SpackleFrog
Smash showy bell-bottom pants and sporty haircuts
Hope it all went well today! Very soggy now 
UCU - Pensions and Pay Disputes
- Thread starter SpackleFrog
- Start date
flypanam
Sausage to fortune
Done.
braindancer
not for long
It's a 2 hour trip to work for me - so I didn't make the picket line today - instead used the opportunity to get started on a bit of decorating 
Good luck to everyone involved, and to their supporters!! 
Forecasts generally suggest that there'll be drier conditions for later this week, too
...
... and colder, so acquire a brazier in old-school fashion
Forecasts generally suggest that there'll be drier conditions for later this week, too
...... and colder, so acquire a brazier in old-school fashion
Students protest against Liverpool university's claim that support for strike is 'unlawful'
Liverpool, not too sure about the hammer and sickle though, masking a comeback?
ddraig
kicking against the pricks...
Cardiff event Monday night at The Full Moon, Womanby St
"In solidarity 'STRIKE' with the Cardiff music scene - a day into the evening of workshops, activist talks, spoken word and music!
A fundraising event in aid of striking workers on precarious contracts supporting UCU action. (For more information on the strike action please: http://www.cardiffucu.org.uk/strike-action-2019/ )
Spoken word open mike from 4.15pm/ Music from 5pm with:
Cosmo, Suganami Jones, Gemini Anderson and Rowan Liggett, Dusty Cut, Taff Trail Rambler, Bloodshots and Excellent Skeleton!!!
£8 on the door (and whatever pennies you can chuck in a bucket!)
NB: This gig is being supported by The Moon, UCU, Cardiff, Anti Precarity Cymru and IWW Cymru."
"In solidarity 'STRIKE' with the Cardiff music scene - a day into the evening of workshops, activist talks, spoken word and music!
A fundraising event in aid of striking workers on precarious contracts supporting UCU action. (For more information on the strike action please: http://www.cardiffucu.org.uk/strike-action-2019/ )
Spoken word open mike from 4.15pm/ Music from 5pm with:
Cosmo, Suganami Jones, Gemini Anderson and Rowan Liggett, Dusty Cut, Taff Trail Rambler, Bloodshots and Excellent Skeleton!!!
£8 on the door (and whatever pennies you can chuck in a bucket!)
NB: This gig is being supported by The Moon, UCU, Cardiff, Anti Precarity Cymru and IWW Cymru."
redsquirrel
This Machine Kills Progressives
I know there is plenty of (deserved) criticism for Leonard and the SLP but fear play to him, he's refused to appear on Today programme as it's at the University of Edinburgh and he's not crossing a picket line.
redsquirrel
This Machine Kills Progressives
Back at work tomorrow. Gone pretty well at our small branch all told.
aqua
made of cheese and gin
Same tbh. Not looking forward to going back. I've rather enjoyed the time off
redsquirrel
This Machine Kills Progressives
I know.I've rather enjoyed the time off
aqua
made of cheese and gin
You know how much I've enjoyed my time off?
redsquirrel
This Machine Kills Progressives
Sorry I know that its been been rather nice having to not work. I feel the same.You know how much I've enjoyed my time off?
aqua
made of cheese and gin
Ah! I wondered if I knew you and hadn't realised
chilango
Hypothetical Wanker
Wilf
Slouching towards Billingham
Just seen that Nita Sanghera died last month. Massive shock, no idea she was ill. 
I didn't know her personally, beyond sitting round the same pub table, unpicking the events of that day's congress. For those who didn't know here she was due to be the union's first black president in a few months.
www.ucu.org.uk
RIP and condolence to her family.
I didn't know her personally, beyond sitting round the same pub table, unpicking the events of that day's congress. For those who didn't know here she was due to be the union's first black president in a few months.
Nita Sanghera
Tribute wall to Nita Sanghera, UCU vice-president who passed away on 16 January 2020.
RIP and condolence to her family.
redsquirrel
This Machine Kills Progressives
Yes RIP and not really all that old.
When I first saw this thread jumped I thought it might be about the declaration of the next 14 days of action
UCU announces 14 strike days at 74 UK universities in February and March
With KCL and UCL now over the line this is going to effect of lot of students.
When I first saw this thread jumped I thought it might be about the declaration of the next 14 days of action
UCU announces 14 strike days at 74 UK universities in February and March
With KCL and UCL now over the line this is going to effect of lot of students.
SpackleFrog
Smash showy bell-bottom pants and sporty haircuts
Nita's memorial was today in Birmingham and because of the weather I couldn't get there.
Really lovely woman. Great to have a pint with after a rough conference. Will be missed.
RIP Nita.
Really lovely woman. Great to have a pint with after a rough conference. Will be missed.
RIP Nita.
SpackleFrog
Smash showy bell-bottom pants and sporty haircuts
Yes. Massively. This started with an attempt by General Sec and her supporters to decouple pensions and the pay/conditions disputes. They didn't want to strike on pay and conditions, just pensions. But I think it's caught now and there is an anti strike mood around. Various shite articles in THE written by anonymous members planning to scab haven't helped.
19force8
For the avoidance of faith
I remember thinking at the time of the Gen Sec elections there wasn't much to choose between the two Jo's. Mind you that was probably wishful thinking as it became clear McNeil wouldn't win. Clear now though.
I've seen quotes of some of the THE stuff on social media - usual "I think striking is pointless, but I'll dress it up as concern for the low paid" bullshit. Combined with some vicious red baiting attacks on UCU Left in the current elections.
I've seen quotes of some of the THE stuff on social media - usual "I think striking is pointless, but I'll dress it up as concern for the low paid" bullshit. Combined with some vicious red baiting attacks on UCU Left in the current elections.
SpackleFrog
Smash showy bell-bottom pants and sporty haircuts
Yeah... I wasnt holding out much hope for Jo G but its worse than I expected.
I'm told she opened up the HEC meeting to decide the strike dates with words to the effect that they couldn't decide the strike dates because they hadn't consulted with post 92 universities. Before the meeting might have been a good time perhaps.
Smokeandsteam
Working Class First
Wasn’t Jo Grady the overwhelming choice of left rank and file activists in the union? I’m not an expert on the minutiae of UCU politics but wasn’t she elected directly from the shop floor (as opposed to the bureaucracy) and on a platform of developing a response to casualisation, financialisation of the sector, pay and to build on the pensions dispute?
SpackleFrog
Smash showy bell-bottom pants and sporty haircuts
I think it would probably be more accurate to say that she was the overwhelming choice among rank and file activists/members in a section of the union - the section that voted in much larger numbers than the rest of the union, which wasn't involved in the 2018 strike.
But yes, she had a platform of fighting casualisation, financialistion and Building a response on pay.
Smokeandsteam
Working Class First
What section of the union wasn’t involved in the 2018 strike? What does this tell us about Jo Grady and the forthcoming strikes?
I’m not setting a trap here. I’d assumed that the UCU (on the left anyway) was fairly united and that she was within that and representative of it? I get moderate opposition but you seem to be suggesting left opposition?
SpackleFrog
Smash showy bell-bottom pants and sporty haircuts
Nah, afraid not sorry. Unity is in very short supply.
The 2018 strikes were the pre-92 universities. Didn't involve post-92 universities, FE colleges, ACE colleges or prison education.
Jo G got a massive vote, it was a landslide, but I don't think you could say it came from across the union. Despite popularity when elected, I would say that has already wained among some people who voted for her and even campaigned for her.
There is now developing left opposition to her/her support and that comes mainly from UCU Left but also some unaligned lefts.
Smokeandsteam
Working Class First
Ta. So is it accurate to say that Grady is the choice of the more established and better resourced end of the sector?
If this is the case I’m still not clear why a dispute over pay, pensions and conditions would be unpopular with those in the rest of the sector where presumably these issues are felt more sharply?
SpackleFrog
Smash showy bell-bottom pants and sporty haircuts
Yeah, basically.
The tension is that Grady and her support, which is mostly from pre-92, are possibly much more in favour of strike action in the pension dispute (pre 92 only) than the dispute on pay/casualisation/workload/gender pay gap dispute (pre-92 and post-92) Obviously the two are linked and the union has been taking industrial action on both but legally they're two seperate disputes.
There have been some proposals at the special conference before Xmas and from some branches that the two disputes be 'decoupled' but these have so far been voted down at either conference or HEC.
It's probably not on the radar of many members, but there has been an unsuccessful attempt to de-link the two, so that the strikes become only about the pensions dispute. I would guess (though don't know I've actually moved to a UCU branch not involved in the dispute) that this debate has de-escalated the strike somewhat.
Edited 2 Add: its probably fair to say that other sections of the union voted in very low numbers in the GS election and that they didn't really make a conscious choice for anyone rather than Grady was not their choice.
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