News Archives - Page 14 of 17

Warwick students occupy ‘The Slate’ in support of HE

Warwick students have occupied The Slate, the conference facility being built between Scarman and Radcliffe, in protest at the “devastating direction in which education is being pushed and our own institution’s complicity in that agenda” – see https://warwick4freeducation.wordpress.com/2016/12/02/statement-of-occupation/#respond

The students’ arguments are compelling; Warwick UCU fully supports their objectives and completely endorses their demands (reproduced below):

The University must opt out of the Teaching Excellence Framework;
The University must agree to Warwick Anti-Casualisation’s 6 demands for fair teaching conditions;
The University must scrap the protest injunction and apologise for their handling of the events of 3 December 2014.

Opposition to the Higher Education and Research Bill is widespread at Warwick, amongst both staff and students.

http://www.independent.co.uk/student/news/warwick-university-staff-praised-by-students-for-condemning-government-s-green-paper-and-prevent-a6926116.html) and http://www.independent.co.uk/student/news/warwick-university-protest-students-block-main-campus-road-in-day-of-demonstrations-against-a6898026.html)

The occupation has already released a statement indicating that this is a direct act of solidarity with staff to fight the erosion to our working conditions that the TEF will entail.

We therefore call on University management to promise no legal action under the injunction and reiterate our request that it be lifted with immediate effect.

In solidarity, Warwick UCU

Update

The Unviersity has posted a response from the VC on the Exec Blog:

http://blogs.warwick.ac.uk/execteam/entry/occupation_update_/

“We have reached agreement to bring a peaceful conclusion to the student occupation that has been taking place at the University of Warwick since 2 December 2016. Here is my letter to the protesters following engagement between the University, the Students’ Union and the protestors to reach this conclusion.”

The tone of this letter, and its content, is very heartening. We hope that this spirit of teamwork and collegiality can continue so that all members of the University can work togther to protect our institution from damaging change.

Anti-Casualisation Day

Warwick Anti-Casualisation (WAC) will be available to speak to in the Piazza today from 11am where they are highlighting the crucial role played by part-time teachers in Warwick.

UCU Warwick supports the work of this group and as today is ‘UCU’s day of action against precarious work‘, we ask that our members encourage all part-time teachers to sign up as UCU members and to visit the WAC website to sign the petition calling for fair teaching conditions.

Teaching conditions vary across the University and some departments may be examples of excellent practice in this area – we would be interested in any examples where members feel that their departments support of their part time teaching staff is exemplary.

These are the 6 demands of the WAC:

1) Hourly-paid teachers must be made employees of the University. Currently, hourly-paid teachers hold the inferior legal status of ‘workers’ but not of ‘employees’. This deprives them, unjustifiably, of the standard employment rights enjoyed by salaried members of staff.

2) Hourly-paid teachers must be paid for every hour worked. Assigned time allowances do not reflect the reality of teaching. As a result, teachers have to work many unpaid hours.

3) Hourly-paid teachers must be paid at consistent and fair rates. Some departments pay different rates for different tasks within the same job, despite them being interconnected and requiring the same skill level. To recognise the level of skill involved in the teaching delivered, we demand a pay rate of at least FA5 for all tasks.

4) There must be pay harmony across departments. At the moment pay rates vary across departments; we demand equal pay for equal work across departments.

5) Compulsory teaching as a condition for scholarships must be abolished. Teaching bursaries are exploitative because they basically require PhD students to work for free. Not only do these arrangements make it hard for postgraduate researchers to meet their actual living costs, but they are also not conducive to the long-term quality of teaching.

6) Hourly-paid teachers should be paid for the hours they spend undertaking teaching-related training. This should include all hours needed to achieve affiliate Higher Education Academy (HEA) status.

UCU Open Meeting

SAVE THE DATE!

UCU Open Meeting
Wednesday 30 November
12:30 to 2:00 in S0.11

Warwick UCU will be holding an Open meeting for both members and non-members in Week 9. More details will follow but three confirmed items for discussion are:

1) The Higher Education and Research Bill – what does effective resistance look like?

2) The Teaching Excellence Framework – what does the National Union of Students’ decision to boycott the National Student Survey mean for university staff?

3) The Stern Review of Research Excellence Framework – some unintended consequences of tackling the “transfer window”.

See you there.

Campaigns Update – 22 July 2016

Higher Education and Research bill – contact your MP to raise concerns
The Higher Education and Research Bill received its first proper debate on Tuesday, with MPs across the political spectrum raising key concerns outlined in UCU’s briefings. Shadow higher education minister Gordon Marsden echoed our call or a delay on the bill in light of Brexit, as well as highlighting the major concerns in relation to challenger providers, TEF-linked tuition fee rises and the lack of representation for staff and students within the proposals.
The bill will now be scrutinised by a committee of MPs in the autumn, and UCU will continue to brief politicians and provide evidence over the summer.

Further action:
Read our briefing here
Write to your MP about the bill here
Read the parliamentary debate in full here

After Brexit, help UCU defend EU nationals
UCU has continued to press government on the need to guarantee the rights of European Union (EU) staff and students to stay in the UK following the Brexit vote. The campaign has been boosted today by Goldsmiths who have become the first major higher education (HE) institution to directly support the union’s call. Last week Sally Hunt set out four key demands of government in light of the Brexit vote: to allow EU nationals working here to stay; to ensure that lost EU funding for universities is replaced; to drop the HE bill and establish an inquiry into the impact of Brexit; and to set out a positive public discourse on immigration. Read the whole article here.

Also this week:

In the news
Demonstrate against cuts and union victimisation at London Metropolitan University
Further education (FE) pay in England
UCU calls on Turkish authorities to cease repressive actions against education employees

For further information, visit the UCU campaigns page.

UCU Strike on Warwick Open Day

On Friday 24th June, Warwick UCU setup their stand at the entrance to the University of Warwick. This coincided with the University Open Day and was a great opportunity for Union members to speak to prospective students and their families.

There was a great deal of interest from our visitors, and there were some lively and positive discussions around casualisation, pay and the gender pay gap.

People played the ‘gender game’ where they guessed the pay gap and then tried to throw a ball into the correct pot.

We were joined by comrades from Coventry University and Birmingham University for speeches and a photo.

Rise up for Europe

Demo: Rise Up For Europe – Defend Free Movement | Migrants’ Rights Network (MRN)

Warwick UCU attended the march on parliament on the 9th July in support of our EU (and worldwide) colleagues.

The event tagline was:
“Demo: one simple message: whatever country you are from, whatever community you are proud to be a part of, YOU ARE WELCOME HERE and we will continue our campaign to keep Britain open.”

A Warwick UCU member was interviewed by Sky News:

UCU Open Meeting – EU Referendum Result

UCU Open Meeting re: Referendum Outcome
Wednesday 6 July
from 12:30 to 2:00
in Physical Sciences (PS1.28)

Warwick UCU will be holding an Open Meeting for staff, to which members and non-members are equally welcome. We will discuss initial reactions to the Referendum result and collate staff concerns to take to management. This is a worrying time for many and we are stronger if we stand together.

There will be a short introduction to the current situation following the EU Referendum outcome from Tom Flynn, an expert on EU and constitutional law, from the School of Law.

PS 1.28 is in Physical Sciences (opposite carpark 10 and close to the Gatehouse).

Message on the EU referendum from the UCU general secretary

Members will have differing views on the result of last Thursday’s referendum on EU membership.

However what is not in doubt is that the UK now faces a period of considerable economic and political uncertainty. That uncertainty extends into the places where UCU members work in three main ways.

First, in practical concerns about the loss of funding for projects within or related to universities and colleges supported by the European Union.

Second, in the impact of the referendum result upon government policy. For example, there is now speculation that the apprenticeship levy from which many colleges hoped to benefit may be postponed or scrapped.

Third, in a sector with a highly international workforce which itself teaches a diverse student body, the impact upon staff and students themselves.

I have therefore this morning written to the UK secretary of state with responsibility for further and higher education and UCU will be making contact too with the devolved administrations seeking some clarity in these three areas on behalf of members.

The referendum campaign has produced a rising tide of racism and hostility to migrant communities, as well as a worrying trend of anti-intellectualism (‘who needs experts?’ and so on). In the face of this universities and colleges have a vital role to play in fighting racism and intolerance and in continuing to promote the benefits of education to both the individual and society as a whole. In short we must stand up for our staff and students and celebrate education for all rather than hide away until the storm passes.

UCU for its part will continue to pursue these values in line with a statement agreed by the National Executive Committee last Friday which you can read here.

Best regards

Sally Hunt
UCU general secretary

You can also see details of a letter sent to Sajid Javid re the fallout from Brexit

University of Warwick staff will strike to hit open day

Members of the University and College Union (UCU) at the University of Warwick will be on strike on Friday (24 June) as part of a wave of nationwide strikes in a row over pay and conditions.

Staff at the university have timed their action to coincide with an open day for prospective students and their parents. Union members will lobby students and parents as they arrive to explain more about their campaign for fair pay and better conditions.

Striking staff will be on picket lines outside the Bus Interchange on Gibbet Hill Road between 11.30am-2pm.

The dispute has arisen following a pay offer of just 1.1% from the universities’ employers, the Universities and Colleges Employers Association. UCU said universities can afford to pay more and the offer did little to address the real-terms pay cut of 14.5% that members have suffered since 2009.

The squeeze on staff salaries comes despite vice-chancellors enjoying a 6.1% pay hike. The union has also called for universities to commit to closing the gender pay gap and reducing the proportion of staff on casual and zero-hours contracts. On average, female academics are paid £6,103 less a year than their male counterparts, while 49% of university teachers are on insecure contracts. At Warwick, in 2013/14, the gender pay gap for academic staff was £11,331.

Since 2010 the amount spent on staff by universities as a percentage of total income has dropped by 3%. However, the total of cash reserves has rocketed by 72% to stand at over £21bn. The nationwide strikes over pay began with two national strike days in May and now UCU members at separate institutions are striking to disrupt local events such as open days and graduation ceremonies. More details are available here and via the Twitter hashtag #FairpayinHE.

Warwick UCU branch president, Justine Mercer, said: ‘We want to use this opportunity to tell prospective students and their parents more about the changing nature of higher education, emphasising that our working conditions are students’ learning conditions.

‘Our targeted strike action is a result of the employers’ failure to deal with the declining real-terms pay of university staff or tackle the problems of growing numbers of zero-hours contracts and the persistent gender pay gap. Members have been left with no alternative but to take this action.’

Unions urge members to vote ‘Remain’

General secretaries of Unite, Unison, GMB and Usdaw warn leaving the EU would allow a Tory government to dismantle workers’ rights.

You can read the full wording of the letter at:

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/jun/05/trade-union-members-should-vote-to-stay-in-the-eu

“Throughout the 1980s and early 1990s the British trade union movement worked in solidarity with our European partners and fought hard to secure valuable working rights legislation at EU level. To this day these rights – including maternity and paternity rights, equal treatment for full-time, part-time and agency workers, and the right to paid leave – continue to underpin and protect working rights for British people.

If Britain leaves the EU, we are in no doubt these protections would be under great threat. Despite words to the contrary from figures like Iain Duncan Smith and Michael Gove, the Tories would negotiate our exit and, we believe, would negotiate away our rights. We simply do not trust this government if they are presented with an unrestricted, unchecked opportunity to attack our current working rights.”