A statement from Professor Tim Blackman, Vice-Chancellor of The Open University regarding the recent employment tribunal judgment

[AlphariusOmegron]

I assure you hell has frozen over at the OU for this to happen. Staff will quit…
https://ounews.co/around-ou/ou-speaks-out/a-statement-from-professor-tim-blackman-vice-chancellor-of-the-open-university-regarding-the-recent-employment-tribunal-judgment/

I’m glad they’ve all had to read how they come across to others.

Agreed! We saw some of those names and witnesses in Phoenix's tribunal, didn't we.

So thrilled with themselves and their guerilla activities as The Hive.

Happily declaring that none of them recalled who'd drafted the Open letter and all of them had somehow lost the relevant WhatsApp when it came to taking the stand and speaking their truths and motivations under the open scrutiny of a tribunal setting.

Didn't pass muster with the tribunal attendees. Likewise with those who delivered the judgment.

They may well plot and the UCU might well support them. This is a true existential challenge for the OU and its survival.

I hope the judgement and this response to it helps Laura Favaro’s case.

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/4776028-dr-laura-favaro-is-taking-city-university-to-an-employment-tribunal?page=4

The investigation promised by Blackman could massively benefit from the research already done by Laura into experiences of feminist and GC researchers.

There is something simultaneously pleasing but also painfully ironic about seeing academic officialdom come to realise they need to look into this so very late in the day.

there is quite the possibility of a lot of OU people quitting Monday morning. Lots of press over the weekend, even Jordan Peterson tweeted about it and a new guardian article today.
wonder if those 380 open letter names will get disciplinary actions now….

there is quite the possibility of a lot of OU people quitting Monday morning

Is this your speculation or coming from staff's social media, please? For either, why would you expect them to quit?

I’m not a university graduate but there is no mention in this statement of believing the science or, umm, you know, reality.

I often wonder if bridges built these days by recent graduates should come with the warning “ we don’t believe the maths”.

Based purely off 380 odd people (letter signatories) being effectively told that they harassed someone out of a job to be honest. This is an about face from the universities previous position up until the day of the judgement. Staff will feel a bit betrayed

They're not going to quit unless they have other jobs to go to. They won't be disciplined either. The OU will do its absolute best to pretend the whole thing never happened, and everyone will go about their jobs as normal.

If there hasn’t been this Friday afternoon press release I’d agree.

I suspect you're correct.

However, pretending it never happened is at odds with the rhetoric about the major independent review of the internal working environment. I wonder if the review is part of a settlement with JP? If so, I'd be surprised if there isn't a timescale for the findings and, with that, a timescale to respond and implement at least the bromide of 'staff training'.

I've no idea how OU will cope with academic freedom of speech or thought in the interim.

He sounds like an adult, unusually for ou. If he was one of the witnesses did he sound like an adult then? In which case where has he been and what has he been doing?
I don’t know if I’d quit if my name were on that letter, given how hard it is to fire academics it would seem like a terrible time to be looking for a job and having to defend any comments made about my lack of professionalism and harassment activities in the judgment. ‘So tell me, do you still engage in bullying staff out of their jobs? It’s just that we err frown on that sort of thing here’

This. If you're a signatory to a letter that's been proved in a court of law to have harassed a colleague I'd expect getting another job might be quite tricky. Most decent academic jobs have plenty of applicants to choose from.

Not on the witness list that I can see.

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/4923923-prof-jo-phoenix-vs-the-ou-employment-tribunal-thread-8?utm_campaign=thread&utm_medium=share&utm_source=copylink

Did issue the first response to the judgement that was worded in an unfortunate manner and mentioned an appeal.

I posted on another thread that I suspect the OUs legal advisers have read the judgement and not found any grounds on which to appeal. This is likely the first step in trying to reach a settlement before the remedy hearing.