Anyone else not striking?

[goingpearshaped]

I am not in UCU so not striking. Anyone else? I can sense the divide already between those striking and those not in our dept, I really hate this. Agh, what a mess all round.

Yeah, my partner is in a pre 92 but same subject so I really know first hand the difference in our workloads and the funding gap for research and things that mean his conferences are funded, mine are not so we pay for my attendance (not the hotel though!). I actually teach an additional OU module to cover my research costs Pay seems to be lower as well although it is hard to compare.

Until he met me, he had always been in that strand of 'better' university and cannot now believe he used to moan about workload. I was the same but the other way round. I could not believe his teaching load. And I am expected to produced a 3 or 4 star paper every year or I lose my research hours so it is not as if I can sit back and relax.

So, it is a kick in the teeth to see my younger colleagues (one of whom I know took out a loan to cover rent) left behind by a union who were only ever interested in USS. An agreement on workload that would have seen teaching capped at a maximum of 15 hours a week (for example) would have made a massive difference to us. I wonder how many people in UCU even realise they have colleagues producing research, winning grants, editing journals all while also teaching 18 hours a week in term time. ASOS for me would have meant dropping my editorial roles, losing my research hours because I am not publishing etc.,

I keep meaning to leave so this has pushed me over the edge. Tired of funded PhD students cosplaying poverty because they have to buy their own whiteboard pens. Afinity it is for me I guess.

I do think this shows how one sector wide union is just not appropriate in many cases.

Have to say I did think this when I saw colleagues striking, that one of the reasons for the strikes was a pension scheme they’re not in. Because I have no issue with the TPS scheme.

This is the problem with the “four fights” approach. You’re asking people to sacrifice pay for issues that don’t affect them (USS for some, pay at the bottom grade which no UCU member is on) and then screw them over by claiming a win on those issues. I’m in USS and objectively it’s a significantly worse scheme than TPS, but I wouldn’t expect UCU members not in USS to strike for that. I’m pretty sure that there were previous strikes entirely focused on USS which only those at universities in the scheme participated in.

Yes, I think that's right, I'm in TPS and we were balloted separately on conditions - I didn't have anything to say on the USS pension issue that doesn't affect me. I'm relatively new in full-time academic work, but can't see myself staying here at a post-92 or even in HE for another 25+ years. The teaching load (+ high NSS needed, or else!) and overall high quality research etc. expectations are brutal at certain times of year. It's exhausting.

But so far I've not had much luck pivoting to a different/related career (told I'm 'overqualified' in the few interviews I've had). Must keep trying, I suppose.

So is the pay increase off the table then?
It was the case that 3% of it, as I recall, was to be implemented this month, but now the statement says that it will not be. Have I understood that right? Or is it only not implemented whilst the strikes are suspended and negotiations on-going?

I believe any pay increase won’t be before March at the earliest now. The pay dispute is over - stalled, stalemate, impasse, whatever you want to call it. The employers haven’t budged on their last final offer so it’s 5% for most people (if the employers implement it). Strangely enough UCU don’t seem to be mentioning this with their ‘abolition of the lowest rung and revision of the pay scale’ statements - maybe they were hoping no-one would notice they made no progress on pay?

There was an interesting comment on twitter that the employers have now learned that all that is needed to bring a halt to industrial action is to offer the possibility of progress.

Thanks. I hope we don’t end up with less than 5% now somehow. It just seems to me that the employers have been saved implementing the first 3% this month, plus the salary deductions of those striking. Presumably, if the implementation had gone ahead, this would have been taken as the unions accepting the pay negotiations were closed. Whereas the discussion is now on reviewing the pay scale? Curious to see what that brings. It all seems a bit opaque.

@MassiveTit and @moimichme your accounts of working in the post-92 sector are very eye-opening. I also do think that the UCU takes your average RG junior-ish Humanites/SocSci lecturer as their "default" member and doesn't realize that in reality this is percentually a rather small demographic.

"I also do think that the UCU takes your average RG junior-ish Humanites/SocSci lecturer as their "default" member."

Indeed. Most of the discussion seems completely out of touch for STEM subjects in RGs, let alone with wider sector.

"I do think this shows how one sector wide union is just not appropriate in many cases."

Leaving aside the issue of different pension schemes, highly ranked pre 92s are clearly in a fundamentally different financial position that small post 92 institutions. The former have high income from international students etc, while the latter are much more impacted by the decreasing real terms value of the home fee. Claims that "universities can afford bigger pay rises" aren't true for many post 92 institutions.

Meanwhile the highest ranked/richest pre 92s are already quietly implementing pay rises by putting staff further up the nationally agreed scales. My institution is by default starting people 1-2 points further up the scale than they would have done two years ago, to try to reduce the gap between UK and international HE pay scales (at least a little).

My institution is by default starting people 1-2 points further up the scale than they would have done two years ago, to try to reduce the gap between UK and international HE pay scales (at least a little).

We’ve been offering at the top of the scale and they still won’t come. It’s pointless shortlisting any North Americans, they now only apply for U.K. jobs to leverage tenure or chairs at their own institutions. The exchange rate has compounded the real terms pay cuts, so we are never going to recruit academics from overseas in the way we did in the past.

I'm in TPS and at a post 92 uni (Full-time). I did strike and have taken the financial hit so far but am a bit pissed off negotiations over pay seem to have moved down the agenda. Then this morning, I checked my annual salary on the UCU spine and can't match what I get with anything there so am wondering if my employer makes their own pay spine up.

I've partly supported the strike out of having been an hourly paid lecturer in the past and it's shite but I am wondering now about whether taking the financial hit is worth it as there's nothing of benefit for me at all

Are you in London? The salary spine doesn’t take account of the London Weighting.

No, am in north of England

Does it help to note that your annual salary - based on yearly statement in April - would normally include a pay rise starting September, when you move up the scale and get any inflationary rise.

So your annual salary statement won't match a particular point of scale - half of it's on one pay point but the other half may be on the next, and would include a pay rise for inflation in normal years.

Realise this may not be the issue. But I believe we're all on the national pay scale - unless you're a professor anyway.

In-fighting continues:

mobile.twitter.com/SolGamsu/status/1627410117980299265?cxt=HHwWgoC9oai43JUtAAAA

vickyblakeucu.uk/2023/02/19/the-pause-and-ucu-decision-making/

Pensions and post-92s

mobile.twitter.com/_WaqasTufail/status/1626856833649455104?cxt=HHwWgMC94fbq4JMtAAAA

And horrified surprise at unprofessional comportment of the UCU twitter account:

mobile.twitter.com/Simon_P_Hannah/status/1626887741806870529

Yeah I’ve always suspected that the four fights was invented to bring post-92s into the existing uss dispute and drum up support. The demands are so vague, they are basically meaningless. Whilst also being issues no one would disagree with.

I’ve worked at both pre and post 92s and it’s true the issues are very different. As people have said workload is brutal at post 92s. When I first moved institutions I honestly thought they’d forgotten to give me half my work. They are also often financially insecure. The place I worked was very unstable, constant management changes and restructuring. Admin and support staff vanished every restructure as well, while academic roles expanded to include all their jobs too. I can see why people feel exercised to strike at post 92s but not what they are supposed to get out of this particular action.

And this: demo today in front of UCU HQ

mobile.twitter.com/NotesFrom_Below/status/1627333630568587265?cxt=HHwWgoCz0ZTUuZUtAAAA

I did think this would get messy and potentially result in failure, and posters here have pointed out the futility and incoherence of UCU strategy … but what would some Karens from Mumsnet know, eh …

This so succinctly sums up the problem with the UCU approach.

Agreed that the insights into post-92 working conditions are insightful. Thank you

Had to laugh at all the “why bother protesting outside an empty building?” tweets.

@aridapricot

I also do think that the UCU takes your average RG junior-ish Humanites/SocSci lecturer as their "default" member and doesn't realize that in reality this is percentually a rather small demographic.

Yes, and the year's free standard membership for research students with teaching hours must distort that "default" in the same way.

Loads of STEM research students teach, though - possibly more do as part of their studentship due to the need for demonstrators in labs etc. At my institution, Arts/Humanities/SocSci don't have nearly the same number of contact hours with PGR as STEM do (though TBF the STEM groups are larger if you are just talking labs).

This is partly why one union for the whole sector doesn't work because work practices look so different across disciplines.

It's hard to see how we could have multiple unions though - so many unions are merging.
I wonder if STEM PGR students just don't join UCU because they see the focus on grievance studies and think "not for me, I'll just go off and join industry if I don't like what's offered after my PhD". I'd be interested to see the relative membership rates.