am and noon, commencing 10th May in the Campus Trade Unions’ office currently situated in Horton D0.04. All members are welcome to call in for a chat over a coffee.
In addition, on-line surgeries are being held:
Look out for an email invitation containing the zoom link.
Thanks for everyone who attended the EGM on 4th May. Some good debate was had over the MAB and we are pleased to report that all motions were strongly supported with no votes against.
A letter has already been drafted for the attention of the VC containing the motions as passed and urging her to take action to address the concerns of the branch.
Q&A’s from the Floor
Q – You suggest that members use their backlog of leave and seek to slow down M&A by submitting leave requests. Is it not the case that leave is embargoed during M&A?
A -It will depend upon the attitude of your line manager, but it is a managers duty to allow sufficient time for you to take leave, or agree that you can carry forward more leave into the next leave period.
Q – Do we expect the University to deduct 50% of a month’s salary?
A – At this stage we simply do not know what the deductions will look like, but suspect neither does management. If such deductions were made we would strongly object on the grounds that it would be disproportionate. Be prepared though for deductions to occur and for UCU to have to intervene to get them refunded.
Q – Should I still continue to do external viva’s?
A – UCU advice is that you SHOULD honour such external contract agreements.
Q – How can I handle student complaints?
A – Whatever your level of seniority, any communications from students should be passed to your line manager; you should not be dealing with the fall out of a dispute that is directly linked to management failure. If you are asked by students when they can expect a mark then the honest answer would be to say that at this stage you simply do not know.
It is important that students are helped to understand that UCU’s dispute is not with them and that the MAB is being taken with a heavy heart. An open letter to students has been issued to the Student Union explaining the background of the dispute and the reason it has been seen as necessary to take such drastic action. The letter is available as a PDF here and you may wish to provide links to the letter for your students in email correspondence and other information channels.
Slides from the EGM including motions passed on the day can be seen here.
As we in HE continue our struggle for a fair deal on workloads and pay, the same issues are also driving disputes in the FE sector.
Our close neighbour and ally will commence a programme of strike action today (May 4th) in pursuit of their own claims over precisely the same issues that plague HE.
UCU Bradford University LA extends it support and a message of solidarity to our colleagues just down the road.
The full strike dates are:
Members are encouraged to pop along to the picket to say hello and show support. Pickets start at 7am.
You can read more about their local dispute here.
Dear colleague
I know how challenging these past weeks have been for UCU members taking part in the marking and assessment boycott (MAB). I want you to know that the union is behind you fighting on every front, not only for a better deal for UCU members, but also against punitive salary deductions being threatened by our employers.
Where punitive deductions have been threatened, we are working directly with branches to implement our escalation strategy which includes applying pressure through campaigning, negotiation, and where required strike action. This strategy is working, with employers reconsidering their threats like at University of Hertfordshire where management backed down from 100% deductions. We are also holding weekly dispute meetings with your local reps, so that we can coordinate activities across the UK and win this dispute.
Our employers attack us on a collective basis, we have to fight back collectively. We all have a role to play in this. If you’re not taking part in the marking boycott and can afford to donate, please do so here.
I also need every one of you, your friends, and our supporters to:
Support your colleagues. Support the MAB. UCU and proud.
In solidarityJo GradyUCU general secretary
| Dear colleague
Today the union’s higher education committee (HEC) met to take stock of our ongoing dispute and set out a program of action to maximise pressure on the employer. At the start of these disputes there was no offer on pensions, pay or conditions. Your solidarity and your action has moved them on all fronts. The key now is to move them further and to a point where we can reach an agreement to settle the dispute. We are also seeing increasingly bitter and punitive tactics from university bosses who are clearly feeling the pressure of the ongoing marking and assessment boycott. We cannot and will not let them pick off individual groups of members. We are a national union. This is a national dispute. On the basis of the above, your higher education committee (HEC) decided today:
You can find full campaign resources and support on the MAB web area here. Finally, it is so important that members continue to back the marking and assessment boycott and the program of actions set out in this email. Once again you are proving the employer wrong. Once again you are taking them to a place they have never been before. Once again – we will move them. In solidarity Jo Grady UCU general secretary |