Category Archives: Uncategorized

How can I claim financial support during strike action?

Posted on by
Reply

Members taking strike action can access financial support through two routes, one national and the other local.

The UCU National Fighting Fund

The UCU National Fighting Fund is available to all members, and can ensure you recover 100% to 48% of lost income through strike for the dates it covers, depending on your salary and how long you take strike action. Members earning less than £30,000 gross per annum can claim £75 per day for the second and any subsequent days of strike action. For members earning £30,000 gross or more per annum, the daily rate is £50.

Note, however, that you can claim up to a maximum of 11 days from the fighting fund during each dispute; this means that if you took part in the three days of strike action in November/December, and have already claimed from the fighting fund for the available two days, you will only be able to claim a further nine days during this current stage of the dispute.

The national claim is simple and straightforward to make, with all the information you need located HERE. For speed of return it is recommended you claim as soon as possible as large amounts will be claiming.

The Bath UCU Local Hardship Fund 

Bath UCU also runs a local hardship fund, for those in need. Claims to the hardship fund can only be made after claims to the fighting fund have been made. At present, where a fighting fund claim has been paid out, members on a salary of £45,000 or less can apply to the local hardshipfund to cover the rest of their lost wages. Members who earn above this figure, and have claimed from the fighting fund, can also claim, and will see a proportion of their lost wages recovered; however, such members in particularly difficult circumstances who would not normally have their full deductions covered, can also check a box, indicating said need, and it will be covered no questions asked.

Keeping in mind the length of the action called and the limit set to the national fighting fund for claims (which UCU says will be kept under review), the hardship fund’s capacity to provide greater support will also be kept under review.

Claims to the local hardship fund, where needed, are also simple to make. An app for claiming from the fund has been developed by our Branch Treasurer Tim Barrett. To use it you will require your PDF payslip – either the one emailed to you or downloaded from iTrent will work. The link is HERE. The app will only work for substantive contracts – if you lost hourly paid hours then please email Tim and he will supply the procedure for claiming.

How can I donate to the Bath UCU Local Hardship Fund?

For any members whose personal circumstances mean they feel unable to take action, or who are simply financially able to offer support, donations to the local hardship fund can be made using a BACS transfer with the following details:

  • Account Name: UCU Bath LA5
  • Sort Code: 60-83-01
  • Account No.: 20057787
  • Payee Reference: Hardship Fund

Bath UCU: What is going on? What does this mean?

Posted on by
Reply

nb. Recall there are actually two disputes currently ongoing: pay and conditions, and USS. We’ll look at pay and conditions first, but USS is treated towards the end

As all members should be aware by now, the seven days of UCU strike action called for this week and next week have been suspended.

The dispute, however, has not been called off, action-short-of-a-strike remains in place, and the five days of action called for March remain active. Furthermore, the vital ballot to extend our mandate for strike action opens this week.

What is going on? What does this mean?

Communications out of UCU Head Office are often unclear, leading people to scrabble around on social media to find answers.

To give members the opportunity to discuss the current pause, next steps, ask any questions and let off any steam, we’re calling an online branch meeting this Wednesday the 22nd at 12:15-13:05. Invitations will go into Outlook folders shortly.

In the meantime, my aim is to outline this as simply as possible below:

Two weeks ago the joint unions and the employers’ representatives (UCEA) agreed to enter talks with ACAS. These talks are continuing and have not secured a “deal” on anything yet.

What has been accepted by joint unions and UCEA, however, is that talks within ACAS will not be able to secure further progress on one area – the pay claim. Employers simply won’t budge; this is the max they say they will move.

Therefore, rather than continue using ACAS as a forum to argue about pay deals, this issue is being parked to focus talks on areas where there is agreement these ACAS talks can make progress – specifically on conditions – anti-casualisation, workload, pay gaps (and some progressive changes to the pay spine).

This does not mean UCU have accepted the pay offer, it is simply recognised that any improvement will not be achieved through ACAS negotiations (It will need further industrial action, essentially).

The unions believe there are real tangible benefits on the table in these talks on conditions. So, to facilitate them, the union negotiating teams agreed to suspend the next two weeks of planned strike action (by UCU, Unite and Unison). Once these time-limited talks conclude, in two weeks’ time, we will then have an offer that can be put to members.

All of the above is laid out in a joint statement from the joint unions and UCEA.

Members will then have to decide if that overall offer (of which we essentially know the pay element) is ‘good enough’, or if we want to reject it and continue industrial action with the aim of securing something better. If we do vote to reject a deal, we have five further strike dates already agreed in March, which remain active, with space to call more before our mandate closes.

But importantly, for the continuation of industrial action to have any real opportunity of success, it is entirely dependent on returning a YES vote in the new ballot on extending the strike period. Essentially, this will go down to a Marking and Assessment Boycott and focused disruption of graduation. It is the major threat employers will fear.

Alongside these UCEA talks, it is also worth noting re. the USS dispute that a positive joint statement has been produced by UUK/UCU. There is no actual decisions here yet, which depends on whether USS do what the formal UUK group says (but the Russell group haven’t agreed to). There seems signs of real progress here – and if we reach a deal on USS it will put pressure to secure one on pay and conditions to end strikes.

Amongst all this there are debates and arguments about who has the legitimate right to suspend action, etc. and questions about whether what is on the table was enough to agree to suspend days of action, as well as whether continuing striking would achieve anything on these days. These are conversations worth having especially as we head towards Congress – and as a branch we will need to have a discussion about the position we hold on some key issues that are certain to arise.

But right now, this is the perfect reminder of how important it is to vote in the HEC elections. The deadline is March 1st. Details are HERE. You can find a familiar overview of who the different factions running are and what their lists are HERE. Now VOTE!