UNIVERSITY and college lecturers are taking action in defence of their jobs, pay and pensions.
They will be taking part in strike action next Tuesday October 14, along with council workers and teachers. In its latest campaign update, on October 3, the University and College Union outlined upcoming action.
‘1. USS dispute – defend your pension
‘The ballot regarding USS, to defend your pensions, opened on Wednesday (1 October). The proposals include the closure of the final salary section of USS, the move of all members into an inferior career average scheme, a £40,000 earnings cap above which benefits will not apply, and a new defined contribution pot where the income would depend upon investment performance and would not be guaranteed.
‘All USS branches have now received campaigns materials. You can view our materials and access resources here. Ballot papers should begin to arrive with members from today. On Wednesday 8 October we will notify members of a form via which they can request a duplicate ballot paper if theirs has not arrived.
‘Please do not attempt to request a duplicate prior to that date. Please get involved in helping your branch and your union secure a high turnout and a strong YES vote.
‘2. FE members in England to strike on Tuesday 14 October
‘The union’s further education committee (FEC) has agreed to call strike action on Tuesday 14 October after further education members in England rejected the 2014/15 1% pay offer.
‘Campaign materials have been dispatched to branches, you can view them here. Members will join colleagues in other public sector unions, providing the opportunity for coordinated regional rallies and demonstrations.
‘3. UK falls down international university rankings table
‘The UK has slipped down a league table ranking the world’s best universities. The new rankings show Asian institutions continue their rise, backed by strong government financial support.
‘UCU said sustained investment was needed if the UK was to remain an important player on the global stage. It also said that staff needed to be properly rewarded to prevent the best and brightest being tempted to move abroad.
‘4. Anti-casualisation day of action: Wednesday 5 November 2014
‘UCU is holding a day of action against casualised contracts on Wednesday 5 November. This will be an opportunity for UCU members and branches to put pressure on politicians and employers to tackle the scandalous levels of casualised employment in post-secondary education.
‘We will have more details on how you can help support the day of action soon, but all branches have been asked to organise events so contact your officers and find out what is being planned.
‘5. Britain Needs A Pay Rise: TUC national demonstration Saturday 18 October 2014
‘UCU members will be joining the TUC march and rally on 18 October in London calling for fairer pay and a fairer economic recovery. The march starts from Embankment at 11am and will end with a rally in Hyde Park. Please see the False Economy website for coach transport details.
‘6. The fight continues at Lambeth
‘Following the standing down of five weeks’ strike action at the end of the summer term, a new ballot opened at Lambeth College on Monday (29 September) which called for further industrial action.
‘Talks have been scheduled with the employer and UCU members are determined to continue their resolve in the fight against inferior contracts. Please send messages of support to .
‘7. Research recommends overhaul of professionalism in higher education
‘Research published yesterday by the Higher Education Academy (HEA) highlights that career paths for academics are becoming increasingly differentiated and that the needs to address changing professional development needs of staff.
‘The report recommends working with UCU and other relevant and supportive bodies, to “promote a national discussion about professionalism in higher education and how it can best be enhanced”.
‘It says any discussion must take account of the significant changes that are occurring, and just emerging, in higher education.’
‘8. Human rights in Bahrain
UCU has raised concerns about human rights in Bahrain and in particular the treatment of our colleagues in the Bahrain Teachers Association.
Defend Maryam Al-Khawaja by David Binns (UCU London Retired Members) Maryam Al-Khawaja, a leading member of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR), was arrested in late August as she tried to enter Bahrain to visit her father, Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja. Abdulhadi, himself former president of BCHR, is presently on hunger strike while serving a life sentence imposed by the National Safety Court, a Bahraini military entity, for human rights activities.
‘BCHR, together with the Gulf Center for Human Rights (GCHR), has been prominent in support of the Bahrain Teachers Association (BTA), a body which came under state attack for supporting the movement for democratic reform that surfaced in Bahrain in 2011.
‘Over a year ago the University and College Union (UCU) passed a motion, put forward by the London Retired Members branch, condemning the repression and urging solidarity activity both in Britain (a key supporter and underwriter of the mass murderous Bahraini regime) and internationally.
‘The recent arrest of Maryam Al-Khawaja, together with the incarceration of her father and numerous other regime critics, leaves no doubt that the essential work remains to be done.
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (OPHRD) has summarised the charges against Maryam as ‘assault and battery against on-duty public employees during their performance of official duty’.
OPHRD add: ‘Her lawyer filed a complaint at the Public Prosecution for “assault” alleging that Ms. Al-Khawaja was injured during her arrest and presented medical reports proving bruises in her right arm. Her lawyer also reported that he was not able to speak with her before the hearing, and her family were denied entry in the courtroom.
‘Maryam was conditionally released on 18th September and currently is no longer subject to preventive detention. However the charges still stand. Furthermore she is subject to a travel ban and required to guarantee a place of residence.
‘Such are the conditions imposed on Maryam al-Khawaja pending trial on 1st October. Khalid Ibrahim of GCHR is quoted by Index on Censorship as calling on the Bahrain government to “drop the charges and free her without conditions”.
‘This clear minimal demand for the unconditional release of Maryam must be supported. Not only would it be a step toward the overcoming of gross injustice against one person. In the broader context such a step would without doubt further challenge the pattern of regime harassment and victimisation of critics.
‘As such it would contribute to resistance to the wider, imperially sustained assault on trade unionists and rights activists in Bahrain and in the Gulf states more generally.
‘As much as anywhere within that region, democratic and labour movement issues intertwine in Bahrain to the point to being inseparable.
‘Trade unions, it follows, should intervene to both raise awareness of the character of the regime and to organise specific solidarity activity – especially in Britain, where core elements within the state and ruling class move in lockstep with the Bahraini tyranny.
‘Time is short, so as a matter of urgency, raise opposition to the trial of Maryam al-Khawaja in your union branch. . . . call for the charges to be dropped and for a union-led international investigation of ongoing Bahraini state repression and abuse of rights, including those of trade unionists.’
