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NEWS
UCU is currently taking industrial action over the Employers' unilateral imposition of unnecessary and highly detrimental changes to the USS pension scheme.
All members are requested to "work to contract", and in particular to note that our contracts specify:
" a normal expectation of a 37 hour week at Grade F, and 40 hour week at Grades G and above"
For advice on specific issues, including contracted hours, please read the FAQ file at:
http://defenduss.web.ucu.org.uk/faqs/
If you have questions about the action email ussactionqueries@ucu.org.uk
You can download a door poster now to show your support here: http://defenduss.web.ucu.org.uk/files/2011/09/door-poster-bw3.pdf
For more news and information on the action go to http://defenduss.web.ucu.org.uk/, and see news below.
19 January 2012. UCU achieves breakthrough in pensions negotiations. Following a period of industrial action including both strikes and action short of a strike, the employers have now agreed to move on the following immediate steps:
- first, they have agreed to jointly review the decision to abolish the right of staff age 55 or over to take an unreduced pension. Rather than end in October 2013 as originally imposed, this entitlement will now continue to at least October 2014 to allow the review to conclude
- second, they have agreed to jointly review the USS CARE scheme imposed on new starters last year and compare benefits to that in other public sector pension schemes such as the Teachers Pension Scheme where UCU has been able to negotiate some terms which may be better than in USS. This review will examine issues raised by UCU such as accrual rates, inflation capping and revaluation.
A conference of branches and local associations will take place on 31 January to decide whether to accept the negotiating team's recommendation that UCU suspend its current action in order to participate in the joint reviews.
A General Meeting of the Newcastle UCU branch for all Newcastle UCU members will take place on Wednesday 25 January 2012 at 1pm [venue to follow] to discuss these developments, and to inform and instruct the Newcastle UCU delegates who will be attending the national UCU conference in London on 31 January. Please make every effort to attend.
16 January 2012. New student funding system may require huge tax write off. According to a report in the Sunday Times yesterday, taxpayers could eventually face an annual bill of about £9 billion from unpaid student debt following the introduction of the new higher undergraduate fee system from October 2012. According to research by investment managers Skandia, unless students earn average salaries of more than £60,000 after leaving university, a "significant amount" of their debt will have to be written off, and this will cost the Government £8.7 billion in 2045. The figure is dependent on interest rates and the number of students, but could rise to £9.6 billion.
5 January 2012. Pensions campaign boosts UCU membership. In the run up to the November 30 day of action, UCU saw a surge in membership with over 2,500 people joining in November alone and 800 joining in the two days before the strike. UCU is now growing at a record rate. With the difficult economic climate and the ongoing pensions negotiations, there has never been a more important time to encourage non-members to join, please pass on the link www.ucu.org.uk/join and they can be protected within minutes.
21 December 2011. Update on USS dispute. The ‘work to rule’ in pre-1992 HEIs remains in place and is causing difficulties for employers. The employers have agreed to talks, the terms of reference of which are being established. In the mean time, planning continues in relation to the possible next phase of action. HEC agreed that a meeting of representatives of pre-1992 branches/LAs should take place early in the new year, to discuss developments in the dispute and plans for escalation if the dispute is not resolved.
12 December 2011. Open University staff asked to help pay their students’ fees. Lecturers at the Open University have been asked to help fund disadvantaged students opting for the "Openings" courses. In an email to staff the university said in "these are unprecedented times” they needed staff to help fund opportunities for poorer students. UCU general secretary, Sally Hunt of the University and College Union described the plea to staff a "shattering indictment of government funding policy"
5 December 2011. Vice chancellor announces extra day's holiday. On Friday, the VC announced that to show its appreciation to staff for their contribution to the University's strong showing in the National Student Survey and in various league tables, and to its success in research, the University would provide an additional day's holiday for staff in the current academic year. While this is a welcome gesture, it regrettably comes nowhere near to compensating for the immense loss in real terms income that staff have suffered over recent years, and for the recent detrimental changes to the USS pension scheme. In addition, the University's success has been totally dependent on academic and related staff working way beyond their contracted hours - most lecturers for example work 50-60 hours per week, some even longer. This amounts to an extra 50-100 days per year.
1 December 2011. Day of action a huge success. Many thanks to all the Newcastle UCU members who took part in the strike action yesterday to protest against the damaging and unnecessary changes to the USS pension scheme, and a special thanks to those of you who turned out on a bitterly cold morning to stand on the picket lines. The national "Day of Action" was a great success that sent very clear and strong messages to University managers, and to the government. It was especially nice to receive so much strong support from the student union and from individual students who stood on the picket lines with us and then joined us and other trade unionists on the march and rally through the city later in the day.
If you did take strike action please make sure to record the fact on the University website that has been set up for this purpose, as this is the only way that the University will know that you in fact took part in the action. Even if you did not or could not stay away from work for the day but would still like to make your opposition to the cuts to USS pensions known to the University, then please register your name on the website too. Sadly this will cost a day's pay, but it is of course a price worth paying for a properly funded retirement after many years of dedicated service to the University, teaching, and research. The University has assured us that all of this money will be allocated to support student bursaries for less well off students, so it is money well spent!
24 November 2011. Financial clouds gather over Science City. An article in "The Journal" yesterday reported that plans to begin the development of the Science City site have stalled because of a failure to attract investment from major developers. Newcastle University, along with Newcastle City Council, has invested a huge amount of money into this project, the proposed aim of which is to boost inward investment into high technology commerce in the city, and create jobs. However, according to the article in the Journal, "Documents to be presented to city leaders today show more than two thirds of the site will be handed over to non-science based activities, with university relocations and residential use now making up the vast majority of the project." The initial phase of the plan is to construct the "gateway building". According to a spokesman “It is hoped about 40% of the building’s costs will be met by funding from Europe. The university will be the lead investor in the remainder of the infrastructure on the site." Read More
21 November 2011. USS talks begin and UCU challenges the valuation of the scheme. Talks between the UCU and the employers begin today. These are the first talks since May and the fact that they are taking place is a massive tribute to the work-to-contract action being taken by members in Universities such as Newcastle. However, it is crucial that the action continues and Newcastle UCU along with other branches is making preparations in case the talks break down. In the meantime, UCU has written to USS challenging the assumptions it will be using to value the scheme and arguing that making small and realistic changes to these assumptions produces a healthy valuation. You can read more on this here. Also, a reminder that all USS members are being called to take one day’s strike action alongside public sector colleagues on 30 November. The work-to-contract continues, pending any breakthrough in the talks.
9 November 2011. UCU members working to contract are ‘getting their lives back’. The fact that UCU members and other HE staff who are now working to contract in support of the campaign against the unjustified changes to the USS pension scheme are finding time to spend with their families and do other things that they gave up years ago has been picked up by the national press, as shown this week by articles in the THES and Guardian. Click here to read more testimonials fromUSS members.
7 November 2011. Leaked documents increase fears over Northumberland College merger. UCU this week welcomed the halting of the merger between Northumberland College and Newcastle College Group (NCG) but warned serious questions remained over NCG’s commitment to education in the region. Leaked papers revealed that NCG was planning to sell off campuses in two of Northumberland’s most deprived areas.
Further reading: The Journal
4 November 2011. UCU delivers stinging rebuke to for-profit chief. Sally Hunt delivered a stinging to rebuke to the head of UK for-profit college BPP on Tuesday. Writing in the Guardian, Sally attacked claims made Carl Lygo in the paper that universities should be run like “no frills” businesses and pointed to the scandals engulfing for-profit companies, including BPP’s parent company Apollo, in the US.
Read more: Lygo’s original piece Sally Hunt’s Guardian rebuttal
3 November 2011. Stress levels and excessive workloads are increasing in higher education. The THES reported today that a survey of UCU members working at UK universities has revealed that 81% found their job stressful in 2010 compared to 74% in 2008, and 73% reported that they had unachievable deadlines sometimes, often or always. Lack of time to undertake research" was the leading cause of stress, cited by 66% of the 350 respondents, followed by "excessive workloads" (61%) and "poor work-life balance" (59%). 58% described their stress levels as "high" or "very high". The report says this "should be contrasted with [findings] reported in 2009 by the HSE, where the proportion of UK employees in general who consider their job to be very or extremely stressful was 19.5 per cent. For more details, click here.
28 October 2011. UCU industrial action brings employers into talks. Following yesterday’s meeting of the USS JNC, the Employers' side has agreed to establish a joint working-group with UCU at the JNC meeting in December 2011 to explore options for future changes to the USS scheme. It was agreed that any further scheme changes should produce outcomes considered fair for scheme members and employer stakeholders."
However, for the avoidance of doubt, our dispute continues - Keep working to contract – It is clearly working!
24 October 2011. Employers are beginning to take notice. The impressive industrial action campaign being mounted by UCU members appears to be yielding results already. Universities UK has now indicated that it would welcome proposals from the union. UCU has responded positively to this and hopes that this represents a genuine offer. To read Sally Hunt’s letter in response, published in the Times Higher click here
The work-to-contract has clearly resonated with many members who are now finding out exactly how much goodwill they put into their working lives through the excessive hours they have been working, and how much "working to contract" has added to their lives. Two examples from the UCU website are:
"I am now sleeping properly at night and not waking at 2am worrying about all the things I haven’t had time to do because I’m too exhausted to think straight and/or feeling guilty that working regularly way beyond my contracted 35 hours and never taking lunch breaks still isn’t enough to get everything done; I’m reading novels on the train home rather than doing more work. I’m getting home at a reasonable time able to take an interest in what my husband and little girl have been doing that day rather than wanting to collapse in a heap or weep. And it makes me realize that – like many of my colleagues – I’m doing the work of two people (at least), not one." — Member, University of Glasgow
"This is the first weekend in six years I have not worked either (or often both) Saturday and Sunday and well into the evening! Working above and beyond the call of duty resulted in the breakdown of my long-term relationship and severe health implications. Two whole days off has been bliss. I plan to make this a more regular occurrence!" — Member, Lancaster University
You can read many more similar stories here: http://defenduss.web.ucu.org.uk/news-from-members/
18 October 2011. Newcastle UCU response to email sent by Veryan Johnston to staff on 7th October. Today Newcastle UCU sent the following response to the Executive Director of HR:
"Dear Veryan
We are writing to you to confirm what we said in the JNC on Monday, namely that the Branch did not consider the email that you sent to staff on the 7th October regarding the UCU industrial action to be very helpful. In particular, we found it regrettable that you chose to use such a threatening tone, and that the email contained a number of highly misleading and contentious statements.
Firstly, your statement that the changes to the USS scheme "were approved by the USS Joint Negotiating Committee", implied that they were also approved by the UCU negotiators who sat on that Committee, whereas the reality of the situation is that the UCU negotiators were compelled to attend that meeting under threat of potentially ruinous legal action against them personally, with the final decision of the meeting being imposed on the UCU when the chair broke impartiality and cast a deciding vote in favour of the Employers' proposals.
Secondly, you stated that "Staff are expected, as part of their employment contract, to perform in full what is contractually required". You omitted to mention that what is contractually required is based on a normal expectation of a 37 hour week at Grade F and a 40 hour week at Grades G and above, and that staff would be failing to comply in full with their contracts if these working hours were not adhered to.
Thirdly, we are very concerned that you should consider that objectives set out in PDR constitute part of the contract of employment. The objectives set out in PDR are goals and aspirations that employees are quite rightly encouraged to set for themselves, with the clear understanding that, despite best intentions and efforts, they might not be attained. To view them as contractual directives imposed by Management would destroy one of the primary objectives of PDR which is to promote a productive and cordial working relationship between employees and their line managers.
Fourthly, in the penultimate paragraph, you implied that if non-UCU members were to work to contract they would potentially be exposing themselves to disciplinary action. However, this is not the case, as an employee who is working according to contract, even if they do so in full [see above], could self evidently not be in breach of contract.
I hope that you will agree with me that the tone set in your email was unfortunate, and that in general adopting a more sympathetic and supportive position towards the hard working staff that have made this University so successful is more likely to maintain and enhance that success than wielding a stick. In particular, seeking ways to mitigate the quite substantive and unnecessary financial detriments that staff have suffered in recent years should be a priority for the University's senior Management.
In the context of the present "action", if the University were to change its position and make clear that it felt that the Higher Education Employers should return to the negotiation table with a view to reaching a mutually acceptable solution to the USS dispute, this would not only be welcomed by UCU, but would have a very positive effect on staff in the University in general."
10 October 2011. "Work to contract" industrial action begins. UCU members in Newcastle and at 66 other universities around the country today began working to contract as part of a campaign of sustained industrial action over changes to the USS pension scheme. Sally Hunt, said: “We are keen to resolve this dispute as quickly as possible with minimal disruption. However, you cannot negotiate with an empty chair. If the university employers focused just a fraction of the time they have spent trying to force these unpopular changes through on negotiating properly, we would not be in this position.”
The response this morning to our first action in front of Kingsgate - where UCU members distributed some 600 posters and flyers- was very positive, with many USS members expressing support for the action, and criticism of the HR letter to all staff last Friday. NEXT ACTION IS WEDNESDAY this week at 8am- to 9:30- under the arches at quadrangle.
See below for more details of the action, and what you can and should be doing
29 September 2011. Industrial action regarding USS dispute to begin on 10 October. UCU announced today a four phase plan of industrial action.
Phase One:
From 10 October, the union is asking every member to support action short of a strike in the form of ‘working to contract’. As a UCU member, this means that from 10 October you should:
1. work no more than your contracted hours where those hours are expressly stated, and in any event not to exceed the maximum number of hours per week stipulated in the Working Time Regulations;
2. perform no additional voluntary duties, such as out of hours cover, or covering for colleagues (unless such cover is contractually required);
3. undertake no duties in breach of health and safety policies or other significant employer’s policies;
4. set and mark no work beyond that work which you are contractually obliged to set and/or mark;
5. attend no meetings where such attendance is voluntary.
You can find detailed guidance and answers to frequently asked questions about this action here: http://defenduss.web.ucu.org.uk/2011/09/26/important/
Our legal advice is that because you are performing your minimum normal duties, your employer has no legal right to deduct pay from you for participating in the working to contract action.
Phase 2:
If this action fails to bring the employers to the negotiating table, the union will halt the working to contract action in order to organise rolling strike action within each institution with different groups of staff taking turns to take action in order to cause maximum disruption.
Phase 3:
If that in turn does not produce a breakthrough in the dispute, the union will consider more serious action short of a strike, including a boycott of the Research Excellence Framework, other internal administrative processes, and of student assessment.
Members should be aware that the employers’ association UCEA recommends to its institutions a far more hard line approach to participation in industrial action than other public sector employers.
What happens if my employers threaten our pay?
If any employer chooses to ignore UCU’s legal advice and threatens punitive deductions against staff who are working to contract our response will be to:
1. Halt the working to contract action and bring forward with immediate effect rotating departmental strikes.
2. Bring test cases on behalf of all members to recover any deductions made unlawfully.
In extreme cases where this escalation fails to persuade an employer not to make unfair deductions for working to contract, members will be invited to seek an international academic boycott of their institution by other staff.
Please join the action to defend your pension and please support your union.
You can download a door poster now to show your support here: http://defenduss.web.ucu.org.uk/files/2011/09/door-poster-bw3.pdf
For advice on specific issues, please read the FAQ file at:
http://defenduss.web.ucu.org.uk/faqs/
If you have questions about the action email ussactionqueries@ucu.org.uk
14 September 2011. UCU members vote for industrial action in defence of the USS pension scheme. UCU members at 67 universities have voted overwhelmingly for a campaign of sustained industrial action in protest against changes to the USS pension scheme. The results are as follows:
* Are you prepared to take industrial action consisting of action short of a strike?
YES: 12,510 (76.69%)
NO: 3,802 (23.31%)
* Are you prepared to take industrial action consisting of strike action?
YES: 9,494 (58.06%)
NO: 6,857 (41.94%)
The turnout at 42% was up substantially from the last ballot in spite of the vote taking place over the summer. UCU is now discussing a long-term national plan of action with branches. The action which is likely to begin in mid-October may include refusing to work beyond contract; withdrawal of good will; boycotting of the external examinations process; targeting admissions procedures including open days; boycotting aspects of student assessment and examinations; boycotting research administration; refusing to provide cover for absent colleagues; and boycotting weekend working. UCU warned that action will continue until there is a breakthrough. Branches and members will receive more detailed guidance soon.
30 August 2011. USS Ballot closes 14 September - VOTE YES to industrial action. In response to the employers' imposition of damaging, divisive, and unnecessary changes to the USS pension scheme, UCU members are being asked to vote for a programme of sustained industrial action, including action short of a strike, that is designed to bring the employers back to the negotiating table.
The university employers have now accepted that the USS "deficit is
expected to be lower than was predicted in the 2010 actuarial
report". In fact their expectation is now that our USS fund will
be
98% funded at the next valuation. This latest admission by the
employers
shows that the highly detrimental changes to be imposed on members from
this
October were not necessary. Many UCU
members will
lose more than £100,000 in retirement benefits as a result
of this
imposition.
WHAT YOU CAN DO: VOTE AND ENCOURAGE COLLEAGUES TO VOTE.
Even new members joining now will have the right to vote,
so talk to non-members and encourage them to join.
You can download and circulate our flyer here: http://www.ucu.org.uk/media/pdf/7/i/ucu_ussflyer_jun11.pdf
or our latest briefing for members here: http://www.ucu.org.uk/media/pdf/k/q/ucu_ussbriefing_jun11.pdf
If you have lost your ballot paper you can request a replacement here: http://www.ucu.org.uk/noussballot
5 August 2011. E-ballot on HE pay offer opens. Members should now be receiving emails from the Electoral Reform Society giving them the chance to vote in an online consultative ballot on the employers' derisory final "improved" pay offer - see News item for 11 July. Your negotiators believe that you should determine our next steps. Whatever your view is, please use your vote.
3 August 2011. Pension chief pockets £50,000 'reward' as USS members set to lose over £100,000. As reported in The Telegraph today, the chief executive of the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) received a 'recognition award' of £50,000 and 84 other investment staff received bonuses worth an average £36,000. While the chief executive and investment staff enjoy whopping bonuses, new members of USS are set to lose more than £100,000 over the course of their retirement because of the changes imposed by the University Employers. For full story, click here.
11 July 2011. Employers offer another real-terms pay cut. At a meeting between UCEA and representatives of the higher education trade unions earlier today UCEA tabled an "improved" offer of:
* a £150 increase to all pay points, which UCEA says represents an increase of 0.5% of the pay bill
* an increase in London weighting allowance in post-92 institutions of 0.5%.
The employers said that this was their full and final offer. This derisory pay offer represents a third year of insignificant, below inflation pay increases that would further erode the standards of living of University staff. None of the union negotiating teams agreed to recommend acceptance of the offer. UCU head of higher education, Michael MacNeil, said: 'Yet again the employers have offered our members a real-terms pay cut. At a time when the cost of living is rocketing, to offer £150 across the board is simply storing up trouble for the future. We will be consulting with members over the offer before deciding on a course of action.'
7 June 2011. Crisis at Newcastle College continues. At the Newcastle UCU AGM today we heard a harrowing personal account of the appalling situation at Newcastle College from the UCU branch secretary at the College, David O'Toole. In the latest of a series of unnecessary restructuring exercises, the College has placed 180 teaching staff at risk of redundancy and another large cohort of staff are threatened with pay cuts of up to £10,000pa. More generally, staff are widely subjected to bullying and intimidation, with reported instances staff being forced to sign letters of resignation in which they praise the College and of students being offered waivers of their fees if they will sign letters of complaint about staff. In addition, management has recently suspended Dave O’Toole's accreditation and stopped the branch holding meetings on the campus. More details of the situation at Newcastle College can be obtained from the Newcastle College UCU website.
In order to increase the awareness of the problems, and hopefully get a favourable resolution, Dave requested that members write to their local MPs, and also to the MP for the College Constituency, Chi Onwurah, urging them to visit the College, to talk to the UCU branch officers, and to raise questions in Parliament about the quality of management and the damaging wastage of public money that is occurring at the college. Click here to send an email to your MP.
10 May 2011. Employers railroad through their changes to USS under threat of legal action. As expected, this week saw the employers use the USS Board’s threat of legal action against UCU’s five pensions negotiators to railroad through their changes. Our negotiators were threatened with personal liability and bankruptcy for the costs of not implementing the changes and therefore had no choice but to attend. As we had feared, the employers showed no interest in negotiating, rejected the new proposals and retabled their own. The chair, Sir Andrew Cubie, repeated his performance from December last year and duly voted for the employers’ proposals. UCU’s view is that this has been nothing but an exercise in bullying and a travesty of industrial relations. It is now clear that only sustained industrial action will move the employers. Accordingly, UCU’s pensions negotiators are seeking authority from the union’s officers to hold a new ballot that would give the union a mandate for a new programme of industrial action over next year. Read all the latest here: http://www.ucu.org.uk/defenduss.
20 April 2011.
Further bad news for North
East Colleges. In the wake of the recent announcement of
massive redundancies at Newcastle College, South Tyneside College is
proposing
to axe close to 50 lecturers, around 20% of the College's teaching
staff, and a
further 40 face pay cuts of up to £11,000.
UCU has declared a formal trade dispute with the College
following the
management's refusal to rule out compulsory redundancies.
Newcastle UCU Committee wishes to make clear
its support for staff at South Tyneside in their fight against these
unnecessary redundancies.
13 April 2011. Serious redundancy situation at Newcastle College. Newcastle College recently presented proposals to make 171 staff redundant at its Rye Hill Campus. This figure includes 124 teaching staff, a cut of 17%. These redundancies are clearly unnecessary and outrageous in an Institution that has a budget surplus of £6 million, that has recently awarded its Principal a 32% pay rise taking her salary to a minimum of £260,000, and which has just announced its intention of building a new Sixth Form College and a Centre for Sustainable Technologies.
At a packed branch
meeting yesterday, UCU members at the college passed a motion of no
confidence
in the senior management. Newcastle UCU
Committee strongly supports staff at Newcastle College in their fight
against
these unnecessary redundancies, and urges all members to sign the petition of
support.
25
March 2011.
Strike action has major
impact and broad support. Yesterday UCU members at Newcastle
University and across the country were on strike to protest against the
thousands of jobs that have already been lost in the HE sector, the
refusal of
our employers to negotiate a package to improve job security, and the
derisory
pay offer of 0.4%, which after inflation amounts to a 4% pay cut.
15 March 2011.
Strike announced for 24
March. Members of UCU at colleges and universities across the UK
will be on strike on Thursday 24 March in a row over jobs losses and
pay cuts. This is the first time there has
been a
national strike in HE for five years and the first in FE since 2008. All members, regardless of how they voted in
the ballot, are a asked to support the action and support the Union. The timetable of events in Newcastle is as
follows:
- Friday 18 March 1pm in UCU
Office - NUCU reps briefing - but
open to any member who would like to get involved. Just turn up or
contact Matt
Perry
- Monday and Tuesday 21 and 22 March -
school and section meetings - ask your rep if they are holding a
meeting;
- Monday 21 March 12noon - 2pm - drop in
to UCU office to help restore and make banners and placards;
- Tuesday 22 March 8am -
9.30am leafleting - meet at Kings Gate
entrance - contact Geoff Abbott
for information;
- Wednesday 23 March 12 noon in the UCU
Office - the strike day organising committee -
Barry Gills, Matt Perry, Alasdair Charles and Geoff Abbott
plus any
member interested in helping on the day will meet to finalise plans for
the
24th
- Strike Day Thursday 24 March – picketing
will be from 7am please send you name, availability and how you would
like to
help to Jane Blakeman We need
pickets but we also need help supplying helpers with warm drinks,
supplying
leaflets and generally helping in the office and acting as runners.
Please
report to the UCU office on the day.
- There will be a rally at 12noon – and
details of venue and speakers will follow very soon.
2 March 2011. UCU members vote for strike action over USS and pay/jobs. Members in more than sixty institutions have agreed to support both strike action and action short of a strike in order to defend USS pension rights. The ballot was disaggregated by institution but if the results are taken together a total of 65% of those who voted have supported strike action while 82% supported action short of a strike. Members also voted to take strike action and in favour of action short of a strike in the ballot on the 2010 annual claim. Overall 53% of those who voted supported strike action while 74% supported action short of a strike. The full result and the independent ballot reports can be viewed here.
22 January 2011. VC salaries rocket as students are told to shoulder massive fee increases and most University staff are given an effective pay cut. The Daily Telegraph reported yesterday that more than 950 university staff, including all vice-chancellors, were paid more than the Prime Minister – an eight per cent increase on the year before, and one senior administrator at Oxford was given a salary of almost £600,000. Three-quarters of university heads saw pay packages, including salary, pensions and other benefits, increase during the year to August 2010, and eleven vice-chancellors saw their total pay rise by more than 10 per cent, including the heads of Oxford, Birmingham and Plymouth.
The top five vice-chancellors’ raises were:
1. Wendy Purcell, Plymouth – 20% (£283,504)
2. Chris Jenks, Brunel – 18% (£280,000)
3. Andrew Hamilton, Oxford – 17% (£382,000)
4. Shirley Pearce, Loughborough – 15% (£275,365)
5. Noel Lloyd, Aberystwyth – 13% (£208,000)
1. Wendy Purcell, Plymouth – 20% (£283,504)
2. Chris Jenks, Brunel – 18% (£280,000)
3. Andrew Hamilton, Oxford – 17% (£382,000)
4. Shirley Pearce, Loughborough – 15% (£275,365)
5. Noel Lloyd, Aberystwyth – 13% (£208,000)
The biggest salary increase was at Plymouth, which had to cut 220 staff in autumn 2008 in a bid to reduce overspending. Its VC, Wendy Purcell, was awarded a 20 per cent raise less than a year later, and is now paid £283,000. Meanwhile, Patricia Broadfoot, who took early retirement as VC of Gloucestershire University last year, was given a £265,000 payoff on top of her £229,000 overall remuneration. These revelations follow the recent announcement that Government funding to Universities is to be cut back massively over the next few years, and that students will face course fees of up to £9000 per year. At the same time that senior executives at Universities are lining their pockets, they are refusing to give other staff more than a 0.4% payrise, an effective cut of 4% compared to inflation. To read the full story click here.
11 January 2011. Result of Newcastle UCU ballot on the University's proposed changes to the Statues and Employment Procedures. A ballot of Newcastle University UCU members took place between the beginning of December and 10 December 2010 to enable members to vote on changes being proposed by Management to the University Statutes and Employment Procedures that would directly affect members. Over the previous 15 months the Newcastle UCU Branch Committee was engaged in intensive negotiations with the University that resulted in major improvements to the proposals that in the original form proposed by the University would have significantly compromised academic freedom, weakened the role of elected members of the academic body in the governance of the university, and strengthened the powers of senior managers and line managers, including over dismissal.
The result of the ballot was that the members voted three to one in favour of the revised Statutes and Procedures and once we know exactly when these will be implemented we will let NUCU members know.
Thank you for your support and for participating in this ballot.
7 January 2011.
"Future that Works"
March Saturday 29 January. On Saturday 29 January UCU is joining
with the TUC and the National Union of Students to host a march and
rally in
Manchester for 'A Future that Works'.
The rally’s themes are the cuts in access to education and its
impact on
young people. The abolition of the Education Maintenance Allowance, the
increase in university tuition fees, record levels of youth
unemployment, and
the coalition government’s programme of vicious and unnecessary cuts
are
hitting Britain’s young people hard. Routes into education and
employment are
being squeezed as young people are made to pick up the bill for a
financial
crisis they didn’t create! Manchester has been chosen because the North
West
has the highest rate of youth unemployment in the UK and because the
city has
both the largest university and college in the country. The march will
be
assembling from 1030am (precise location to be confirmed), setting off
between
11:00-1130am with the rally itself starting at 13:00 in Platt Fields
Park.
Speakers are currently being confirmed and will include local, regional
and
national representatives from UCU and other unions, the TUC, NUS and
other
partner organisations.