As you will be aware, members of the UCU have, since the 10th October, been involved in ASOS (action short of a strike) to defend their USS pensions following the national ballot in favour of sustained industrial action.
In order to make it clear to members at the University of Exeter what steps are expected of them during this period of sustained industrial action, we have copied below the important guidance given by our General Secretary, Sally Hunt, in her email to members on 29th September.
Sally Hunt, email to members, 29th September 2011
Phase 1
From 10 October, the union is asking every member to support action short of a strike in the form of ‘working to contract’.
Working to contract is the first stage of our industrial action. As a UCU member, this means that from 10 October you should:
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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;
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perform no additional voluntary duties, such as out of hours cover, or covering for colleagues (unless such cover is contractually required);
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undertake no duties in breach of health and safety policies or other significant employer’s policies;
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set and mark no work beyond that work which you are contractually obliged to set and/or mark;
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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
My hope is that this action will bring the employers to the negotiating table.
If it does not, 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.
Why staged escalation?
This process of staged escalation gives the employers the maximum opportunity to resume constructive discussions on USS, while initially minimising disruption to students and staff.
I hope that the employers respond positively to this staged approach both by agreeing to negotiations and by recognising the damage to long term relationships of taking an aggressive stance with staff . However 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:
Halt the working to contract action and bring forward with immediate effect rotating departmental strikes.
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.
No one wants to get to that situation, but I wanted to spell out clearly the union’s plan and to make sure you know what we will be asking of you.
For my part, I and your HE Officers will continue to seek a solution to this damaging dispute right up to and beyond 10 October.
If that is not possible, 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
We would also advise members to maintain a daily diary of their work throughout ASOS.
Please do not hesitate to contact a member of the branch if you are in any doubt about the action described above.
University of Exeter UCU Branch
University of Exeter UCU 