UCU has called a series of pay briefing meetings at the end of September to discuss the stepping up of the pay dispute in HE. Other unions in HE are now balloting for action over pay. UCU Left supporters should seek to ensure there is a discussion in their branches prior to the pay briefings and we urge supporters to raise the motion below in their committee and branch meetings.
https://www.ucu.org.uk/article/8422/UCU-response-to-UCEAs-latest-final-offer
Proposed motion on HE Pay campaign
This UCU branch notes:
1. the most recent ‘final’ offer from the employers body UCEA. This branch believes that the offer is totally unsatisfactory. However, the very fact that the employers have made another ‘final’ offer, which includes some very small and totally inadequate movement to talks on the gender pay and casualisation when they said they could do nothing on these issues shows that our industrial action is having an effect and is hitting the employers. Otherwise they would not have made another offer. We therefore need to step up the action.
2. our pay demand was made on the basis of addressing the continued drop in real pay, rises in National Insurance contributions, rises in pension contributions and cuts in pension provision.
3. members have been inspired by the desire of UCU to place equality issues, specifically, the gender pay gap and abuse of casualised contracts, as central components to our pay demands.
4. the UCU pay briefings at the end of this month provide branches with an opportunity to discuss restarting and escalating the pay campaign since the action at the beginning of the summer.
5. Other campus trade unions including EIS, UNITE and UNISON are currently engaged in balloting members to join the pay dispute.
This UCU branch believes:
1. UCEA’s latest pay offer fails to address any of the elements of the pay claim. The employers have to demonstrate action to end the gender pay gap and the abuse of casualised contracts rather than talk about it.
2. Escalating industrial action including strike action is required to ensure a fair settlement of the pay demand is achieved.
This UCU branch resolves:
1. to reject the ‘latest’ offer from the employers.
2. to call on UCU to restart the pay campaign with new publicity and material focusing upon the continued discrimination faced by women and casualised staff in Higher Education.
3. to mandate our delegates to the pay briefing meeting to call for an escalation of the pay campaign with a return to industrial action including strike action leading to action short of strike this semester.
4. For UCU to name dates for strike action beginning the end of October and escalating ASOS later in the term.