Message from John Brady: An update on UCU Industrial Action

Thursday, 15 March 2018

Dear colleagues,

You may be aware that in order to seek a resolution to the current dispute regarding the future of the USS, both the UUK and UCU had agreed to hold further talks with the assistance of the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS).

Earlier this week, UUK and UCU issued a joint statement indicating that an agreement had been reached, with both parties committing to consult their respective members. Regrettably, UCU announced on Tuesday afternoon that the agreement had been rejected. You might be interested to read the respective statements issued by UUK and UCU; the UUK statement links to the agreement that had been discussed.

As a consequence, the industrial action by UCU continues, with this week being the final period of four tranches of strike action originally notified. The requirement to notify me of participation in the industrial action remains as outlined in previous instructions. I would also remind you that pay withheld for strike action will be reflected in March salaries.

UCU has indicated that unless agreement is reached there will follow an additional 14 days of strike action, to be held between April and June. I will provide further information once formal notification of precise dates has been received. Work on addressing the potential impacts of this is already underway and we will continue to keep staff and students informed about this.

As has been stated on a number of occasions, the University respects the rights of colleagues to take lawful industrial action. As the dispute continues, it is even more important for all of us to be respectful of each other’s decisions, whether that be to continue with strike action, to return to work or to have been at work fully during the dispute. By way of a reminder, it is permissible to ask a colleague if they are going to be on strike but they are under no obligation to offer this information in advance; repeated requests are unnecessary. Equally, colleagues on picket lines are allowed to hand out leaflets and ask you not to cross their line; however, they should not make repeated requests or impede you in any way. I have had isolated reports of slightly acrimonious exchanges between colleagues – please don’t forget that we all have to continue to work together during and beyond this dispute. I have also had a few reports of colleagues and members of the public finding some banners that have been displayed offensive – please think of the message you want to send out and reflect on how it might impact on others.

I will provide a further update in due course. In the meantime, if you have any queries please feel free to contact me directly.

John Brady

Director of Human Resources