Campaign update: 6 June 2013

FE & HE national claim updates | FAQ: rights of sessional/visiting lectures | UCU in the News | Events and other items

Dear colleague,

Welcome to this week's UCU Campaigns Update.

1. UCU in your Workplace - further and higher education national claim updates
   
2. Your Questions Answered: rights of sessional/visiting lectures
   
3. UCU in the News
   
4. Events and other items

1. UCU in your Workplace - further and higher education national claim updates

FE delegates at conference called for a ballot for strike action in October if employers do not come forward with a satisfactory pay offer this year. The employers are still refusing to make any offer until trade unions sign up for local negotiations on incremental progression and possible worsened conditions of service. An initial offer of 0.5% was withdrawn at the last negotiating meeting because trade unions refused such pre -conditions. Talks have been taking place at officer level to try and resolve the impasse but as yet there is no progress to report.

Meanwhile, delegates at UCU's higher education conference agreed that members should reject yet another miserly pay offer. Michael MacNeil, National Head of HE said, "Staff have endured years of real-terms pay cuts, despite growing class sizes and increased workloads. We know the employers can afford more than 1%." The union has written to UCEA asking for urgent for dispute talks. If these fail, members will be consulted about industrial action. Branches will be calling meetings in June to enable members to discuss the offer and industrial action plans. UNISON is also consulting their member with a recommendation that they reject the offer.

2. Your questions answered - rights of sessional/visiting lecturers:

I am a sessional/visiting lecturer - what employment rights do I have?
https://ucu.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/97/kw/sessional

3. UCU in the news:

UCU members at Chesterfield College were out in force yesterday in a row over plans to axe 70 jobs. Their colleagues at Grimsby Institute may be joining them on the picket lines as they are balloted for action on job losses and pay cuts. Read more:
Chesterfield - www.ucu.org.uk/6655 and m.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-derbyshire-22797505
Grimsby - www.ucu.org.uk/6649

In HE this week, UCU raised members' concerns about the spread of Rate My Lecturer style websites where students can post anonymous comments on staff.  Meanwhile, following an intervention by UCU, the University of Essex has withdrawn a controversial advert for an unpaid research fellowship. This follows the withdrawal of similar adverts at UCL and Birmingham University in recent months. Read more here
www.ucu.org.uk/6648
https://www.essex.ac.uk/philosophy/staff/jrf/

 4. Events and other items

• UCU publishes new report on privatisation in colleges and universities: At this year's Congress, UCU launched a new report looking at the way the Coalition's austerity and de-regulation policies are accelerating the internal privatisation of our colleges and universities. Please read the report here:
  www.ucu.org.uk/media/pdf/7/s/ucu_lostintranslation_may13.pdf
• UCU is supporting the Peoples' Assembly and we encourage members to get involved by attending the event on Saturday 22nd June full details are here (thepeoplesassembly.org.uk/)
• Tell Debenhams and GAP to back Bangladesh safety plan - Please take a few moments to send an email to these companies, urging them to sign up to the new Accord on Fire and Building Safety: action.goingtowork.org.uk/page/speakout/tell-uk-clothes-retailers-to-back-bangladesh-safety-plan
• UCU politics monthly - May 2013 - Monthly political news from UCU around the UK:
  www.ucu.org.uk/politicsmonthly

All the best,

Justine Stephens
Head of Campaigns, UCU