Industrial Action
Model Letter to inform students why UCU is taking industrial action
If you wish to inform students of your plans in relation to the UCU industrial action a model letter can be downloaded and amended as required.
Model reponse to any management request for your intentions prior to industrial action
If you have been asked to declare if you are going to participate in industrial action prior to it taking place you can use the following letter to respond.
Dear xxxxxx
I have been advised that I am under no obligation to provide management with information about my intentions with regard to industrial action. You should not draw any conclusions from the fact that I have not responded.
Yours sincerely
yyyyyyy
Industrial Action on Wednesday 30th November
Alongside a large number of public sector unions, UCU will be taking strike action on Wednesday 30th of November in defence of our pension arrangements. The background has been outlined by General Secretary, Sally Hunt in her e-mail so this e-mail relates to organisational issues..
Letter from the Director of Human Resources
The letter from the Director of Human Resources says that ‘In order to effectively plan and manage the impact of any strike action on the University, Heads of School and Directors will be asking staff to confirm their intentions in respect of the National Day of Action on 30 November 2011’. As we have advised on previous occasions, you are under no obligation whatsoever to provide this information to management ahead of the industrial action taking place. Our advice would be to ignore such requests or politely decline. However, once industrial action has taken place, the University is entitled to collect information from staff as to whether or not they took part in the action. This normally takes the form of a written request and you should provide the relevant information within a reasonable time period. You may use a model letter to respond to any such request
Although, you have no obligation to management about intentions, you may wish to inform your students that you will be taking industrial action on Wednesday. You can choose to do this by means of an announcement in class or if you prefer by e-mail. A model letter can be downloaded but please feel free to modify as you see fit.
The Students’ Union
The Students’ Union Council has passed a motion calling on students to support the day of action by joining the demonstration and taking part in the rally. Students will be doing ‘shout outs’ at the start of lectures to explain why they are supporting university staff and other public sector workers in the fight over pensions. Please facilitate any student asking to make an announcement and encourage colleagues including non-members to do so.
On November 30th
We will be picketing the University from 7.30. If you can join in the picketing please, please come to the front gate of the University to collect placards or leaflets. There will be a Rally at Mandela Hall in the Student’s Union at 11.00am. Many people on the picket duty, the rally and the march will be inexperienced in such matters. Guidelines on picketing can be downloaded.
We march to the City Hospital at 11.30 to join one of the main marches to City Hall where a rally will be held at 1.00 pm.
For further details see the UCU website or contact UCU officers at g.dunn@qub.ac.uk / r.prendergast@qub.ac.uk
UCU Guidelines on picketing (print version available)
- The point of the picket is to peacefully persuade members not to cross our picket lines ie to not go into work.
- Picketing is a legal activity and pickets should wear an armband indicating they are on duty.
- Placards and posters should be displayed stating ‘OFFICIAL PICKET’.
Approaching people
All UCU members should be on strike with the exception of members with clinical commitment. You should talk to anyone, a UCU member, work colleague, or member of the public who approaches the picket line. Give them a leaflet and explain the reason for the strike and ask them to support the campaign. Anyone who decides to cross a picket line must be allowed to do so. But always take the opportunity to talk to them and explain the reasons for the industrial action. Those workers who wish to cross the picket line should be asked not to undertake any duties or responsibilities other than their own ie not to cover for us.
Speaking to non-UCU members
If a member of another union, or someone who’s not a member of any union, wants to support us by staying away from work, you need to make it clear that if their employers decided to discipline them UCU wouldn’t be able to support them. The individual must then make up their own mind. If they are eligible for UCU membership, their best course of action is to join there and then: they will then have the full protection afforded to any UCU member. Keep membership forms with you for this purpose. If they do decide they have to go in to work, but would like to support us, then encourage them to come to the rally in the Students Union
Speaking to students
Students are not vulnerable to disciplinary action like staff, so any student who wishes to support us and not cross the picket line should be made welcome. Likewise, any student who wishes to stand near the picket lines should be made welcome, although they would not be legally recognised official pickets (so shouldn’t, for example, be allowed to wear an armband).
Speaking to people who are not university staff or students
You can seek to persuade other workers, not employed at the university or college, not to deliver goods or to enter the work premises, eg post, milk, stationary supplies etc (this is the only form of permitted 'secondary' action). Mobile numbers of the picket organisers should be available on the day.
UCU members held a demonstartion at the International and Postgraduate Centre on Friday 28/10/2011 to ensure that all members of Senate are aware of the membership anger at the imposition of the unecessary changes to YOUR pension. The QUB Senate was holding an emergency meeting there. Members of UNITE were also there to demonstrate on the issue of Pay.
USS Dispute - Defend YOUR pension
The UCU general secretary emailed members on 29 September to alert the to the preparations now well under way for the next phase of the USS dispute. From 10 October, the union is asking every member to support action short of a strike in the form of 'working to contract'. As a UCU member, this means that from 10 October you should:
- 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
- perform no additional voluntary duties, such as out of hours cover, or covering for colleagues (unless such cover is contractually required)
- undertake no duties in breach of health and safety policies or other significant employer's policies
- set and mark no work beyond that work which you are contractually obliged to set and/or mark
attend no meetings where such attendance is voluntary.
You can find detailed guidance and answers to frequently asked questions about this action on our new campaign site: defenduss.web.ucu.org.uk
More detailed information on what action may be feasible is available.