As we begin a new academic year, this newsletter will reflect on what we achieved last year and cover what will be happening in the branch in the next few weeks. Contents of the newsletter:
Welcome and reflections
PGR contracts
Get The Vote Out – a new ballot
USS Pensions consultation
Get involved with Cardiff UCU
Workload Reps Training
Welcome and reflections
It has been a difficult year for members and students. We had two consecutive mandates for industrial action covering the whole academic year and took part in the first ever national Marking and Assessment Boycott (MAB). Of course, we have not achieved some of the wins nationally that we wanted in this timeframe and many members are no doubt feeling frustrations with how things have gone. It is important to acknowledge how tricky the MAB has been and how divisive it has proved in some departments. Some colleagues have made great personal and financial sacrifices on behalf of all of us, and we owe them an enormous debt. We acknowledge that some members could not take part for as long as they might have wanted to and that they may feel awkward about re-engaging with the branch as a result. To those who have felt alienated or who have not been able to participate, we warmly invite you to re-engage actively with the branch.
It is crucial to recognise that we have also made progress locally and had some significant local successes. The success and progress we have had has only been possible because we have worked together. See below for details of how to get more involved.
Our local successes have included:
Local MAB. Strong support for those who took part and lost pay for all of us; and an amazing amount of funds raised to help MABers with the financial cost. Our strategic knowledge has been tightened up and given us a solid foundation to build on.
PGR contracts. This will be discussed more in this newsletter [link]
Improvement of variable hour contracts
Equal parental leave for all staff
Sanitary products freely available across the university
More input from union representatives in shaping the workload model, which in some schools resulted in massive improvements
More input/insight from union representatives in the pay gap reports – although union input was limited, the latest report (2022) already includes a more thorough analysis of the gender pay gap as well as race and disability pay gap information
More insight from union representatives on the staff survey
Change in university procedures so that metrics from student feedback will no longer be used for probation, PDR, and promotion purposes and will be removed from the promotion application forms
The branch is also engaged in ongoing discussions on issues such as: visa payments for staff; management procedures; contracts with ‘relevant factors’ (a term that our employer uses to obscure the number of staff on fixed term contracts); or the items we are currently working on such as privatised/third party providers; and the need for a policy and clear procedure for those who have experienced sexual harassment in the workplace.
Get the Vote Out – a new ballot
You should have received your ballot paper to vote for industrial action as part of the ongoing UCU Rising campaign. We are reballoting to regain a live mandate and continue fighting for pay in line with inflation and an end to casualisation; gender, ethnicity and disability pay gaps; and excessive workloads. The progress we made on USS pension restoration would not have been possible without the live mandates we successfully secured twice in 2022-2023.
Restrictive trade union legislation requires not only that we carry out postal ballots (rather than quicker and easier electronic ones) and that we meet a turnout of at least 50% of members in ballots, but also that we renew our mandate every six months.
without a current mandate, UCU has no leverage at all – the employer organisation UCEA know that we could not call any kind of industrial action, including action short of a strike, without a mandate and their treatment of negotiators is commensurate: UCU’s claims are ignored.
without a renewed mandate, therefore, UCEA will conclude that we are happy enough with what they have offered. In their words, at typically 5% uplift to pay, this is the best they have offered in the last 20 years. Only, it makes for yet another real-terms pay-cuts to add to all the others and 5% lags significantly behind the average pay increases of both the private and public sectors.
until we have another mandate that restores UCU’s ability to negotiate, it is unlikely there will be any further movement on any of the 4 fights (pay, casualisation, pay gaps and workload).
This is why we are re-balloting again and we need everyone sending in their ballots at the earliest opportunity.
We will be holding a member’s meeting soon to discuss the campaign, and we are also looking for volunteers to help with contacting members and running the campaign. Please email ucu@cardiff.ac.uk to get involved.
PGR contracts
It is an incredible achievement that contracts for Postgraduate members who teach or demonstrate are now being implemented. This was a member-led campaign since 2018, and shows that with perseverance we can make some of the changes we so desperately need to improve job security and workers rights for casualised staff. However, we are aware of some issues around the implementation of the contracts (UCU were excluded from contributing to the implementation phase and not consulted regarding implementation) and as such our first anti-casualisation meeting of the year will be focusing on this. PGR members are invited to attend on Monday 2 October at 11am, link: Click here to join the meeting
Get involved!
The local successes we have are only possible through the work of members, and there are many ways you can get involved with your union. Some particular areas we’re seeking volunteers for are: reasonable adjustments, environmental action, pensions and communications.
Specifically:
Members with knowledge and/or interest in reasonable adjustments to help develop better policy and processes.
Members with an interest in advancing environmental sustainability at Cardiff to join the working group or contribute to developing claims around Scope 3, sustainable travel etc.
Someone to fill the newly vacant Pensions Officer Role on the branch Executive Committee
Someone to be the new branch treasurer
Someone to be the anti-casualisation officer
Departmental reps in departments where we don’t currently have them. These include CARBS, EARTH, MLANG, ENGIN, MATHS, Ysgol y Gymraeg (Welsh), PCE, HCARE
People with an interest in comms to help us with newsletter and social media content, or discussions around comms strategy.
Our principal method of working tother in-between industrial action is through the branch working groups. These are open to ordinary members to join and comprise the Equality Diversity and Inclusion, Anti-Precarity, Workload and Democratisation working groups. Get in touch with Rowan on rcampbell@ucu.org.uk to express an interest or find out more.
You can also join our branch WhatsApp group by e-mailing the branch to request a link ucu@cardiff.ac.uk
This is your March branch newsletter. This covers news from March and February – unfortunately, between re-balloting and industrial action we weren’t able to manage a February newsletter.The branch represents members’ interests to our employer. Your branch officers are in active negotiations with the University over many issues. The proposed agreements on pay and conditions (see the first item of the newsletter), if accepted, would mean more issues being ‘devolved’ to local branches.
We hope you will all manage to have a break at some point over the next few weeks.
In this newsletter you can read about:
Branch News & Updates
Industrial action Workload Challenging sexual harassment and sexual violence workshop Dim diolch – submissions to University ‘Diolch’ initiative vetoed February Town Hall Meeting CO2 monitoring in buildingsBranch fundraising
Events, Solidarity & Wider Campaigns
Save Maindy Velodrome
Branch News & Updates
Industrial ActionThe current round of strikes finished on Wednesday 22 March. Thank you to all members who were on strike and on pickets
A meeting of the Higher Education Committee (HEC) took place on Thursday 30 of March to decide how to proceed with our disputes. The HEC decided to consult with members on the USS and pay & conditions dispute. You should have something in your inbox to vote on come Tuesday next week.The previous HEC meeting, a couple of weeks ago, decided not to put the proposed agreements to members. If you are interested in understanding why this happened and what different members’ perspectives on the decision was, the branch has been putting together a list of suggested reading.
The HEC’s decision yesterday was informed by the e-ballot of members, but also the Branch Delegates Meeting that took place on the 29 March. Renata Medeiros (Branch Chair) and Sandy Gould (Comms Officer) attended the BDM and voted on behalf of the branch.
Your branch delegates used messages from members, discussions from our informal branch meeting last week, and conversations from pickets to inform their voting at the BDM. Here are the questions put to the BDM (with the Cardiff UCU vote in brackets):
Do you support moving forward in negotiations with UCEA based on the terms of reference agreed at Acas? (Abstain)
Do you support UCU members being formally consulted over the commitments that have been agreed with UUK to restore benefits and lower pension contributions? (Abstain)
Do you support UCU members being formally consulted on the proposals that have been agreed with UCEA on pay, ending zero-hour contracts, workloads, casualisation and closing equality pay gaps? (Abstain)
If members vote for industrial action in the re-ballot, do you support beginning a Marking and Assessment Boycott over the pay and conditions dispute from w/b 17 April? (Yes)
If members vote for industrial action in the re-ballot, do you support beginning a Marking & Assessment Boycott over the USS cuts imposed in April 2022 from w/b 17 April? (Yes)
We voted to abstain on the first three questions – the feedback we had from members was quite mixed, and, (like other delegates) found the questions were still quite confusing (albeit less so than last time around). We were not able to fully grasp the implications of voting either way on each of the first three questions, and how these questions related to one another (e.g., the relationship between Q1 and Q3). We felt it was most appropriate to abstain, rather than fall definitely on a yes or no.
We voted to yes to Q4 and Q5, as this seemed more clear-cut; if members vote for action in the reballot and members vote to reject the proposals going to consultation, then it is logical that further industrial action would follow. Alternatively, if members vote in favour of the current proposals during the consultation, then any action is very likely to be called off if negotiations seem to be making progress in good faith. (And the reballot result becomes moot if members decide what is on the table is sufficient.)
The way the dispute has been run has become quite complicated, even for the most engaged members. We are now waiting to find out whether the reballot for industrial action has reached the turnout threshold, and what have voted for action. This result will have a significant influence on how these disputes progress, alongside member’s votes on the consultations next week. Despite the complexity, please do try and keep an eye on your inbox for messages about voting. Our employers do take notice of members’ levels of engagement in decision-making.
“You have asked where you can raise aspects of workload management. Your original request was unclear (para 2) on what aspect of workload you considered was covered by S3.2 of the Recognition and Procedure Agreement. For the avoidance of doubt consulting on managing workload is not a statutory obligation and is not covered by the agreement referred to above. That is not to say that there is no avenue for redress for staff. The Workload management policy sets out the appeal procedure in these circumstances.”
There is no dispute that workload allocation is, itself, a matter for Schools. The University has committed to meaningful involvement of UCU in allocation. However, workload more generally across the University is an essential component of our terms and conditions; pay for full time staff should reflect 35hrs of work, not 45 or 50 as staff are commonly working in order to fulfil the demands placed upon them. This is a systemic, University wide issue and the University should be negotiating with the recognised trade unions on such a core employment matter.
The University’s stance on this issue is also at odds with the recent JNCHES proposal on workloads, which was negotiated nationally and includes provision for negotiation with recognised trade unions. It seems strange that national representatives recognise this need while Cardiff University continues to seek to atomise staff over workload issues.
Challenging sexual harassment and sexual violence workshop
We have arranged a workshop for the branch on challenging sexual harassment and sexual violence on 25th April, 2pm-3.30pm. This is a first step in addressing issues that have affected our branch in recent years and undertaking action points from the motion that was passed by the branch. You can sign up to the course here.
Dim diolch! Submissions to University ‘Diolch’ initiative vetoed
The University has been running its Diolch programme as a way for staff to publicly thank one another for their contributions. Much of the activity undertaken by branch representatives contributes tremendously to the functioning of our community, so several members sent messages for publication thanking colleagues for their organising efforts. Unfortunately, submissions from members to thank other members for their contribution to the University were not published. A note was later added to the call for participation; “All messages should relate to university business.” This doesn’t provide very much more clarity – the work done by reps is absolutely ‘university business’; bringing poor or capricious management to attention, ensuring that EDI policies are up-to-date, campaigning for healthier workloads. This is often work that ‘the University’ should have already done itself. Of course, the University is more than just the UEB, it’s a community, of which trade unions are an essential component.
Given that Internal Comms won’t publish our messages of thanks, if you have a Diolch message that was vetoed, send it on to the branch office. If the person you’re thanking is happy to appear online, we’ll put these messages of thanks on the branch website.
Town Hall Meeting
Our branch wrote to the VC on 4th January to request an open forum to discuss his position in relation to the industrial action.
In response, on Monday, 6th February, the VC organised a Town Hall meeting for all staff to discuss the industrial action and offer an opportunity to present the university’s and UCU’s positions. UCU was not involved or consulted on the details of the meeting, which was announced on ‘Blas’ on a Thursday afternoon before taking place on a Monday morning. You can watch the meeting on Panopto.
Our branch chair, Renata Medeiros-Mirra made an address to explain UCU’s position and ask the VC a question from the branch. This was followed by our questions submitted to us by our members, and then questions from the audience.
The VC answers can be summarised as:
Cardiff University’s finances are relatively healthy because they have been prudent, but the sector is unsustainable as it is, Wales universities are worse off than English universities, salaries are very expensive, and the sector cannot afford to increase them
While some universities could make higher pay offers, they have to go at the pace of the smaller ones.
We can’t ask him to break from his line of negotiations as he doesn’t ask us to break ours.
If they could resolve this, they would, but one VC alone can’t do much.
He reserves the right to deduct 100% if staff don’t reschedule lectures because it’s breach of contract.
CO₂ Monitoring in Buildings
Quality ventilation is important for reducing exposure of staff and students to contagious diseases (e.g., COVID, flu) and particulates. Your branch officers have been pushing the University to make clear how staff with concerns about air quality can get the University to act and maintain a safe working environment. Here are the instructions for anyone concerned about air quality:
Every School was issued with two CO₂ monitors, which can be used to provide an indication of ventilation levels within a space. If any member of staff has concerns about ventilation in a workspace (teaching room, office, lab etc) they should contact their School Safety Officer (or School Manager) and request that the space be monitored using the CO₂ monitors. This will involve placing a monitor (which should have been ‘calibrated’ to account for background CO₂) in the room in a suitable location (not next to the windows for example) and recording the CO₂ levels at the start and end of teaching (or every 30 minutes if teaching for longer than 45 minutes). The readings should be sent to Safety and if they indicate that ventilation requires further investigation this will be carried out. (Please copy the Cardiff UCU branch office on messages to Safety.)
Branch Fundraising
The branch has been raising funds to help support striking members. The Moon Club allowed us to collect donations at a karaoke night in February, which raised £66.50. There was also a benefit gig at Brewmonster, which raised £213.60. This money, along with donations received, will go into our local fighting fund. The branch is always seeking donations to help build this fund – please consider contributing if you can, especially if you have not been striking.
Our next fundraiser social event will take place on Saturday 22 April, 8.30pm at NoFit State Circus. Organised by our queer UCU community, you can expect drag, cabaret and comradely mate-dating! More details to follow; allies welcome.
Events, solidarity and wider campaigns
Save Maindy Velodrome
Cardiff Council are planning to demolish Maindy Velodrome. Campaigners have been telling the council that the planned alternative provision is inadequate. Geraint Thomas, who learnt his trade at the velodrome, has come out against the demolition. Members who live in Cardiff and oppose the loss of this facility might consider making representations to their local councillors.
Thank you for your letter of 29 June 2023 in response to our letter of 28 June 2023 regarding a joint statement.
We recognise that the current Marking and Assessment boycott (MAB) is nationally mandated and that you are constrained by many matters outside of your control. As explained during our recent discussions, we too are subject to similar constraints. Our policy in response to the MAB therefore remains unchanged.
However, given the serious impact the MAB is having on our students and staff, we remain willing to engage in further discussions on how we can work together to call off the MAB at Cardiff or at least reduce its impact.
We also remain committed to the work on the issues that we are able to progress and take forward locally and look forward to continuing to engage in the constructive discussions which have shaped this work to date.
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’s commitment to eradicating sexual harassment in HE and FE, and its setting up of a helpline for survivors of sexual harassment.
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)
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:
To adopt UCU’s policy on Dealing with Sexual Harassment in the Workplace, to communicate this to the membership through the newsletter.
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)
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.
For ASOS (action short of a strike) – until further notice
Diolch am eich neges. Noder fy mod yn ‘gweithio i gontract’ fel rhan o weithredu diwydiannol UCU i gefnogi cyflog a phensiynau teg ym maes addysg uwch. Gall hyn olygu y bydd yn cymryd yn hirach i mi ymateb i e-byst. Gallwch ddod o hyd i ragor o wybodaeth am yr anghydfod yma: https://www.ucu.org.uk/article/12759/University-strike-dates-in-February-and-March-confirmed
I am not able to check email today as members of Cardiff UCU are taking industrial action, along with members at 150 other universities, over attacks on pay, working conditions, and pensions. Members of Cardiff UCU will be on strike for 18 days in February and March, starting on the February 1st. Please do not email on these days as I will not be able to respond to emails sent to me on strike days on my return. If you would like more information about the dispute, please go to www.cardiffucu.org.uk. If you are a student, please do contact v-c@cardiff.ac.uk to find out what steps the Vice-Chancellor is taking to avoid a dispute.
Nid wyf yn gallu agor fy e-bost heddiw gan fod aelodau UCU Caerdydd yn ymgymryd â gweithredu diwydiannol, ynghyd â 150 o brifysgolion eraill, o achos ymosodiadau ar gyflog, amodau gwaith, a phensiynau. Bydd aelodau UCU Caerdydd ar streic am 18 diwrnod ym mis Chwefror a mis Mawrth, gan ddechrau ar Chwefror 1af. Peidiwch ag e-bostio yn ystod y dyddiau hyn os gwelwch yn dda gan na fydd modd i mi ymateb i’r e-byst sydd wedi eu gyrru i mi ar ddiwrnodau’r streic pan fyddaf yn dychwelyd. Os hoffech fwy o wybodaeth am yr anghydfod, ewch i www.cardiffucu.org.uk os gwelwch yn dda. Os ydych yn fyfyriwr/aig, mae croeso i chi gysylltu â v-c@cardiff.ac.uk er mwyn darganfod pa gamau sy’n cael eu cymryd gan yr Is-ganghellor er mwyn osgoi’r anghydfod.
Option 3 for strike days
Shwmae! Sai ar gael ar hyn o bryd achos fy mod yn cymryd rhan mewn streic fel rhan o weithredu diwydiannol gan Undeb y Brifysgol a’r Coleg (UCU) i amddiffyn ein hawl i bensiwn teg, cyflog teg, cytundebau diogel a chydraddoldeb yn y gweithle.
Os wyt ti’n fyfyriwr, anfona e-bost at yr Is-ganghellor i ofyn iddo ddweud wrth sefydliad y prifysgolion (UCEA) i ddelio â’r anghydfod yn deg. Gallwch chi wneud hynny yma >>> https://www.ucu.org.uk/email-your-Vc
Mae Undeb Myfyrwyr Prifysgol Caerdydd yn cefnogi’r streic ac mae Undeb Prifysgolion a Cholegau Caerdydd wedi pleidleisio o blaid yr holl fyfyrwyr sydd am fynnu ad-daliad ffioedd.
Anfona e-bost ataf yn ôl ar ddiwrnod nad yw’n ddiwrnod streic UCU: https://www.ucu.org.uk/article/12759/University-strike-dates-in-February-and-March-confirmed
**
Hello! I’m not available right now because I’m taking part in the University and College Union (UCU) strike action to defend our right to a fair pension, fair pay, secure contracts and equality at work.
If you’re a student, please email the Vice Chancellor to ask him to tell the Universities’ organisation UCEA to deal with the dispute fairly. You can do that right here >>> https://www.ucu.org.uk/email-your-Vc
Cardiff Uni Student’s Union supports the strike and Cardiff UCU has voted in support of all students who wish to demand fee refunds.
Please email me back on a day that is not a UCU strike day: https://www.ucu.org.uk/article/12759/University-strike-dates-in-February-and-March-confirmed
This is a reproduction of the strike activities timetable in linear form. We will try our best to keep it up to date during action, but sometimes last minute changes are necessary. Please follow the branch on social media or join the branch announcements WhatsApp group for more information.
Wednesday 15 March
08:30 – Full pickets on buildings 11:00 – Rally at Main Gate 11:30 – Join TUC all-unions rally at Central Square
Thursday 16 March
08:30 – SHARE members picketing Main Building 11:30 – Teach out – “Equality in our University” at Student Union 3G
Friday 17 March
08:30 – MEDIC, DNTL, HCARE, MLANG and EARTH members picketing Main Building 11:30 – Strike bird-watching walk, leaving from Main Building
Monday 20 March
08:30 – SOCSI, GEOPL, PHYSX, ENGIN members picketing Main Building 11:30 – Teach out – “Know your rights” at Student Union 3G
Tuesday 21 March
08:30 – CARBS, COMSC, MATHS and UITBG members picketing Main Building
Wednesday 22 March
08:30 – Full pickets on buildings 11:30 – Rally at Main Gate
Schedule of activities on past strike days
Wednesday 1 February
08:30 – Full pickets on buildings 11:30 – Short UCU rally and then joining TUC rally
Thursday 9 February
08:30 – Full pickets on buildings
11.30 – Teach out: New Buildings Walking Tour starting at the Main Gate
understand why it’s important to unapologetically protect your health and wellbeing at this time
identify some of the challenges you face in working safely whether from home, back in the workplace or a blend of the two
Be clear about what support you can expect from your employer
Identify support available from UCU
How UCU CPD interactive workshops work
The taught session will last for about 75 minutes, after which time we take 15-20 minutes to discuss the issues raised. The total time commitment will be around an hour and a half.
You will need to find a quiet space, away from distractions (like telephone and email!), and you may prefer to use headphones for the session. I would also recommend that you check that you can use Zoom before the session if you are unfamiliar with it.
Following registration you will be sent a meeting number and password for the webinar using Zoom about 5 days before the start of the workshop. You will be able to join the session from about 10 minutes before the stated start time. I would also recommend that you do join five to 10 minutes early as you will need to be admitted to the session, and of course there can be technical problems.
Live transcription will be available. We plan to use the zoom “chat” function during the session. If that will in any way inhibit your full participation please contact us beforehand so that alternative arrangements can be made.
We are passionately committed to ensuring that everyone can fully participate in UCU CPD sessions so if you need us to make any additional facilities available to you please get in touch as soon as you can. We will do everything possible to help.
If you have any questions or would like us to host a cpd session in your own workplace please email me at: gpickard@ucu.org.uk
Welcome to the December 2022 newsletter. We are ending another year in dispute with our employers over long-standing issues affecting our workplace. Our unity and strength were highly visible during our three days of strike action last month. We hope this is enough to convince VCs to stand with their staff on these issues and to move UCEA and USS, but we need to remain energised and organised for the likely possibility of an escalation of action in 2023.
We will be calling for an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) in the first week of term and in the meantime, we warmly invite all members to an informal Zoom forum hosted by the strike committee,next Thursday 15th December at 4pm. The aim of this forum will be to take stock of our recent strike action and give members an opportunity to discuss what worked well and what we might want to do differently or learn from for future rounds of industrial action. The meeting will be hosted on Zoom, and we will send a reminder on the day. We would like to remind you that the strike committee is a group of members empowered by the executive committee to make decisions related to organising strike action and all members are very welcome to join and contribute. Please contact the UCU office (ucu@cardiff.ac.uk) if you would like to participate.
In order to improve communication with members, particularly during periods of intense activity like this one, we created a Cardiff UCU WhatsApp channel, where members can receive notifications of events or relevant developments at national and local level. If you would like to join this channel, please use this link: https://chat.whatsapp.com/Hd8vclEmjUvCsanTJEDyL1 from a device with WhatsApp installed. We also have a Teams Members Forum, where members can debate issues and ask questions directly to the office or the executive committee. If you would like to be added to this channel, please email the UCU office.
Finally, we wish all our members a happy Christmas and a very happy new year, in hope and solidarity for better pensions, better pay, better workloads, more security and more equality!
Our branch president Lucy Riglin, who is on maternity leave looking after her baby son, sends her greetings and solidarity to all members. We wish her all the best as she ventures into motherhood and look forward to having her back sometime next year.
In this newsletter, you can read about:
Branch News & Updates
Report on our EGM ahead of strike action in November
Report on strike action
Reporting your strike action
Accessing the strike fighting fund
Action Short of Strike (ASOS)
Cardiff University Students’ Union votes to support UCU strikes
Our branch’s commitment with equality and inclusion during the strikes and beyond
One of our members proposed a motion to financially support the Neil Davies and Ewan McGaughey legal case “Save university pensions, and save the planet” against the USS trustees and managers but unfortunately, our executive committee received communication from UCU national advising against branches carrying out such donations. The motion was withdrawn and we have since received more detailed information on the reasons why branches were instructed not to donate to the case; this detailed information is available on the branch website.
We do encourage members who are concerned about the way that the USS has been managed to read about this legal case and to consider making individual donations to hold the scheme to account. Neil and Ewan are currently crowdfunding to appeal a recent decision and the fact they have permission to appeal means there is a “real prospect of success”. Please consider contributing to their crowdfunding efforts.
Report on strike action
We’ve had three very well attended days of picketing, rallies outside the Main Building, a rally outside Senedd with other UCU branches from Wales and a benefit gig that raised more than £1000 for our local strike fighting fund. You can see our social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter) for more photos and details. Our action attracted a lot of media attention that you can follow on the branch website.
The pickets were busy with witty banners, hot drinks, music, constant honks, solidarity from students, other trade unions and other organisations, and dogs aplenty to keep our spirits high in the cold and amidst the grim prospects of the future of Higher Education as it stands. Even if you weren’t able to picket, by withdrawing your labour you were still making a very significant contribution to the action.
Our joint rally with the Open University, University or South Wales and Cardiff Metropolitan University (with one representative from Swansea University) counted with over 400 people gathering at the Welsh Senedd. MSs across political parties came out of the Senedd during their lunch breaks to talk to staff and students at the rally about the situation with the disputes and the state of HE in the UK and in Wales more specifically. Many of them agreed to write to Vice-Chancellors about our dispute. We encourage members to contact their local MP asking them to exert pressure for meaningful negotiations that can resolve our disputes. Speakers at our rally included George Phillips from the Cardiff University Socialist Society, Nathan Mintz from Cardiff University Labour Society (video on Facebook), Nicki Hughes from the Royal College of Nurses (RCN) (video on YouTube), Dave Bartlett from the Cardiff Trades Council, AJ Singh from the Welsh Trade Unions Council (and previous officer of the Communication Workers Union, CWU) and Layla Sadeghi Namaghi speaking in the name of the Iranian solidarity campaign (you can read a transcript of her speech on the branch website).
We also had a delegation of members attending the massive UCU rally in London.
Trade unions have re-entered negotiations with UCEA, our employer’s representative in national pay negotiations. These negotiations will wrap-up by the end of January, so let’s all hope for an acceptable offer (but plan for one that isn’t). We also expect reasonable negotiations on tackling casualisation, workload and equality. On our USS dispute, since USS announced a surplus of £5.6bn, it is difficult to understand which grounds they have to insist on cutting our pensions. We expect our VC to keep his word during our negations to prevent the marking boycott in May and to use his position in UCEA and UUK to resolve these disputes in the interest of his staff.
Cardiff University HR emailed all staff requesting us to report our strike action using their portal. Although we are obliged by law to respond truthfully when asked whether and when we took part in strike action, the law does not specify a particular way in which we must respond. Hence, any means that you choose for reporting strike action should be accepted. However, our contracts oblige us to respond to employer’s reasonable requests and HR believes that the request to using their portal is a reasonable one. If you comply, we recommend choosing the option ‘STRIKE-Pension maintained’ as this ensures that the university makes their employer contribution to our pension even on strike days. The university will deduct pay at the rate of 1/365th of annual salary for strike day for those on salaries. Those who have to use time sheets cannot claim for hours they would have worked but did not work due to the strike. Members who are hourly paid will be able to submit their time sheets to our fighting fund to request support (see ‘Fighting fund’ below).
Important: at this time, we do NOT advise any members to report ASOS via the HR system (see ‘ASOS’, below).
For those who suffer hardship because of strike deductions, the UK-wide fighting fund pays out from the second day of strike (please see the national UCU guidance on how to do this). Our local fighting fund additionally pays out for the first day (for details and how to claim, please see the branch fighting fund policy). The procedures for claiming from fighting funds are designed specifically to ensure hourly-paid, low-paid, and casual staff are prioritised.
Please note that we cannot pay hourly-paid members from the fighting fund until we receive the timesheets and the correlating payslips, which people will not get until the end of the December, so we are expecting these applications to come in around the last days of December/beginning of January.
Although UCU General Secretary Jo Grady reports that employers have returned to negotiations because of our determined strike action, we must keep up the pressure to achieve a result. This is why the union is calling all members to undertake the following types of ASOS (since 23 November): working to contract (meaning that we only fulfil the duties explicitly expressed in our contracts, in particular regarding our contracted working hours) not undertaking any voluntary activities not covering for absent colleagues refusing to reschedule classes missed due to industrial action (when applicable) not sharing materials for classes that would have taken place on strike days During ASOS, please consider setting up an automatic reply message using the bilingual ASOS templates.
The UCU head office’s FAQs has a lot of detail on ASOS, and we’d refer members who have queries to this FAQ in the first instance and to speak with their colleagues and dep reps to share ideas and to feel supported. You can email the branch office (ucu@cardiff.ac.uk) if your question is not covered by the FAQ.
Navigating ASOS can be challenging and it does not help that communication received from HR has been less than helpful. You can read our prompt response (and subsequent correspondence) to the email sent by Sue Midha (director of HR) to all staff on 22 November, threatening 100% pay deductions for ASOS that constitutes partial performance. UCU General Secretary Jo Grady has labelled such behaviour ‘bullying’ and ‘intimidation’ issuing from panic on the part of employers.
The preliminary outcome of our communication is a clarification by the Director of HR that ‘where colleagues work with schools to mitigate the impact of any detriment to student learning outcomes, we cannot envisage a situation where it will be necessary for pay to be withheld.’ UCU have also published legal advice.
It is not clear which aspects of ASOS constitute a breach of contract and could therefore be subject to pay deductions. At this time, we therefore advise any member to seek advice before reporting that they are undertaking ASOS that constitutes partial performance, e.g. via the HR system.
We have prepared a series of templates that members can use if they need to communicate that they are taking part in ASOS. We hope you find them useful.
Cardiff Students’ Union votes to support UCU strikes
Cardiff University Students’ Union has passed a motion to support UCU industrial action. The AGM to vote on the motion of support had to be rescheduled, but in the meantime, the Union had given provisional support to the action. We are enormously grateful for the support of the Union, as we have been grateful for the support of students bringing hot drinks, placards and good will to our pickets. With a motion passed, the Union will be able to put more pressure on the University to go to its national representatives and demand a resolution to the disputes.
Our branch’s commitment to equality and inclusion during the strike and beyond
During our strike rally on the 30th November, by the Welsh Senedd, our branch’s senior officers Andreas Buerki (branch co-vice-president), Joey Whitfield (branch co-vice-president) and Renata Mirra (branch chair) reiterated Cardiff UCU’s commitment to equality and inclusion with the following speech:
“One of the issues at the heart of our dispute is pay equality, and most commonly we speak about the gender pay gap. Most of us will have already heard that in our sector women are paid on average 20% less than men. Discrimination related to pregnancy or care duties, which more often fall on women, can add layers into this.
Another issue that women are often faced with is sexual harassment, which can affect them at work, as students, and in many organisations such as political parties and indeed trade unions. This is a sad and unacceptable state of affairs and we all need to play a role in ending this. We all need to play a role in ending discrimination, in fighting for justice for victims of sexual harassment and in fighting to prevent it. We are calling on our employers to do more and we are calling on ourselves, as a trade union, to do more.
Unfortunately, women are not the only group of people facing discrimination. In fact, they often suffer from the intersection of other types of discrimination that we have in our workplaces. The gender pay gap is only the tip of the iceberg. People of colour, people with disabilities, or those who are LGBTQ+, are also facing great levels of discrimination, but we don’t hear about the figures, because in most part they don’t even exist. And here too, the intersections are important – trans people of colour are among the most marginalised, persecuted and discriminated in the world – you can look into the statistics and I promise you, you will be shocked. It is also shocking to learn that 1 in 4 employers in the UK won’t hire someone with a disability. And it doesn’t end here, class, age, or religious beliefs are among other factors that can contribute to discrimination at work.
What kind of world is this?
This is why equality is a very important part of our dispute and our demands. This is also why we, senior branch officers of Cardiff UCU, will be reading statements written by members affected by discrimination related to disability, race, and gender identity, to reiterate our own commitment to equality and inclusion and to remind our employers of theirs.”
Please engage with our branch EDI survey to help us defend the interests of all members and inform our priorities for action.
Events, solidarity and wider campaigns
Workers can win podcast
On the 27th November Ian Allison, a longstanding UK trade unionist, came to Cardiff to launch his book: Workers can win: a guide for organising at work. The event was organised by Cardiff People’s Assembly and the independent media platform voice.wales and was chaired by our branch Chair, Renata Mirra, and by our retired member, Steve Davies. You can listen to the voice.wales podcast of the event at anchor.fm, which includes an interview with Renata about the UCU strikes.
DivestUSS
The DivestUSS group has produced a report on USS’s carbon intensive investments and their (inadequate) plans for ‘net zero’. The report and summary along with USS’s response are all at https://divestuss.org/report/
We plan to hold a Teach Out around USS’s approach to investment in the new year.
If you have any questions about the report, Divest USS or the Ethics for USS campaign, please contact Paul Kinnersley.
Network to challenge racism
Do you identify as Black, Asian or minority ethnic? Abyd Quinn-Aziz, a Reader at SOSCI, is working with UCU Wales office and TUC Wales in developing a network to challenge racism and in publicising the anti-racist toolkit. As a branch we do not hold this kind of data on members, and so Abyd is asking members who identify as Black, Asian or minority ethic to contact him or to contact AJ Singh (the Wales TUC contact for this piece of work) directly if they are happy to do so. The information will be used to help the formation of a Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic network in Wales.
Diolch initiative – put your reps forward
Your local UCU representatives are absolutely vital to the functioning of the branch. They are often the first port of call for members having issues at work. They help to make sure everyone is able to vote in ballots. They help to bring the views of members to wider attention. The University is currently running its ‘diolch’ scheme, which allows staff to thank a colleague, and have their thanks recorded on the University intranet. Please consider saying ‘diolch’ to one of your dep reps by filling in the University’s form.
Protest & lobby to save St. David’s Hall
Cardiff council announced plans to privatise St. David’s Hall in the centre of town. If you would like to support the campaign to oppose these plans, you can join the protest and lobby on Friday 9 December, 3 pm – 4.30 pm, outside City Hall, Cathays Park, Cardiff, CF10 3ND and/or sign the petitions below.
Facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/885321925963766 Sign the ‘Save the National Concert Hall of Wales’ petition opposing any council plan to sell off St David’s Hall to a commercial company. This petition gives lots of useful background information on concerns about proposals: https://t.co/57ymXiamMs Sign the petition to Senedd asking the Welsh Government to directly intervene to secure the future of the venue as a publicly run and publicly funded Welsh cultural institution. If enough people sign it could trigger a debate in the Welsh Parliament: https://petitions.senedd.wales/petitions/245325
The UCUs general secretary Jo Grady spoke at this year’s conference and said:
“Trans people are threatened, intimidated, attacked and dehumanised, often by people who should know better. … The issues and challenges facing working people have never been greater. The UK has never been more unequal. Yet we are constantly drawn into right-wing territory. Divide and conquer. This is a repeat of how gay people have been treated. And this is a repeat of how black people have been treated. As trade unionists we should never engage in the oppression of others. … Let us tackle the reality of issues faced by trans people, not as they are imagined by people who do not face them.”
Today we want to take the opportunity to reaffirm our support for our trans siblings to ensure they feel safe and supported on campus. As a branch we stand with our most marginalised colleagues and comrades. Trans people are currently the focus of a manufactured moral panic. The public discourse on trans rights often focuses on the theoretical and abstracted, forgetting that real people are at its centre. This discourse very rarely includes trans voices yet since 2014 transphobic hate crime has increased 332% (Pink News) with 4 out of 5 trans people experiencing transphobic hate crime within the last 12 months (Galop). As a union we do not forget that real people are suffering as a consequence of a so-called debate. Universities have a duty to ensure staff and students can work and study in safety and without harassment and they must be held accountable if they fall short. The UCU stands with trans people and stands up for trans rights.
The current round of strikes finished on Wednesday 22 March. Thank you to all members who were on strike and on pickets
