Tuesday 24-05-2016 - 10:47

Academic staff across universities in the UK will be on strike on Wednesday 25th and Thursday 26th May, including some staff at Edge Hill University. 

For those Edge Hill staff that take part, they will begin working to contract from 25th May onwards, which means they will refuse to work overtime, set additional work or undertake any voluntary duties like covering timetabled classes for absent colleagues. This is called ‘action short of a strike’.

Within Edge Hill, we don’t know how many staff will take part in the strike or the ‘action short of strike’ but we will keep a watching brief on this issue.

Nationally, NUS is calling on both UCU, other HE trade unions, and the Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA) – who negotiate on behalf of universities – to return to the negotiating table, to ensure a fair, sustainable offer can be agreed.

 

We Believe…

• That lecturers and other academic staff should be properly supported and remunerated. We believe that fair pay is integral in itself, but also note that there are very clear benefits, to students, that pay is at a level which attracts excellent staff, and helps to support the maintenance of a happy and motivated workforce.
• That Postgraduate Research Students should be properly supported and remunerated.
• That staff should challenge practices, including challenge towards pay and conditions which they democratically deem to be unfair.
• Industrial action is a legitimate means of raising such concerns.
• That it is entirely possible to undertake industrial action in a manner which limits negative impact on students, and which actually encourages active support from students over issues of common cause and concern.

What Can You Do?

• If you have any scheduled exams or assessments, then please attend them! These are important to your future, and you can show your solidarity outside of those exam/assessment times or through social media
• Visit the UCU website for more information: https://www.ucu.org.uk
• Speak to your lecturers or other staff about why they are striking and ask how you can show your support.

 

Damien Shortt, UCU Branch Chair, Edge Hill University provided a statement to EHSU:

“The reason for the strike is because pay for academic staff is being cut year after year (when consideration is given to the rising cost of living). Academics are being asked by management to work year on year for less and less pay. We know that students are not being asked to pay less money to come to university, so, where’s the money going?

Within higher education as a whole we know there is a £1.9bn surplus! We also know that vice-chancellors and principals have themselves received latest average increases of between 3 and 5%.  This year, the employers offered a miserly 1%. When the unions rejected this offer, they went away to discuss, and came back with a final offer of 1.1%. I think it is clear from this that they are not serious about negotiating.

Pay increases are important not just because they help protect staff against rises in the cost of living, but also because they provide a powerful indication of how much our contribution is valued by our employer.”

Read UCU’s material here:  https://www.ucu.org.uk/article/8211/Higher-education-committee-HEC-agrees-programme-of-action

 

Whilst supportive of UCU’s action we have concerns where industrial action unnecessarily and seriously impacts on students, including on the marking and assessment of work, and the ability of students to graduate. If any of your exams or assessments or disrupted as a result of strike action then please contact our free and independent Advice & Representation Centre for support: suadvice@edgehill.ac.uk

 

In Solidarity,

Steven Rouke, EHSU President

On Behalf of EHSU Executive Committee