UCU members across the United Kingdom in higher education are now halfway through week three of the marking and assessment boycott (MAB) in the pay and conditions dispute. Universities have responded to legal industrial action by threatening punitive pay deductions of up to 100% [Portsmouth and Winchester 100%; Solent University 50%; and Bournemouth 30%]. UCU is working with branches where deductions have been threatened to implement the escalation strategy (no contact with Solent UCU yet) which includes applying pressure through campaigning, negotiation and strike action. UCU announced on Friday, 5 May that the union had agreed to ringfence £250,000 for members facing deductions for taking part in action short of strike. Furthermore, Southern Regional Committee (UCU South) has submitted a late motion to Congress 2023 on Friday, 5 May to ‘lift the cap’.

In Solidarity,
Mark
Solent UCU

This means the strikes on Tuesday 21, Wednesday 22 and Thursday 23 February next week and Monday 27 and Tuesday 28 February and Wednesday 1 and Thursday 2 March will not go ahead. All the action scheduled after these dates remains in place – this will put pressure on the employers.

REBALLOT (BALLOT OPENS ON MONDAY, 20 FEBRUARY)
 

Message from Jo Grady (General Secretary)
“Today we are nearer to reaching the sector defining agreement we need than ever before. But this position has only been delivered because of your support. And we will only get it across the line if you continue to deliver that support.

In practice this means:

1. Voting YES in the reballot
2. Encouraging every colleague to vote YES
3. Asking non-members to join UCU
4. Be prepared to take the rest of the scheduled action if it is needed
5. Taking every possible opportunity to pressure the employer.

In closing, we will do everything possible to update you on the progress of the negotiations in the coming days and weeks. That said, it is crucial those talks are seen as secondary to the need to deliver a huge mandate in the reballot.”

Mark Farwell
Chair, Solent UCU

Over 70,000 university staff at 150 universities will strike for three days this month over pay, working conditions and pensions. The National Union of Students (NUS) has backed the strikes, which will be the biggest ever to hit UK universities and could impact 2.5 million students.

Are you prepared to take industrial action consisting of strike action?

Yes: 81.14%
No: 18.86%
Turnout: 57.71%

Northern Ireland*
Yes: 78.99%
No: 21.01%

Are you prepared to take industrial action consisting of action short of strike action (which for this purpose is defined to include overtime and call-out bans)?

Yes: 88.75%
No: 11.25%
Turnout: 57.71%

Northern Ireland*
Yes: 89.90%
No: 10.10%

At midday today we have only 14 days to go until the national ballot closes on Friday, 21 October 2022. To that end, we (Solent UCU) intend to have 10 days of fairly intensive activity on the Get The Vote Out (GTVO) campaign and will be holding an all-day event on the Andrews Concourse on Wednesday, 12 October from 9am to 5pm. Please feel free to drop by for a chat, updates, giveaways, and to order a replacement ballot.  

If you have not yet received your ballot paper, you can order a replacement paper here or on the Andrews Concourse before midday on Wednesday 12 October – after that it will be too late.    

Please email your GTVO Lead (Paula Elliott, Mark Farwell, Rasitha Galagangodage, Carolyn Potts) once you have voted and returned your ballot paper to Civica Election Services (CES). A big thank you if you have already voted. 

The deadline for posting your ballot paper is Tuesday, 18 October to ensure that the CES is in receipt by Friday, 21 October. 

You can read the latest updates about the UCU Rising campaign here. 

If you have already voted, please click here to report that you have voted  

This will generate a new email. Please do not change the email, just click on Send. Please note that we do not ask which way you voted, just that you have voted. The only data stored is whether you have responded. 

This data will be used by UCU in accordance with data protection legislation.  

The outcome of the ballot should be known by Monday, 24 October or before. To that end, we have called a Branch meeting/AGM to discuss the outcome of the ballot and next steps on Wednesday, 26 October (time/venue TBC)

In solidarity
Mark
Chair, Solent UCU
🌈

GET THE VOTE OUT (GTVO)
We are now in the last week of balloting (ballot closes on Friday, 8 April) and for the ballot to count the law (Trade Union Act 2016) requires UCU to achieve a turnout of at least 50% as well as a majority vote in favour of industrial action. UCU is in dispute with Higher Education institutions, including Solent University, about the outcome of the annual national negotiations on pay and conditions.

PLEASE VOTE TODAY AND STAND UP FOR FAIR CONDITIONS AND FAIR PAY IN OUR SECTOR 

NB. Please make sure your ballot paper is in the post to CES by Wednesday, 6 April 2022.

Mark Farwell
Chair, Solent UCU

UCU will be balloting members in higher education from Monday 18 October to Thursday, 4 November 2021 on the ‘Four Fights’. Solent University members will be balloted on “wages that do not keep up with the cost of living; precarious employment practices; workload intensification; and pay gaps for women and Black and disabled staff. The ballot closes on Thursday 4 November at noon, and if you have any questions please contact me on mark.farwell@solent.ac.uk.

What is UCU fighting against?
What is UCU fighting for?

Call for Get the Vote Out (GVTO) Volunteers
We registered our GTVO plan in September and I am the GTVO Lead for Solent UCU. However, we will need to call on members, as well as reps, branch officers and officials, to ‘get the vote out’ and achieve the necessary 50% turnout threshold (Trade Union Act 2016) to participate in some form of industrial action. Hence, every UCU member has a part to play in winning a mandate by voting and being actively involved in getting the vote out. “Being in a union is more than just putting a cross in a box. It is about standing together with our colleagues and students to defend education and research – both those who provide it and those who rely on it”. We win disputes “by building trust and support for collective action among members in every workplace and every single department. The more staff take part in this action, the sooner you will win and the sooner you can return to work in a sector that is finally starting to value you and your contribution properly” (UCU general secretary, 2021).

The ballot closes on Thursday 4 November at noon.

Best wishes
Mark
Chair, Solent UCU