Yesterday, University and Colleges Union (UCU) members were on strike at Nottingham Trent University (NTU). Notts Indymedia interviewed the chair of NTU UCU, Brian Ward, to find out what's happening.
NI: Why are you striking today? What are the major concerns of staff at NTU?
BW: The Nottingham Trent University has ended without the requisite notice an agreement to recognise UCU. This effectively prevents us from negotiating on behalf of our members and provides a potential prelude to existing agreements signed between the employer and UCU - on for example staff workloads being disregarded. The employer is arguing that this is not derecognition as such as there are terms that have been put forward by the employer on which UCU would be recognised. These terms would however so limit and restrict our independence as a trade union and our ability to negotiate that they would in our view present a mere illusion of trade union recognition and would be far out of keeping with anything seen elsewhere in the higher education sector.
NI: Derecognition is a major step for an employer. Is this a first in education?
BW: There was a dispute at London Metropolitan University awhile back but this was quickly resolved.
NI: How, if at all, would you say that the situation for workers in universities is changing at the moment?
BW: The emphasis from university managers across the sector is now to run Universities as a business. We now have an array of finance and other staff whose role is to measure anything that can be measured - at least anything that can be measured in terms of profit and loss. The problem with this approach is that high quality research, good teaching, time spent helping students etc does not fit neatly into this model. I recall the work of a colleague who has just retired after 36 years service. He would spend hours of time helping individual students and would really care how they were progressing with their studies. At one time such work would be valued but it is never going to appear on a balance sheet.
NI: How would you respond to students who say that your action is disruptive of their study?
BW: Academic staff are very reluctant to take action that would harm their students. The last time that there was industrial action - a one day strike in 2006 - during a pay dispute - many staff lost a days pay but then arranged with their students to take the missing classes on another day.
The fact that 77% voted for strike action in the recent ballot shows how seriously our members regard the current dispute. It also shows that our members are not prepared to see their loyalty to students abused by the employer. Our hope is that the employer will see the strength of feeling amongst staff and return to the negotiating table and agree an acceptable position on trade union ecognition. Many of the students I have spoken with have been supportive of the position being taken by the union and recognise that there is a relationship between the working conditions of university staff and their own educational experience. Overworked tutors, larger class sizes etc are detrimental to both academic staff and students.
NI: Are trade unions still relevant?
BW: The employment relationship is one based on agreement. If you had equal bargaining power between employer and employee there might well be an argument for saying that you would not need trade unions. In the absence of such a position the employee runs an increased risk of - bullying, discrimination, job insecurity, health and safety breaches, overwork etc. These are issues that are arising at an increasing rate in UK universities. There is, at least at a theoretical level, some legal protection against such ills but how readily is someone in a job and wanting to keep it able to take such action against their employer? The increased workload pressures on staff in UK universities means that trade unions in this sector are arguably more relevant today than they were say 20 or 30 years ago.
BW: The Nottingham Trent University has ended without the requisite notice an agreement to recognise UCU. This effectively prevents us from negotiating on behalf of our members and provides a potential prelude to existing agreements signed between the employer and UCU - on for example staff workloads being disregarded. The employer is arguing that this is not derecognition as such as there are terms that have been put forward by the employer on which UCU would be recognised. These terms would however so limit and restrict our independence as a trade union and our ability to negotiate that they would in our view present a mere illusion of trade union recognition and would be far out of keeping with anything seen elsewhere in the higher education sector.
NI: Derecognition is a major step for an employer. Is this a first in education?
BW: There was a dispute at London Metropolitan University awhile back but this was quickly resolved.
NI: How, if at all, would you say that the situation for workers in universities is changing at the moment?
BW: The emphasis from university managers across the sector is now to run Universities as a business. We now have an array of finance and other staff whose role is to measure anything that can be measured - at least anything that can be measured in terms of profit and loss. The problem with this approach is that high quality research, good teaching, time spent helping students etc does not fit neatly into this model. I recall the work of a colleague who has just retired after 36 years service. He would spend hours of time helping individual students and would really care how they were progressing with their studies. At one time such work would be valued but it is never going to appear on a balance sheet.
NI: How would you respond to students who say that your action is disruptive of their study?
BW: Academic staff are very reluctant to take action that would harm their students. The last time that there was industrial action - a one day strike in 2006 - during a pay dispute - many staff lost a days pay but then arranged with their students to take the missing classes on another day.
The fact that 77% voted for strike action in the recent ballot shows how seriously our members regard the current dispute. It also shows that our members are not prepared to see their loyalty to students abused by the employer. Our hope is that the employer will see the strength of feeling amongst staff and return to the negotiating table and agree an acceptable position on trade union ecognition. Many of the students I have spoken with have been supportive of the position being taken by the union and recognise that there is a relationship between the working conditions of university staff and their own educational experience. Overworked tutors, larger class sizes etc are detrimental to both academic staff and students.
NI: Are trade unions still relevant?
BW: The employment relationship is one based on agreement. If you had equal bargaining power between employer and employee there might well be an argument for saying that you would not need trade unions. In the absence of such a position the employee runs an increased risk of - bullying, discrimination, job insecurity, health and safety breaches, overwork etc. These are issues that are arising at an increasing rate in UK universities. There is, at least at a theoretical level, some legal protection against such ills but how readily is someone in a job and wanting to keep it able to take such action against their employer? The increased workload pressures on staff in UK universities means that trade unions in this sector are arguably more relevant today than they were say 20 or 30 years ago.
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Recently, IWW members in Glasgow and Dumfriesshire spearheaded a successful campaign against the closure of one of Glasgow University's campuses that united workers, students and local community members and effectively won the campus around £1.5 million from the Scottish Parliament.
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