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why-we-are-striking.html
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<html>
<head>
<title>Why we are striking: United we stand, divided we fall</title>
</head>
<body style="margin:130px;padding:30px">
<h2>Why we are striking: United we stand ✊ divided we fall</h2>
<p>Welcome to the virtual <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Picketing">picket line</a>. I have joined thousands other members of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_and_College_Union">University and Colleges Union</a> (UCU) in a strike at over 60 institutions across the UK. [1,2,3]</p>
<p>As an employee, the personal decision to strike has not been an easy one. Withholding labour is the last resort when all other options have been exhausted. Striking is not an enjoyable activity for anyone, so I need to explain why I have joined the strike:</p>
<p>Two of the core functions of a University are:</p>
<ol>
<li>Teaching</li>
<li>Research</li>
</ol>
<p>Without these fundamental foundations, a University is not a University.</p>
<p>The University of Manchester, like many in the UK, has aspirations to be a world class University.</p>
<p>In order to achieve these goals, Universities need to recruit and retain the best teachers and researchers that they can.</p>
<p>To retain teachers and researchers, Universities need to provide fair pay and pensions (pensions are, in effect, deferred pay). However:</p>
<ol>
<li>A series of sub-inflation pay awards has meant that academics have endured a <strong>pay cut of 20% since 2009</strong>. During the same period the numbers of senior managers employed by the University [4] on salaries in excess of £100k have increased dramatically: <ul><li>In 2018, <strong>331 staff at the University of Manchester earned over £100k</strong> and 25 of those earned more than £150k.</li></ul></li>
<li>In 2011 we agreed (reluctantly) to changes in our <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universities_Superannuation_Scheme">Universities Superannuation Scheme</a> (USS) pension scheme. These changes mean that the typical USS member <strong>will lose £240,000 in retirement</strong>. We have already made major sacrifices to preserve the USS scheme. The employers are demanding unnecessary further concessions.</li>
</ol>
<p>The senior management of the University say there are “very real pressures on our limited resources” [5] In other words, they are saying that the money just isn’t there to meet these demands. This simply isn’t true. In 2018 the University of Manchester reported an operating surplus of £43m, plus cash reserves of over £315m, as well as net assets of £1.7 billion. Across the UK, Universities reported a combined surplus of £2.27 billion pounds in 2017.
The money <i>is</i> there to improve staff pay and pensions. This is what our dispute is about.<p>
<p>The UCU would like to avoid strike action. They have announced the dates of planned action well in advance in order to give the employers a chance to negotiate properly and in good faith. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/education/2019/nov/25/students-dont-complain-about-your-striking-lecturers-join-them" title="Joshua Curiel (2019) Students: don't complain about your striking lecturers – join them, The Guardian, theguardian.com">If you support our cause</a>, I would ask you to e-mail the University’s President and Registrar urging them to find a negotiated settlement to this dispute. It doesn’t have to be a long e-mail, I’d suggest something like:</p>
<blockquote>
<code>
<p>Dear President/Registrar,</p>
<p>I would like to be taught by fairly paid staff. Please use your influence to persuade Universities UK and UCEA to negotiate an acceptable settlement.</p>
<p>Yours faithfully ... </p>
</code>
</blockquote>
<p>Their e-mail addresses are:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="mailto:[email protected];[email protected]?subject=I would like to be taught by fairly paid staff&[email protected]&body=Dear President/Registrar, I would like to be taught by fairly paid staff. Please use your influence to persuade Universities UK and UCEA to negotiate an acceptable settlement. Yours faithfully.">[email protected], [email protected]</a></li>
</ul>
<p>If you would like to cc the local UCU branch into any e-mail you send to the President and Registrar that would be much appreciated; their e-mail address is:
<p>Best wishes</p>
<p>Duncan<p>
<p>--
<p>Dr. Duncan Hull<br/>
BSc (Hons), MSc, PhD, PGCE<br/>
Lecturer, Department of Computer Science<br/>
Kilburn Building, LF25<br/>
University of Manchester, M13 9PL<br/>
<a href="http://www.cs.man.ac.uk/~hulld">www.cs.man.ac.uk/~hulld</a><br/>
tel: +44 161 275 6186</p>
<h2>References</h2>
<ol>
<li>Anon (2019) <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-50459152">University staff strike over pensions and pay</a> BBC NEWS, London, <i>bbc.co.uk</i></li>
<li>Jo Grady (2019) <a href="https://ucu.org.uk/article/10453/University-strikes-ON-after-universities-refuse-to-deal-with-pensions-pay-and-working-conditions">University strikes ON after universities refuse to deal with pensions, pay and working conditions</a>, Universities and Colleges Union, <i>ucu.org.uk</i></li>
<li>Sally Weale and Helen Pidd (2019) <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/education/2019/nov/25/university-strike-staff-walk-out-uk-pay-pensions">University strike: tens of thousands of staff walk out across UK</a>, The Guardian, Manchester, <i>theguardian.com</i></li>
<li>Laurie Taylor (2015) <a href="https://www.timeshighereducation.com/content/laurie-taylor-on-academics-v-administrators">Laurie Taylor on academics v administrators: Is there a way for the two tribes to rub along? An academic and an administrator consider the rules of engagement</a>, Times Higher Education, London, <i>timeshighereducation.com</i></li>
<li>Karen Heaton (2019) <a href="https://www.staffnet.manchester.ac.uk/news/display/?id=23029">University of Manchester position on pay and USS pension dispute</a>, University of Manchester, <i>staffnet.manchester.ac.uk</i></li>
</ol>
</body>
</html>