When we take to the picket line on Thursday, we strengthen a broad fight for our pensions and against our declining real pay. This intersects with growing casualisation, gender and race pay gaps, and crushing workloads across the sector. The UCU’s report ‘Counting the costs of casualisation in higher education’ (June 2019) demonstrated the scale of precarity … Continue reading Counting the costs of casualisation culture at Queen Mary
UUK USS Consultation – Open Letter to Chair and Principal
We have been alerted by other branches to a consultation by UUK on the USS negotiations. This letter (pdf) has been sent to both the Chair of Council and the Prinicipal urging them to push UUK to find common ground with UCU on the pensions dispute, and reminding them that the issues of pay, workload, … Continue reading UUK USS Consultation – Open Letter to Chair and Principal
Why Are We Striking?
British higher education is being destroyed by marketisation. Students suffer vast fee increases and higher living costs, forcing many to work virtually full-time jobs to survive. On campus, they encounter packed seminar rooms and overcrowded libraries, with overworked, stressed-out staff struggling to provide the help that students need. Staff pay and pensions are continually … Continue reading Why Are We Striking?
Tier 2 visa holders and non-members can strike
Tier Two visa holders and staff who are not members of the union can take part in lawful industrial action (and our forthcoming strike is lawful). The Home Office guidance for sponsors of tier two and tier five visa holders makes it clear that time away from work for lawful does not count toward any … Continue reading Tier 2 visa holders and non-members can strike
A Message to Students from QMUCU
Downloadable pdf of QMUCU flyer for students
Industrial Action in February and March
As you may have seen, UCU has announced 14 further strike days across 74 UK universities. The timetable has been designed to escalate and provide opportunities for management to conclude negotiations and end the dispute. The dates for Queen Mary are: Thursday 20 & Friday 21 February (QMUL week 5) Monday 24, Tuesday 25 … Continue reading Industrial Action in February and March
Stand with SOAS – No University should be left to “fail”
QMUCU are horrified by the decision of SOAS management to drastically cut the fractional staff budget and to suspend research leave. No member of staff – especially the most vulnerable ones on precarious contracts – should be held responsible for deficits caused by the introduction of a cut-throat market logic into higher education. No university should be … Continue reading Stand with SOAS – No University should be left to “fail”
Actions Short of a Strike Action Guidance
UCU’s eight days of strike action showed university managers that staff and students have had enough of marketised, managerialist higher education. We have had enough of sky-high fees, extracted from indebted students, being diverted to flashy buildings, management pay and bureaucracy. We have had enough of 25-30% of teaching being done by colleagues on casualised … Continue reading Actions Short of a Strike Action Guidance
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