Birkbeck UCU

General Meeting 30 January Pensions Dispute - Report

Escalation or suspension? Report on Birkbeck UCU General Meeting 30^th January 1 - 2 pm Room 320 Malet Street

A lively UCU General Meeting on January 30^th discussed progress to date on the pensions dispute and where we should go next. John Kelly, UCU Joint President and Nick Pronger, UCU Pensions Officer opened proceedings with an introduction to the background and context of ‘where we are now’.

Background; where we are now on pensions?

ASOS and UCU's 2 days of strike action in March have demonstrated the depth of feeling against the employer’s action in imposing a vastly inferior pension scheme on USS members. They also resulted in some concessions:
• The employers wanted USS members to pay an additional 2% in pension contributions. This has been reduced to 1.15%.
• The CARE scheme proposed for all USS members will not be introduced to those already in the final salary scheme.
• Employers proposed removing members from the final salary scheme if they took a break in employment for 6 months. This has been extended to 30 months.

A further 1 day of strike action on November 30^th, linked to the national 'Day of Action' on public sector psnesions was, like the March events, highly successful both in terms of the response of UCU members and the support received from the Students' Union and other Birkbeck unions as well as from most of those students who did turn up for classes on the day. Like the March action, it also resulted in some further movement on the part of the employers' representatives, who through an ‘employers’ forum’ (a new grouping) met with UCU negotiators on 5^th, 12^th and 19^th Jan. As a consequence of these meetings the employers' representatives have:
• for the first time agreed to engage in proper negotiations through a timed programme of meetings (to July 2012) over the imposed USS CARE scheme. In addition they have
• agreed to postpone (to October 2014) their proposed ending of the right to an unreduced pension on redundancy.

In a Position Paper (UCUHE/129, circulated last week to all UCU members in advance of the General Meeting) UCU HE negotiators recommend that industrial action be suspended in order to allow a timed programme of negotiations leading to a report to sector conference in May. In the meantime, Local Associations should produce escalation plans for immediate implementation in the event that negotiations should fail.

Subsequently (on the morning of the General Meeting) a further paper, UCUHE/131 was received containing LA motions and amendments. These vary from minor textual amendments to rejection and calls for immediate escalation of action. In addition, ‘Third way’ amendments include conditions for suspension including prior agreement on comparability with deals already achieved with TPS and chairing of negotiations by a person other than Andrew Cubie.

The decision on whether to suspend or escalate industrial action would be made tomorrow, 31 January at a Conference of UCU USS (Post-92) branches. The question for the meeting was what guidance we should give to UCU’s delegate to this conference.

Debate

A lively debate included some strong arguments for escalation:

The employers’ offer to date is pretty minimal – if we suspend on the terms presently offered then members will wonder whether the strike was worthwhile
Strikes (including at Birkbeck) have been well supported to date; however the limited progress means we need to maintain momentum and escalate industrial action to put pressure on the employers to offer more now
Suspension now will demoralise members and could be interpreted as retreat, producing loss of support for further action
UCU action should be co-ordinated with that of other public sector unions such as PCS who are committed to taking action in coming months. UCU should not pull out now
NEC has overturned decision of UCU Gen Sec on TPS and in consequence UCU will be scaling up action in post-92 institutions in February, including plans for a further 1-day strike in March
If we allow negotiations to proceed now and there are no further concessions by employers, then there will be growing support from members for further action
Suspension if prolonged would preclude further action in this academic year and might require a reballot; if negotiations were fruitless, escalation could not take place until the autumn
The majority of motions submitted by other UCU Branches to tomorrow’s Conference are against suspension.

Alonside these there were some equally strong arguments for suspension:

In several branches committee recommendations for escalation have not been widely supported and in some cases overturned by members (by ballot or GM vote)
The declared objectives of ASOS and strike action to date were to get employers to the negotiating table and this has been achieved
There is a real question over whether UCU can deliver on an escalation of action, given that concessions – and further negotiations - have been offered
Rejection of negotiations could lead to he employer backtracking on concessions offered to date
Limited concessios to date means that further one-day strikes have little effect. Other sanctions (including ASOS)– particularly boycott of examining – even though only academics and partially supported, are more effective

Most of those in favour of suspension argued however that this should be conditional on further undertakngs from employers:

Timing needs to be specified and brought forward with a decision on acceptance by easter to allow escalation if there was no progress..
Agreement in principle to an accrual rate comparable to TPS should be an essential precondition. TPS should be a benchmark and it was inconceivable that USS should offer its members a worse deal
An alternate Chair to Cubie should be an essential precondition for negotiations.

Conclusion

To gauge the mood of the meeting, the Chair proposed a division on the basis of a motion accepting the proposal for suspension of industrial action with conditions as follows:

Suspension to be clearly time-limited with the outcome known in time to organise if necessary for escalation including boycott of exam marking in May/June
An agreement to match the settlement secured to date on TPS, including accrual rates should be a precondition for negotiations
An alternate Chair to Cubie should be a precondition for negotiations

The alternative would be for an immediate escalation of action.

The motion was put to the vote, resulting in a 2:1 majority in favour of conditional suspension on the basis of the above.

It was agreed that Birkbeck's representative, Nick Pronger, would need to make judgements at the 30^th January conference in relation to arguments presented on the day. However his input should be guided by this General Meeting.

It was also noted that whatever the outcome of the conference, ASOS should continue until UCU nationally advises otherwise, including (for staff not contractually obliged to participate) non-participation in Thursday’s Open Day.

Nikck Pronger will report in due course on the outcome of the conference and on UCU's decision. Watch this space!

Above: Birkbeck UCU members (present and future!) on the picket outside Birkbeck's Torrington Square entrance on 30 November

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New College of the Humanities

Birkbeck UCU Resolution on the New College of Humanities

The following motion was passed at the AGM of Birkbeck UCU on June 7th 2011:

• Birkbeck UCU believes that the establishment of an elitist, profit-making institution is not the way to deal with the government's failure to protect the arts and humanities.

• The reference to Birkbeck in the promotional material of New College of the Humanities, and Professor Grayling's expression of interest in developing future relationships with Birkbeck, is damaging to the reputation of our College whose ethos is to provide access to education for people from diverse social and educational backgrounds.

• Birkbeck UCU welcomes the Master’s forthright statement that Birkbeck has no links with New College of the Humanities and calls on the Master to give further reassurance that there will be no consideration of any collaboration with this venture including requests to rent College facilities.

• Birkbeck UCU calls on UCU nationally to greylist New College of the Humanities.

Subsequent to the above, colleagues from several Birkbeck Departments wrote a letter to the Guardian. The text of the letter can be read here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2011/jun/14/

Professor Grayling's reply can be read here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/jun/15/new-college-humanities

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Birkbeck UCU dismisses Cameron's health & safety claims

Birkbeck UCU are extremely concerned by David Cameron’s recent claim, on January 5th to a business audience, that UK businesses are in a 'stranglehold' of health and safety 'red tape' and compensation claims. He said the government was 'waging war against the excessive health and safety culture that has become an albatross around the neck of British businesses.' He added that he wanted to introduce measures to help businesses 'cope' with the 'health and safety monster', including cutting regulations, enforcement and exempting the self-employed from safety rules. I want 2012 to go down in history not just as Olympics year or Diamond Jubilee year, but the year we get a lot of this pointless time-wasting out of the British economy and British life once and for all.'

This ideological vehemence was a repetition of Cameron’s intemperate speech following the August riots in which he exploited the situation to attack the Human Rights Act and the culture associated with it. He claimed “the interpretation of human rights legislation has exerted a chilling effect on public sector organisations, leading them to act in ways that fly in the face of common sense, offend our sense of right and wrong, and undermine responsibility.” Virtually in the same breath, he added “It is exactly the same with health and safety – where regulations have often been twisted out of all recognition into a culture where the words ‘health and safety’ are lazily trotted out to justify all sorts of actions and regulations that damage our social fabric.”

The voice of reason can be found at the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health which refutes Cameron’s thesis in explaining that good, sensible health and safety helps people to manage risk. It helps employers ensure staff are safe and well. It reduces absenteeism and staff turn-over and supports productivity and profitability. When done properly, it saves businesses money.

These outrageous coalition attacks have a relevance for staff at Birkbeck as the latest UCU biennial survey of stress in HE shows yet another increase in the numbers of people experiencing conditions at work that cause stress (Kinman, 2011). The report shows that a staggering 81% of respondents found their job stressful in 2010 compared to 74% in 2008. This tallies with CIPD research (October 2011) which revealed that stress-related illness is now the number one reason for absence from work; is the most common cause of long-term sickness absence and it identifies a link between job security and mental health problems. Public sector respondents to the CIPD survey identified the amount of organisational change and restructuring and highlighted job insecurity, the impact of public sector cuts to jobs, pension benefits and pay freezes, excessive workloads, lack of time and unreasonable expectations as common causes of work-related stress. These findings clearly demonstrate that there is a collective problem that affects the membership of UCU as a whole, and it is not a case of an individual’s weaknesses.

In order to prevent work-related stress (and to defend USS pensions following the ballot in favour of sustained industrial action) UCU is asking every member to support action short of a strike in the form of ‘working to contract’. As a UCU member, this means that you should:

work no more than your contracted hours where those hours are expressly stated, and in any event not to exceed the maximum number of hours per week stipulated in the Working Time Regulations
perform no additional voluntary duties, such as out of hours cover, or covering for colleagues (unless such cover is contractually required)
undertake no duties in breach of health and safety policies or other significant employer’s policies
set and mark no work beyond that work which you are contractually obliged to set and/or mark
attend no meetings where such attendance is voluntary.

More information from Richard Carabine, UCU Health and Safety Officer, email r.carabine@bbk.ac.uk

»Go to UCU Health and Safety page

Hourly Paid ('Sessional') negotiations - an update from your UCU representatives

Dear colleagues,

This is an important message regarding recent developments in the negotiations around a new framework for sessional pay.

Last year in addition to completing the 'mapping' process for transferring hourly paid colleagues onto the national pay framework, we secured an interim 5% increase in hourly rates of pay for those on the lower pay rates.

Now, after years of negotiations we have reached a decisive stage. Following a series of focus groups in each of the college Schools that took place in the autumn, management will shortly be making a formal offer on the 'multiplier'. This is the figure that will be used to calculate the ratio of hours of preparation for each hour of teaching for which we will be paid. As you will appreciate, this is a crucial element of the agreement. We will, of course, be consulting with sessionals about any formal offer made by management. We anticipate that this will happen sometime in March.

A second key aspect that is currently being discussed is the question of whether marking should be included in our teaching pay, or whether it should be paid separately. We will also need to agree, if it is paid separately, whether we should we be paid per script, or on an hourly basis.

We will be updating you regularly on the progress in negotiations over the next few months. However, in the meantime, if you have any questions or suggestions for the UCU negotiating team, we would be very happy to receive them. You can get in touch with us via ucu@bbk.ac.uk or contact us individually via the UCU webpages – see www.bbk.ac.uk/ucu/campaigns/SLHP for more information or www.bbk.ac.uk/ucu/contact/Committee for our full contact details.

Regards,

Birkbeck UCU Framework Negotiation Group
Simon Behrman, Rebecca Gumbrell-McCormick, Trevor Fenner, Simon Hewitt-Horsman, Pat Costall, Mike Berlin

If you would like to notify us of changes in conditions, or if you have query or comment on the negotiations, please do not hesitate to contact us directly at: www.bbk.ac.uk/ucu/campaigns/SLHP

Please check the Hourly Paid/ Sessional Lecturer pages of the UCU website for more information on UCU's progress on the Framework Negotiations - see www.bbk.ac.uk/ucu/campaigns/SLHP

Best wishes,

UCU FNG team

Clem Cardoso
Mike Berlin,
Rebecca Gumbrell-McCormick,
Simon Berhman,
Simon Hewitt.
Trevor Fenner

»Go to Hourly Paid / Sessional Lecturer's home page

Higher Education White Paper/ "no confidence" motion by Birkbeck's Academic Board

Birkbeck's Academic Board calls on the Government to suspend its implementation of the HE White Paper

Birkbeck's Academic Board on 16 November passed a 'no confidence' motion on the government's policy for higher education.

Professor John Kelly introduced the original motion arguing that the White Paper was a shambles, reflecting ministerial arrogance and delivering an even more polarised HE sector.
'The Academic Board of Birkbeck College has no confidence in the policies of the Minister for Science and Higher Education David Willetts. We call on the government to pause its implementation of the White Paper, which has the potential to inflict great and irreversible damage to Higher Education in the UK.'

Professor Julian Swann tabled an alternative motion in absentia which was seconded by Professor Sue Jackson.
'The Academic Board - whilst recognising progress in addressing longstanding inequities in the treatment of part-time students and their access to financial support - believes it is time to establish a genuinely positive, progressive and inclusive framework for Higher Education.'

After various interventions in favour of the original motion, and some in qualified support of Professor Swann's amended version, the latter motion was defeated by 26 votes to 18.

Professor Kelly was invited by the Master to withdraw the original motion in order to allow for a new motion to be voted upon, but the invitation was declined. Proposals were then made for an amended version of the original motion, chiefly aimed at addressing concerns that the naming of Willetts in the motion could jeopardise the College's efforts to lobby government in defense of part-time undergraduate students.

A final, amended version of the original motion was proposed and carried near-unanimously*.

'The Academic Board of Birkbeck College has no confidence in the policies of the government as expressed in the White Paper on Higher Education.
We call on the government to pause its implementation of the White Paper, because it has the potential to inflict great and irreversible damage to Higher Education in the UK.
We further call on the Government:
- to recognise fully the significant and growing contribution of the part-time sector, and to build on the momentum that has started to move part-time students from the margins to the mainstream;
- and to work with the sector to create a framework that is fair, supporting student diversity but also, at its heart, flexible, seamlessly supporting the reality of diverse patterns of study, different paces of study, and different ages for study.
In short to organise Higher Education for the future, dismantling the barriers to opportunity, progression, and participation that remain from the past.'

The Times Higher has reported the no confidence vote - you can read the article on-line here.

* There was just one vote against from an Academic Board member who felt the motion was not sufficiently strong in its criticism of David Willetts, the Minister for Science and Higher Education.

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Birkbeck and Bloomsbury Unions Against the Cuts

Birkbeck UCU is part of B²UAC - Birkbeck Unions Against the Cuts and Bloomsbury Unions Against the Cuts - who are campaigning together with Bloomsbury Fightback to challenge present government policies which will have such a disatrous effect on higher education and on society generally.

You can find out more about Bloomsbury Fightback here

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Industrial action on pensions suspended pending negotiations

UCU action produces partial progress

Industrial action (including Action Short of a Strike) has been suspended pending negotiations with the employers' representatives.

You can link to the circular here (pdf version) or here (rtf version). Attached to the circular are:

An appendix (Appendix 1) table comparing the 'old' USS scheme with the imposed CARE scheme and the TPS Heads of Agreements
The text of a letter which will shortly be sent to the Master, informing him that industrial action is suspended from Wednesday 15 February.

Click here for a report of Birkbeck UCU's 30 January Branch General Meeting which briefed Nick Pronger, Birkbeck UCU's representative to the UCU conference on 31 January which took the decision to suspend the action. Nick will be reporting on the January 31 conference in a new Branch Newsletter which will be out shortly.

Above: Birkbeck UCU members (present and future!) on the picket outside Birkbeck's Torrington Square entrance on 30 November

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UCU AGM 2011 - report and resolutions

UCU AGM on Tuesday 7 June.

The UCU AGM was held on Tuesday 7 June - There was a large turnout of members - thankyou everyone for coming.

The Presidents' report included a summary of work over the past year, including

negotiations on College policies and changes to the contractual and customary conditions of employment of academic and academic- related staff
consultations on redundancies within Birkbeck
representation of individual members on personal cases
the situation of sessional lecturers and the (lack of) progress on Framework Negotiations
recent industrial action relating to pensions and pay

A new UCU Branch Committee and Officers were elected: - see www.bbk.ac.uk/ucu/contact/

Three resolutions were passed:

Motion on the New College of the Humanities
Motion to support Bahraini students at Birkbeck
Motion to support the Defend the Right to Protest Campaign

Reports were received from our Regional UCU Officers, Andy Young and Barry Jones, on the forthcoming ballot on industrial action in the autumn.

Agenda for the 2011 AGM

Minutes from the 2010 AGM

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Birkbeck UCU

General Meeting 30 January Pensions Dispute - Report

Escalation or suspension? Report on Birkbeck UCU General Meeting 30th January 1 - 2 pm Room 320 Malet Street

Background; where we are now on pensions?

Debate

Conclusion

New College of the Humanities

Birkbeck UCU Resolution on the New College of Humanities

Birkbeck UCU dismisses Cameron's health & safety claims

Hourly Paid ('Sessional') negotiations - an update from your UCU representatives

Higher Education White Paper/ "no confidence" motion by Birkbeck's Academic Board

Birkbeck's Academic Board calls on the Government to suspend its implementation of the HE White Paper

Birkbeck and Bloomsbury Unions Against the Cuts

Birkbeck and Bloomsbury Unions Against the Cuts

Industrial action on pensions suspended pending negotiations

UCU action produces partial progress

UCU AGM 2011 - report and resolutions

UCU AGM on Tuesday 7 June.

Escalation or suspension? Report on Birkbeck UCU General Meeting 30^th January 1 - 2 pm Room 320 Malet Street