UCU industrial action developments

Below is a list of think pieces written by various UCU members and collectives following the UCU Higher Education Committee’s (HEC) decision on Friday 17th March to proceed with strikes and not to put the UCEA/USS proposal out to members to accept/reject. Vicky Blake’s and UCL UCU’s pieces are good ones to start with, though we don’t endorse any particular position.

UCU national – summary of HE negotiations 2022/23
https://www.ucu.org.uk/he2022

*Vicky Blake (HEC member, previous President of UCU): What’s going on, and why did HEC vote against consultation on the disputes? 20 March
https://vickyblakeucu.uk/2023/03/20/whats-going-on-and-why-did-hec-vote-against-consultation-on-the-disputes/

*UCL UCU: HEC Decision Q&As, 20 March
https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ucu/campaigns/uss-and-four-fights/hec-decision-qas

UCU Left: Statement on USS and Four Fights, 21 March(?)
https://uculeft.org/ucu-left-statement-on-uss-and-4fights/

Notes from Below: The University Worker (bulletin) ‘Keep the strikes going!’, 20 March
https://notesfrombelow.org/article/university-worker-20th-march-2023

Notes from Below: ‘UCU Democracy’ by Royal Holloway Early Career Academics, 19 March
https://notesfrombelow.org/article/ucu-democracy

UCU Commons: Moving On: the 17 March HEC Decision and Next Steps, 20 March
https://ucucommons.org/2023/03/20/moving-on-the-17-march-hec-decision-and-next-steps/

UCU Left: We stopped the sell-out. Fight on to victory! 19 March(?)
https://mailchi.mp/uculeft.com/we-stopped-the-sell-out-fight-on-to-victory

Reverse USS: Have we ‘won’ on USS? 19 March
https://reverseuss.wordpress.com/2023/03/19/have-we-won-on-uss/

UCU Commons: The offer and the details in, 16 March
https://ucucommons.org/2023/03/16/the-offer-and-the-details-in/

Reverse USS: Have we ‘won’ on USS?, 19 Mar
https://reverseuss.wordpress.com/2023/03/19/have-we-won-on-uss/

Campaign for UCU Democracy: Does HEC listen to UCU members?, 21st March
https://campaignforucudemocracy.com/2023/03/21/does-hec-listen-to-ucu-members/

UCU Left: Reject the Rubbish Non-Offer – No More Surveys!, 24 Mar
https://uculeft.org/reject-the-rubbish-non-offer-no-more-surveys/

UCU Left: This is no time to end our disputes, 27 Mar
https://uculeft.org/this-is-no-time-to-end-our-disputes/

Campaign for UCU Democracy: Does HEC listen to UCU members?, 27th March
https://campaignforucudemocracy.com/2023/03/27/what-do-you-think/

Mark Taylor-Batty blog: USS update – a brief for members of the USS pension scheme from elected UCU negotiators, 27th March
https://medium.com/@marktaylorbatty_59000/uss-update-a-briefing-for-members-of-the-uss-pension-scheme-from-elected-ucu-negotiators-5ef254172f62

UCU HE Negotiators: UCU National Negotiators’ Analysis of the ACAS offer on pay gaps, contract type and workload, 26th March
https://medium.com/@ucunegotiatorshe/ucu-national-negotiators-analysis-of-the-acas-offer-on-pay-gaps-contract-type-and-workload-269ff3bb5ed8

Support for survivors of sexual harassment at Cardiff University Branch Motion 

The executive notes: 

  1. UCU’s commitment to eradicating sexual harassment in HE and FE, and its setting up of a helpline for survivors of sexual harassment.  
  1. The fact that many UCU branches are creating named contact(s) for sexual harassment cases and adopting the model UCU policy (https://www.ucu.org.uk/article/9316/Sexual-Harassment-Support-Helpline) 
  1. That the prevalence of sexual harassment in HE was highlighted in a recent series of Al-Jazeera Podcasts, Degrees of Abuse, https://interactive.aljazeera.com/aje/2021/degrees-of-abuse/index.html
  1. That few of the branch’s caseworkers are trained in how to deal with cases of sexual harassment, especially where supporting survivors is concerned. 

The executive resolves: 

  1. To adopt UCU’s policy on Dealing with Sexual Harassment in the Workplace, to communicate this to the membership through the newsletter. 
  1. To recruit at least two named contacts who can advise survivors of sexual harassment. These contacts will be encouraged to attend the three-day training on Challenging Sexual Harassment in the Workplace (https://www.ucu.org.uk/article/11724/Challenging-sexual-harassment-in-the-workplace-28-February–7-14-March-2022-online-Yorkshire–Humber) 
  1. To offer local, less extensive training on challenging sexual harassment to all members of the executive committee, all departmental representatives, and all caseworkers, as well as to any other interested member of the branch.