Anyone in the UCU?

[Closetlibrarian]

And striking at end of Feb?

I joined UCU after the last strike, so this will be my first. Even though I voted in favour it, I'm now in an utter quandary. I have an absolute monster of a semester coming up and I'm fretting about all the lectures, tutorials, etc, I'll have to cancel as part of the strike.

If you've gone on strike before how did you present it to your students so that they didn't just get really pissed off with you for cancelling lectures (that we're then, according to UCU, not supposed to reschedule)?

Also, how did you mange with the loss of income? I'm the 'breadwinner', so 14 days of strike action is going to massively impact us (i.e. I'm not sure we'll be able to pay our bills).

And in fact, given that you’re doing down the strike and the union here, perhaps you should make it clear that you’re coming to this thread not from the perspective of an academic, but as the HR Director of a university - and so probably the person who is sending out threatening emails to staff.

Very good, hope the added flavour helps.

Well, I started my career as an academic, and I'm part of an academic community. One of those places that encourages discussion and debate. No "threatening" staff either - just keen to make sure colleagues are properly advised.

Discussion and debate are only possible if those who are participating do so in good faith.

Totally agree.

I voted for action short of a strike. Mostly because I don't think strike action is a good weapon for academics.

I'm relatively well-paid (for an academic) but I'm really worried at the prospect of losing half a month's salary. I'm single, so no other income to carry me through (and why even a good salary doesn't go very far in an expensive area with a whacking big mortgage because it's only ever been me saving, paying mortgage etc). It'll wipe out about a half of my rainy day/essential things to do on the house budget, and some.

OTOH, I looked at records I'd kept from 10 years ago about pension forecasts, and what I'm forecast now - it's just over half - so I've 'lost' around 45% of my projected pension - and that's with paying the maximum I can pay - AVCs, extra matched 1% and so on.

Well & truly screwed over, whichever way we look at it.

When I started in this game (about 25 years ago) it was accepted we swapped stonking salaries for the equivalent qualifications (I remember being paid as an SL less than my lawyer sister's PA was paid in a big City law firm) for job security and a pretty comfortable pension.

We've lost both those things, and our working autonomy is increasingly compromised.

Yet there's nothing else I can or want to do ... go figure.

Another one who is also worried and considering not striking despite voting for it. Rock and a hard place springs to mind.

OP here. In case anyone is still wobbling about the strike, this is a reminder of why it's important www.theguardian.com/education/2018/jan/30/university-staff-are-right-to-be-striking

"Pension cuts are estimated at £200,000, with the worst hit being the youngest. The next generation of university academics, already bearing huge student debts, now face the deepest cut in pensions. There is no justification for this pension attack. By any normal commercial measure, USS’s finances are strong. Assets have grown by an average of 12% a year for the last five years, and it has a record number of staff paying into the scheme. Actuaries report that USS could pay pensioners directly from its income for 40 years without touching its assets"

Thanks for this!

Any experienced HoDs able to share advice on how to handle all this? I feel put in the worst possible position and feeling very stressed! Have been asked to find out from colleagues whether they striking or not (even though they under no obligation to say) and then report back to School by end of week to say which teaching will be disrupted and what mitigating action will be taken? Feels like this is undermining action but presumably I can’t say no as we not actually on strike yet? Students mostly bemused and not hostile but I’ve worked so hard to try and build up collegial staff-student culture and I feel like this is going to destroy all trust if it goes the distance...

dimpanico - You are not alone. DH is also a HoD and is very, very stressed about this. The union have been worse than useless in providing any advice, and the rep has actually been excluding him from emails, despite the fact that he's a member. He feels pretty hurt by that.

We've been thinking a lot about how to handle the reports up to the school. I think DH is going to phrase the question very subtly, in such so that it's clear that it would be inadvisable for people to tell him in advance (since they don't actually have to). That effectively would mean he can't put into place any mitigation measures (which would fall disproportionately on non-striking staff - there are equity issues there too).

It's very difficult to know whether HoDs will even be able to strike - it used to be more straightforward because 100% of staff were unionised, but it's now more like 50-60%. It's hard to balance duty of care to non-striking staff with obligations of solidarity to those striking. DH has never crossed a picket in his life and is really agonising over it. It is basically a nightmare scenario for anyone in management because there's all kinds of conflicts of interests.

(I really wonder why this action. Wouldn't an admissions and marking boycott have been just as effective, and much less divisive? Can't help thinking the union have massively shot themselves in the foot here - if the action goes on for any time, and bosses play hardball, then I think support will fade away pretty rapidly simply because the ask - losing 3/4 of a month's salary - will throw many people into medium or even long term financial difficulties).

I agree that an admissions and marking boycott would be at least as - and probably more - effective than the strikes planned.

Although, that said, my horrible university would dock 100% of your pay for every day of a marking/admissions boycott. So that would probably be worse finiancially.

Any experienced HoDs able to share advice on how to handle all this? I feel put in the worst possible position and feeling very stressed! Have been asked to find out from colleagues whether they striking or not (even though they under no obligation to say) and then report back to School by end of week to say which teaching will be disrupted and what mitigating action will be taken?

Are you a member of UCU?

Even as HoD, you don't have to do this. I never did.

As far as I understand it, colleagues on strike have to tell HR, but you are under no obligation to do so. Colleagues do not have to tell anyone whether or not they are a UCU/any other union member. Of course, only UCU members should strike, and - as we've learnt here - you don't have to strike on all the days.

JUst resist passively, let that email go to the bottom of your mailbox.

Although, that said, my horrible university would dock 100% of your pay for every day of a marking/admissions boycott. So that would probably be worse finiancially.

Yes, so would mine. Even though I'm employed on a traditional 'three-legged contract' of teaching, admin, & research.

I am also in the UCU and I am also striking for probably all the days (I may have one day with an external meeting which is not at a university site and while some have suggested I go, but mark myself striking, I am pretty sure my expenses/insurance wouldn't be covered if I do that).
If I did have a heavy teaching load, frankly I'd be a bit less bothered because we have done this before and we've just eliminated a proportion of the questions from the exams, communicated this to students, and all have been fairly accepting (less to revise from their POV).
But this is my non-teaching term, though I have research project students to supervise (but they are all continuing next term so I will set them stuff to do before the strike, and look at it after, which will marginally increase my workload but not too much).
And I have grant deadlines (I'm desperately trying to get them done before the strike - fortunately only fairly short outline-type applications) and as I say I'm quite involved with an external body (impact type stuff) which will not be understanding in the slightest.

We are just going to have to suck up the salary loss - though it's hard, we've managed before with huge nursery bills every single month, I'm doing some economising, and planning cheap things for the days off (the garden needs some work that I may be able to avoid paying for someone to do). I have a little leeway in that I was planning to take unpaid parental leave for our summer holiday but I'm going to save up my AL that would have been for half term/Easter holidays and find extra childcare for those days.
I feel this is REALLY important and fortunately with a large proportion of my department in the UCU, we get more sympathy (as the students see more than just one person isn't there).
I completely disagree that the UCU have not engaged, our pension situation is better than many similar schemes due to our workforce structure (bulge in the 60s who are retired, yes, but then a bulge in the 90s/00s who are all still contributing and will not retire till most of the 60s bulge - which wasn't as big - are gone).

(I think our HoD is a UCU member and is talking to us, but not to their boss)

I'm not in UCU but in Unite as I progressed from a more technical background. I'm not sure where this leaves me the Unite has said nothing about the strikes, and the UCU meeting that I went too didn't know what the position was for people in other unions. However I am in the USS pension scheme so the pension changes do effect me.

I'm just not sure how effective striking is in the academic sector. I recently read the 'how much is in your pension pot' thread in chat and someone who works on the railways has an amazing pension and there was chat about the importance of unions and how the RMT have done wonders for their conditions. However a strike by railway workers has a huge impact compared to academics. As a non teaching academic the strike only really causes pain to me. A sign of solidarity but essentially futile.

It doesn't help that my Uni is not very unionised at all. I don't know definite numbers but I suspect only about 10%. And the representatives that I have seen from the UCU do seem very hardline. Staunch unionists who don't even seem to want to listen to others opinions and want to pick a fight over anything, which doesn't make them very likeable, regardless of the cause.

So I don't know what I'll do. Perhaps strike for the first couple of days and see what happens.

In previous strikes our HoD have emailed to ask but as the Union advised, you don't have to reply or tell anyone you are taking strike action until after the event.

I guess this also prevents the HoD or senior management from being able to get other staff to cover or to put the burden on non-striking staff.

Besides, some courses are so specialised that it's impossible to get someone else to give the lectures...

Thanks all! That’s useful to hear. Yes, I’m UCU. I’m trying to think of imaginative ways to reassure panicking students and not break their trust without undermining the action. Wondering about holding extra office hours on non-strike days? Have passed on request from management but made it clear to colleagues they don’t have to reply. But am wondering if I’ll get to stage where I need to ask staff to tell their students whether classes will be running or not? Don’t students have a right to know? I was asked by students in seminar today if I’m striking (honestly said I didn’t know) and I think going to be getting a lot more questions this week.

Does anyone think there’s chance of a last-minute resolution?

You shouldn't be doing extra work.
We have generally announced to students in advance (they are not your employer!)

No, but they want to know whether specific classes will be cancelled, and I don’t know what to say...I do feel very bad about the impact on them, and that I owe them clarity.

I've told students that there's a strike planned and that sessions will be cancelled if so. I have not told my line managers or anyone else I'm striking. I have not asked anyone else if they're striking. I would absolutely never expect non-striking staff to cover my teaching while I'm on strike.

Like another poster, I'm just covering less material in my modules. Students don't seem too bothered by that prospect. I obviously won't be assessing them on stuff we haven't covered, so no real issue.

Once I accepted that I really got over my initial panic about all this (I'm the OP!). And I also realised that I could never actually 'cross the picket line'. For what? Because 'I feel bad'? About what, I asked myself? I'd feel worse about undermining the strike.

I'm completely torn. Not in UCU but teaching still feels like crossing a picket which I'm not in love with, and I also don't love the idea of asking students to cross a picket either. I need to cover all the material planned as my course maps to a professional exam and the students won't be exempt from that unless I examine every part of the course. I'm going on maternity the week after the last strikes so no capacity to make the material up.

I think I'll end up teaching but I don't know. If I were in UCU, I wouldn't have voted to strike at the time the vote was called as I felt there was plenty to be done to keep the scheme open. Now the decision has been made to close the DB part of USS, I would vote to strike, so I probably should. But...Argh.