Please see below email sent by Sally Hunt to all members: Dear colleague, I’m writing to you today to set out the union’s strategy in our dispute with your employers over pay in higher education. Your employers have decided to dig themselves in and refuse to move at all from the 1% pay offer they have now imposed on most staff in the sector. This is in spite of the fact that we know they can afford to pay more than this. In a recent briefing we showed that the university sector in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland is in good financial shape and is projecting growth in surpluses and reserves over the next few years. This has been achieved by holding down your pay and making sure that you and your families take the consequences. Of course, it’s one rule for us and quite another for those at the top with the latest survey of Vice Chancellors’ and Principals’ pay showing average increases of 8% while you are offered just 1%. The hypocrisy of this position is quite breathtaking, which is why we have raised it with the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, Vince Cable. However our absolute imperative now is to make the case for investing in people – you the staff who actually are our universities. That’s why we’re launching a new phase of escalated industrial action now. Beginning on Thursday 23 January, UCU will call a series of weekly two-hour strikes. We’ve chosen two-hour stoppages because whatever action we take at this point must be targeted, it must be effective and above all, it must be sustainable. We want to maximise the effect on your institutions by targeting action at the times of the week where there is most activity on your campus, while minimising the loss of pay for our members. We’ve consulted extensively with branches over the timing of these actions and the first stoppages will be called on: Thursday 23 January 11am-1pm Tuesday 28 January 2pm-4pm Monday 10 February, 9am-11am We are also in discussion with the other unions about a possible further one day strike in February. You can find a full FAQ document which provides guidance on taking this form of strike action on our Fair Pay website here: fairpay.web.ucu.org.uk/your-questions-answered/taking-2-hour-strike-action/#.Utfgqvvk_To The union will review progress in this phase before making a decision about whether to further escalate towards a marking boycott targeted at our exams. In the meantime, I can’t emphasise enough how important it is that we mount effective and disruptive action through these two-hour stoppages. If they are well organised they have the potential to cause extensive and targeted disruption without major losses of pay. That’s why many unions have used this form of action, including the Firefighters, as part of their long-running dispute over pensions. At stake in this dispute is not just our pay, but our ability to bargain collectively at national level with our employers. It’s vital that we unite to make these two-hour strikes well supported, well organised and effective. Thanks again for taking the time to read this email. Yours Sally Hunt, General Secretary, UCU
Posted on: Thu, 16 Jan 2014 13:39:07 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015