Dear All

Colleagues are contacting us to express their anger at the way this dispute is being handled by senior management. Please read these:

” I am a new GTA. I am in my first year of my scholarship and was so excited to start here. However, I do feel that the way this action is being handled by management, refects badly on the insitution that I have so recently joined. The strength of UCU members’s resolve in this dispute is inspiring. There is so much at stake. I am completely disollusioned by the approach adopted by management. Their approach to striking GTAs is terrible – I can barely make ends meet on £12000 per year, and now they threaten to cut my pay when I take strike action.”

– GTA

“The University of Kent has a reputation as a good employer and this was one of the reasons I came to Kent. However, management’s reaction to the strike action has challenged this reputation. I have spoken to many colleagues and I can say that the view that management is acting in a highly damaging way towards its staff is very widespread. I hope that management will take swift action to back down from their position with regards to ASOS and treatment of GTAs, and other disproportionate responses. If not, there is a very real threat that working relationships will be damaged in the longer term. As a result of all of this, I am starting to look at the job market. It is so shortsighted to put staff in this position

– Lecturer

” I am angry about the general environment in which this dispute is taking place. For instance, last week, we received information encouraging us to take early retirement, if our research isn’t going so well. How can we keep up the rate of research they want in the current environment of doing more and more, with fewer resources? The signal that is being sent out to staff, is that we just don’t need you. We don’t feel valued. This scheme is voluntary now, but in 5 years – who knows? They may make it compulsory. So, they are cutting pensions, cutting job security, and our pay is really not very good. I am angry. ”

– Lecturer

“This is indeed way beyond the pensions dispute. 60% of academics are employed in the gig economy of casualised contracts , and are stuck there, despite being very well qualified. Our pensions will be peanuts as our pay is. If we strike we risk being victimised by being offered no further work.”

– HPL

“The proposed changes to USS will have the greatest impact on people just starting careers in the universities sector. Cutting that pipeline, by further disincentivising such careers, seems the most likely course of action to bring about the exact collapse of the sector that was the concern underlying these proposals.”
– Lecturer

“I have to admit I was undecided about whether to take strike action – that is, until I saw the vile message on the HR website, detailing the way that our new VC proposes to deal with our dispute. That decided me. It is completely unacceptable. This amounts to a threat to cut our pay twice – first for striking and second for action short of a strike. It is an open admission that if we work to contract we are in breach of contract – an open admission that none of us can possibly ever complete our work in a 37.5 hour week, and that they expect us routinely to work several hours each day beyond an 7.5 hour day. As a direct result of this information, I am actively looking for other employment. I think our VC is doing a great service to this strike by using these strong arm tactics.”

– Professor

If you would like to call and give us a quote to use, please do so. We encourage all members, whatever stage of their careers, or whether academic or professional services staff to speak to one of us

Best

Sian, Owen, and Mark
UCU Branch Officers