Former D&S collective member, Jim Phillips, who is a lecturer on social and economic history at the University of Glasgow, wrote to us about the 60 UK universities on strike for the past week, over pensions, pay, and working conditions. Here is the press release from University and College Union from just before the strike.
21 November 2019
Eight days of strike action at 60 UK universities will begin on Monday as UCU accused universities of being 'all spin and no substance' in their response to disputes over pensions, pay and working conditions.
Earlier this week, UCU accused universities of playing games after their representatives refused to even discuss pay. The union said things were no better at talks yesterday over changes to the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS), where their representatives failed to make a serious offer.
UCU said it feared that universities had learnt nothing from last year's dispute, when campuses were brought to a standstill by unprecedented levels of strike action.
Last month, UCU members backed strike action in two disputes, one on changes to the USS pension scheme and one on universities' failure to make improvements on pay, equality, casualisation and workloads. Overall, 79% of UCU members who voted backed strike action in the ballot over changes to pensions. In the ballot on pay, equality, casualisation and workloads, 74% of members polled backed strike action.
The union called on other vice-chancellors to follow the example of Professor Anthony Forster at the University of Essex, who recently acknowledged employers can afford to pay more for USS and should be doing more to avoid widespread disruption.
The union warned that if universities failed to make improved offers then further waves of strike action could follow in the new year, with even more staff taking part. UCU has said it is currently consulting with its branches at other universities about being balloted again to join further action.
As well as eight strike days from 25 November to Wednesday 4 December, UCU members will begin 'action short of a strike'. This involves things like working strictly to contract, not covering for absent colleagues and refusing to reschedule lectures lost to strike action.
UCU general secretary Jo Grady said: 'It is quite staggering that the employers have allowed things to get to this stage and done so little to avoid the upcoming disruption. Instead of engaging seriously with us over the various elements of the disputes, they have been all spin and no substance.
'Universities appear to have learnt nothing from last year's USS dispute, and are once again showing a dangerous level of complacency that completely underestimates the scale of anger amongst staff. Instead of wasting time playing games, they would do well to listen to people like Anthony Forster who have acknowledged that universities can afford to pay more to address these issues. It is time for university leaders to show some actual leadership.
'Students should be asking serious questions of their vice-chancellors and putting pressure on them to get their representatives back to the negotiating table with serious offers that address all the issues at stake. If universities don't change their tune, then next week's action could just be the start with further waves of strikes involving more staff in the new year.'
* UK universities affected by strike action from Monday 25 November
| Both disputes (42): | |
| 1. Aston University | |
| 2. Bangor University | |
| 3. Cardiff University | |
| 4. University of Durham | |
| 5. Heriot-Watt University | |
| 6. Loughborough University | |
| 7. Newcastle University | |
| 8. The Open University | |
| 9. The University of Bath | |
| 10. The University of Dundee | |
| 11. The University of Leeds | |
| 12. The University of Manchester | |
| 13. The University of Sheffield | |
| 14. University of Nottingham | |
| 15. The University of Stirling | |
| 16. University College London | |
| 17. The University of Birmingham | |
| 18. The University of Bradford | |
| 29. The University of Bristol | |
| 20. The University of Cambridge | |
| 21. The University of Edinburgh | |
| 22. The University of Exeter | |
| 23. The University of Essex | |
| 24. The University of Glasgow | |
| 25. The University of Lancaster | |
| 26. The University of Leicester | |
| 27. City University | |
| 28. Goldsmiths College | |
| 39. Queen Mary University of London | |
| 30. Royal Holloway | |
| 31. The University of Reading | |
| 32. The University of Southampton | |
| 33. The University of St Andrews | |
| 34. Courtauld Institute of Art | |
| 35. The University of Strathclyde | |
| 36. The University of Wales | |
| 37. The University of Warwick | |
| 38. The University of York | |
| 49. The University of Liverpool | |
| 40. The University of Sussex | |
| 41. The University of Ulster | |
| 42. Queen's University Belfast | |
| Pay and conditions dispute only (14): | |
| 1. Bishop Grosseteste University | |
| 2. Bournemouth University | |
| 3. Edge Hill University | |
| 4. Glasgow Caledonian University | |
| 5. Glasgow School of Art | |
| 6. Liverpool Hope University | |
| 7. Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts | |
| 8. Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh | |
| 9. St Mary's University College, Belfast | |
| 10. Roehampton University | |
| 11. The University of Oxford | |
| 12. Sheffield Hallam University | |
| 13. The University of Brighton | |
| 14. The University of Kent | |
| USS pensions dispute only (4): | |
| 1. Scottish Association of Marine Science | |
| 2. The University of Aberdeen | |
| 3. The University of East Anglia | |
| 4. Institute for Development Studies | |
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