At the SHU UCU Branch meeting on September 4th 2024, the current offer from management relating to the current Hallam Dispute, rejected by UCU SHU committee was discussed. There has been no meaningful movement since negotiations began earlier this year. The discussion at the hybrid branch meeting reinforced the need to push forward with imminent strike action. Meaningful negotiations and a swift resolution to this dispute are needed. Indeed, our employer could present us with a meaningful offer to avert any strike action from happening. To this end, a poll that took place at this branch meeting indicated that over 80% of those present favoured strengthening our dispute strategy by notifying of additional strike action.
We are going to poll the wider membership by email but in the meantime, all members please check your email regularly for mail from !UCU Mailbox for updates and for the link to the poll and consider the following.
Strike action is always a last resort. As you are aware, we have been trying to negotiate with management on a number of fronts since late autumn last year. Their intransigence led to our local ballot and their continued failure to bring a meaningful offer to the table led to us notifying for strike action from Monday September 23rd to Thursday September 26th inclusive, the first week of teaching for over 70% of our students.
We have also called on ACAS to help us to reach a resolution.
At the time of writing, none of this has had any impact and so we must strengthen our dispute strategy and build solidarity for and confidence in the strike action.
What are we in dispute over?
No Compulsory Redundancies: The ongoing college restructures, coupled with potential cuts in the 2024-2025 academic year, have placed jobs at significant risk. Although we have successfully avoided compulsory redundancies so far, this threat remains very real. Staff who were at risk were pressured to consider voluntary redundancy under the looming threat of compulsory measures, with some being asked to sign non-disclosure agreements (NDAs). This tactic is deeply concerning and underscores the need for us to stay vigilant and ready to defend every job. We cannot allow management to use these tactics to undermine job security.
Retaining Existing Employment Policies: Redeployment, pay protection, sickness absence policies, and trade union facilities time are all under attack. Despite our efforts in negotiations, no real progress has been made to safeguard these essential policies. We cannot allow management to undermine these protections that we have fought so hard to secure.
Breaches of the National Framework Agreement: The university’s attempts to introduce Grade 6 posts and assign Grade 8 staff to line management roles are clear breaches of the national framework. This agreement is crucial as it safeguards many of our terms and conditions. If this framework is breached, it could open the door to further attacks on our rights. Additionally, there has been a significant breach of our Collective Agreement with the deletion of all Principal Lecturer roles, affecting the majority of Grade 9 staff. Furthermore, the removal of many members who have secured SSG-Associate Head posts from our pay bargaining group severely reduces UCU’s ability to fully represent them. We must defend the integrity of these agreements to ensure our conditions are not eroded.
Workload and Work Intensification: The ongoing issues with AWP tariffs, including departmental roles, assessment time, academic advising, and new teaching responsibilities, have not been resolved. Many members have found themselves at 100% or more on their AWP as management expects us to cover for colleagues who have left through Voluntary Severance Schemes (VSS). These demands, while linked to the college restructure, are not explicitly named in the dispute. However, addressing them is vital for the wellbeing of our members, and we must continue to push for fair workload practices.
This is a local dispute. This is not about pay. The attack on employment policies and working conditions and seeking to employ staff on ever lower salaries must embarrass the university: they are a major employer in the city and surely do not want to be seen to be treating their staff this badly.