On Wednesday 25^th and Thursday 26^th May members of the University and College Union (UCU) are taking industrial action in response to the 1.1% pay offer made by their employer body, Universities and Colleges Employers' Association (UCEA).

UCU members at the University of Salford will take part in this action but the University has made assurances that examinations during this period will not be affected and all exams will happen according to the timetable communicated to students.

In accordance with Union policy we have collected statements from the University of Salford branch of UCU and the University itself.

NUS has provided information and further analysis of the situation on their Connect website.

Statement from Salford UCU

The Student Experience and the Staff Experience - Common Interest

Extraordinarily in 2015, HESA (Higher Education Statistics Agency) statistics, show almost as high an amount of financial expenditure going on 'non-pay', as ' pay!. We argue that more should be spent on staff pay and decent contracts, to improve the student experience. In the 1970s the figure on non-pay was nearer to 30%. Universities could be argued to be becoming less efficient, due to money being bled out to 'special projects', loan repayments, outsourcing, consultants, bonuses, business travel, high end expenses, buildings, and building reserves. We can and do unite with our students and wholeheartedly agree that they shouldn't be paying exorbitant fees. Students are entitled to quality education and staff are entitled to decent levels of pay. Both are interdependent. It is front line staff who provide their education. Student fees and the resultant enormous debt is not consistent with what we argue should be the case for students. Simultaneously it doesn’t go on pay. Staff pay in real terms represents a loss. Staff lose out as workers, students, and parents of dependant students. Trade Unions like UCU believe that landing students with mountains of debt is not just immoral, it is financially unsustainable. Students will have a common interest with Trade Unionists in defending education, improving pay and abolishing fees.

Gender and Pay

Equality is an issue for all of us in the Salford Branch, and not just those women and men who research, teach, publish and consider themselves to be activists to the cause of Gender equality. Figures show that female academics on average face a shortfall of more than £6,000. Many are increasingly angry about employers' failure to address gender inequality and doubt there is any commitment to equality outside of UCU. The strike is an opportunity to demonstrate your concern through activism, for Gender equality. Don’t miss it, join a picket line. A woman’s place is on the Picket Line: trade unions themselves are having to transform due to the movement’s greater numbers of women and needing to remain relevant.

Casualisation

Those on Precarious contracts, which number almost half of the HE workforce, should be transferred to permanent contracts, with the rights that go with those contracts. Staff who stand on the edge of disposal every year, should be focussed on the year ahead and not on finding another job, or signing on. We at Salford UCU argue that the millions spent on Consultants, Agency Workers, etc. should be used to fund permanent contracts. Salford UCU in the past have taken strong action against redundancies, we find the effects of casualisation on staff to be unnecessarily wasteful and harsh. We as you know, took out a legal case against the employer on behalf of HPL staff dismissals.

Austerity is not Inevitable

Austerity can be driven locally, as well as in part by Government funding. We are not identical to the Public Sector. UCU members complain of the unstoppable, non-reflective Senior University managers who are narrowly obsessed on competition for higher student fees. UCU members complain of the market driven austerity, the obsession with not just campus expansion, but with building more and more campuses. Gambling on new courses without careful risk assessment, closing beacon coursed without the same care, the failure to engage the stakeholders in decision making and planning, and poor consultation with staff, are all viewed as part and parcel of the same problem. Making decisions consistent with using a 'roulette wheel', top down, and where senior leaders are too egotistical to take challenges and value conforming rather than critical enquiry is not helping. Decision making without reflecting on the long term needs of the population, and the harm attributable to the commodification of education, and staff, is damaging the sector and making those of us who work in Universities question our identity as educators.

Our claim is not all about pay, it is linked to equality, decent contracts and defending education. We all as staff and Trade Unionists, are less and less consulted or listened to. This is apparent both in our Branch casework reports, and the results of the recent staff survey. We have a great opportunity to demonstrate our concerns on the 25^th and 26^th May 2016.

In Solidarity, and on behalf of the Branch Officers and Salford UCU Committee.

Statement from the University of Salford

A message from the Pro Vice Chancellor (Academic) to our students about planned strike action

You may be aware that a two-day strike, on Wednesday 25^th May and Thursday 26^th May, has been called by one of the trade unions representing University employees. The action is being taken as part a UK-wide dispute over this year’s pay negotiations, and efforts are being made to resolve the dispute by national representatives of higher education employees and employers. I am writing to reassure you that the University has put in place measures to minimise or avoid any impact on you. 

We are confident that most of our employees will continue to put the interests of our students first, and work as normal on Wednesday and Thursday. Further, where employees do take strike action, the University is making every effort to ensure all scheduled teaching and examinations sessions continue uninterrupted. You are our highest priority and we will do everything we can to ensure you are not disadvantaged.

During the two days of strike action it is important that you continue to:

• Attend scheduled lectures and other teaching sessions
• Submit assignments by the specified deadlines
• Attend scheduled examinations and assessments

We are working with the Students’ Union, and we shall keep you updated of developments. In the meantime, if you have any queries, please contact your programme leader or email studentlife@salford.ac.uk.

Kind regards,
Professor Paul Rowlett
Pro Vice Chancellor (Academic)