Staff union sets date for strike action

Three days of lecturers striking

By Tom Skinner

Staff strike action has moved a step closer as University and College Union (UCU) members have set out three days of strikes.

One-day strikes are scheduled to take place on Thursday February 25, Tuesday 2 and Thursday March 4, as the UCU look to put pressure on the University’s proposals to cut teaching jobs and oppose its restructuring plan for the Faculty of Biological Sciences (FBS).
    Leeds UCU Press Officer Mark Taylor-Batty explained: “The action on the strike days will take the form of people simply not coming to work and not doing what was scheduled that day, and not answering emails on that day.         “There will also be picket lines at all entrances, and we will be politely asking people not to cross them, and giving them information on why we are on strike. Hundreds of people will participate in the strike.
    Union members attended an Emergency General Meeting last Wednesday.
    Batty said: “At the meeting today, in the light of this, members voted overwhelmingly in favour of three individual days of strike action.
    “After that, we will request an international boycott (greylisting) of our university and consider further action if necessary.”
    Greylisting of the University, however, would be subject to ratification at the UCU’s general meeting on March 3.
    There will also be a regional rally and demonstration on either Thursday 4 or Friday 5 March as part of the UCU’s ‘Defend jobs, defend education’ campaign. LUU is also holding a day of action, for which two trade unions have confirmed their support, on March 5.
    The University have now agreed to re-open talks with the UCU next Monday, which will break the impasse declared by the University at ACAS talks last Thursday, called due to disagreement over proposed compulsory redundancies in the FBS.

A University spokesperson said: ‘Talks are resuming on Monday (15 February), and we hope

they will clear the way for the UCU to work with us to mitigate the effects of public sector spending cuts on our students, staff and research. Industrial action will not resolve the funding crisis facing higher education.’
Taylor-Batty added: “Right now, though, we want nothing more than to get back into talks. We have to take some kind of industrial action three weeks after the end of the ballot or, in law, it becomes invalid. We believe that it is in the best interest of staff and students at the university to spend that time talking.”
In a letter to Malcolm Povey, resident of the Leeds UCU, Vice Chancellor Professor Michael Arthur disclosed that he had held discussions with the UCU’s Michael MacNeil, National Head of Higher Education.
Arthur said: “We agreed that the first item to discuss was the difference between our respective positions on the possibility of compulsory redundancy in the Faculty of Biological Sciences – the point on which last week’s talks were adjourned.”
Although he welcomes a return to the negotiating table, Taylor-Batty told Leeds Student that he was unhappy at the timing of the public release of the Vice Chancellor’s letter.
He said: “Why did he [Arthur] make that letter public before Malcolm had received it and before Malcolm had replied? In what circumstances would he extend the same discourtesy to any other senior member of staff? We can only read the timing of that announcement - before our meeting - as politically motivated.”
Central to the UCU’s challenge is a 14-point proposal that casts doubt over the credibility and legality of the University’s academic plan for the FBS.
The proposal states that FBS’ job descriptions and job matching process is unacceptable and that the projected Student:Staff Ratio (SSR) within the FBS ‘is unacceptably high, being above that of the highest average SSR in any Russell Group University.’
It also suggests the establishment of an Employment Security Review Group (ESRG) to ensure that all statutory obligations of the university under employment law are consistent with proposals made to the senate and council.
Povey said: “The University still has legal obligations to consult UCU in a meaningful way regarding the proposed redundancies in FBS, yet it is difficult to see how it proposes now to carry out this consultation. It also has a duty under its own statutes to set up fair and just processes when reorganising staff and their academic activities.”
In his letter to Povey, however, Arthur explained that the execution of the University’s academic plan for the FBS would not be put on hold simply because of their discussions with UCU.
Arthur said: “I explained to Michael – and I believe he understood – that the University could no longer delay stage 2 [the implementation phase] of the FBS review. Implementation of the academic plan will therefore be happening in parallel with resumed talks.”
The Vice Chancellor’s decision seems unlikely to ameliorate the already strained relationship between the UCU and the University at this time.
Taylor-Batty said: “It is important to note that in the letter he says that the process in FBS will continue while the talks resume. In other words, the very reason why UCU want talks to resume is to continue in the background. It’s like saying, yes, I’ll meet you to talk about whether we demolish this building or not, as long as I can get on with demolishing it.”
A statement on UCU’s website read: ‘Our members are telling us in their hundreds, through the ballot and through general meetings that they need an assurance that the FBS process will be put on hold to be reviewed – in order to allow for meaningful negotiations to take place.’
Professor Steve Homans has emailed FBS staff to outline the nature of the next stage of the new academic plan.
Homans said: “To extend opportunities for academic members of staff, we will be amending all academic job descriptions to make them more generic, including the professorial roles, which have been reduced to ten broad areas.”
Homans also stressed that every effort would be made to avoid redundancies within the department.
He said: “Following stage two, we will of course explore all ways of saving jobs. Concerns about our space charge were reiterated at the meetings and we will look again at this as well as any other potential non-staff savings.”
“We will also need people to be mindful that the faculty overall has to deliver academic and financial sustainability” he added.
A University spokesperson added: “We want to reassure all students that we will do everything in our power to protect your education. We guarantee that students will be able to continue their courses and that we will continue to do all we can to minimise any disruption to your studies.
“Talks through ACAS between the University and UCU have been under way since 11 January to try to resolve the dispute.  Although those talks were adjourned indefinitely last Thursday, they are now to resume – starting next Monday, 15 February.  We will do our very best to secure a negotiated settlement.
“We will keep staff and students informed throughout and involve them in the challenging decisions we face.  We will listen, share information and be open – even where the issues are difficult.