University staff threaten to strike again over pay and conditions

Josh Elgin on 19 October 2021

Students could again be disrupted by strike action this semester after the University and College Union (UCU) opened a strike ballot over pay and working conditions

The ballot is the latest measure in a long-running dispute between the UCU and university employers, with staff at 152 institutions being balloted.

UCU members received ballots this week to decide whether to strike. Leeds University staff have previously taken part in strikes in 2018, 2019, and 2020.

Jo Grady, the UCU General Secretary, said: “University staff propped up the entire sector during the pandemic, but they are now being thanked with huge cuts to their pensions, unbearably high workloads, and another below-inflation pay offer – all whilst universities continue to generate a handsome income from tuition fees.

“The truth is that very well paid university leadership, who manage institutions with bigger turnovers than top football clubs, are choosing to exploit the goodwill of staff, repeatedly refusing to address the rampant use of casualised contracts, unsafe workloads or the shocking gender and ethnicity pay gap in the sector.

“Our members across the UK know that working in a university does not have to be like this and are clear that they are ready to take action to stand up for their dignity, defend pensions and win long overdue improvements to their pay and working conditions. There is still time for university chiefs to resolve a situation which is entirely of their own making, but they must return to negotiations and make credible offers.”

The National Union of Students (NUS) issued a statement in support of the staff ballot, saying “students will hold employers responsible” if employers do not come to “a negotiated settlement and address the fundamental issues repeatedly raised by staff.”

Larissa Kennedy, the NUS National President, said, “As students, we regularly witness how staff and student’s conditions are intertwined. University management forcing staff onto casualised contracts, cutting their pay, and now trying to cut thousands of pounds from their pensions cannot be divorced from the fact that one in 10 students has needed to access a foodbank to survive the pandemic – these aren’t the actions of a university leadership or an education system that have the interests of staff or students at heart.

“Staff working conditions are student learning conditions and we stand shoulder to shoulder with our educators in fighting for a more just education system. We demand fully funded, accessible, lifelong education where our spaces of teaching and learning belong to the students, staff and communities they exist to serve. Until then, it is entirely in the gift of vice chancellors and employers to come to a negotiated settlement and address the fundamental issues repeatedly raised by staff. If they don’t, students will hold employers responsible.”

On the day ballots were sent to UCU members, students received an email from setting out how the University intends to respond to the potential strike action. 

The email states that if there is a strike the University will do everything it can to “minimise the impact on your education and experience.” 

And although the University says it wishes to see the matter resolved quickly, and has already promised some changes including the reduction of the use of short-term contracts, it says that “the issues at the heart of the ballot are national issues” beyond their control.

The UCU is expected to make a final decision by November 8. If approved, action could take place as soon as the second half of November, though mandates are valid for six months, so action could also start later.  

Leeds University Union (LUU) is calling for students to contact them to explain what the move would mean to them, what they want to know about the strikes and how students have been affected in the past.

Image: wikicommons

Climate activists to march on Light Night Leeds ahead of COP26

Toni Stephenson on 14 October 2021

A group of nine Spanish climate activists will reach Leeds on Friday, as part of their nearly 1000 km hike across the UK.

Starting in Portsmouth and ending in Glasgow, Marcha-a-Glasgow aims to reach the COP26 Summit being held in the city between 31st October and 12th November.

On average, the rise in global temperature has been 1°C since the pre-industrial era, as CO2 emissions from manufacturing and modern technologies intensify the greenhouse effect preventing heat escaping earth’s atmosphere.

The COP26 Summit stands for the 26th Conference of Parties and is the United Nations’ Climate Change Conference.

It will mark the 16th meeting of the parties since the Kyoto Protocol of 1992, which promised to reduce CO2 emissions to “a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system” and the third meeting since the Paris Agreement of 2015, which aimed to cap the mean global temperature rise to 2°C above pre-industrial levels.

Marcha-a-Glagow, however, feel that politicians at these conferences have failed to both stress the urgency of action needed and implement policies that effectively curb the damage that has been done to our planet. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released a report in 2018 stating that there were 11 years left to implement substantial global changes before the effects of global warming become irreversible.

Along with the most recent report from the IPCC, which states the effects of the rise in global temperatures are currently, ‘widespread, fast, and intensifying’, the group also cite a statement in the journal, BioScience, where over 11,000 scientists warn about ‘untold suffering’ if substantial changes are not made immediately.

Alongside acknowledging that the global South is disproportionately affected by the results of global warming, the activists highlight this year’s catastrophic weather events in Europe as examples that weather patterns are being damaged worldwide, such as the record snowfall in Madrid in January, Storm Christoph in the UK, the wildfires of Greece and Italy over summer and the devastating July floods in Germany and Western Europe.

The activists state, “The climate crisis is reaching devastating levels. We are heading at lightning speed towards an ecological abyss of ‘untold suffering’.”

“If walking 1,000 km under the notorious British weather can help raise awareness that our future and that of generations to come is at stake in Glasgow, then it will all be worth it.”

The goals of the upcoming conference in Glasgow are, to ‘Secure global net zero [emissions] by mid-century’, ‘Adapt to protect communities and natural habitats’, ‘Mobilise finance’ and to ‘Work together to deliver’ these aim by building on the groundwork laid at Paris.

One of the walkers, Maribel Roldón says, “The governments should act now to avoid causing more irreversible harm to our planet. Climate change is eroding human rights and aggravating social inequalities, particularly in the most vulnerable areas.”

The Marcha-a-Glasgow activists will reach Millennium Square in time for the Light Night light shows on Friday 15th October, bringing along a pedal-powered sound machine to accompany them. On Saturday morning from 10am they plan to continue their journey via a festival in Chapeltown, where they will be met by live bands, stalls, and interactive activities in addition to speeches from the Mayor and Children’s Mayor activities to show solidarity.

Image: Leeds City Council

Universities warned that online learning doesn’t offer value for money for students

GryphonEditorAdm on 29 September 2021

The controversy surrounding university tuition fees continues, as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) warns UK universities that favouring online learning could lessen public support for current costs.

The OECD’s Director for Education and Skills, Andreas Schleicher, has argued that online learning fails to provide all the benefits of the university experience. He said that universities no longer provide ‘value for money’, as students miss out on many networking and socialising opportunities.

Schleicher added that he thinks universities opting for online formats will face a “real challenge” in preventing students from opting for alternative tuition providers.

University of Leeds said that they expect to be able to provide students with a “substantial and sustained curriculum-based, on-campus experience” this semester, though controversially most large lectures will continue to be held online even when no legal limits on such gatherings exist.

A petition created by student William Huddie demanding a full return to in-person teaching was signed by over 4,500 people ahead of the start of term.

Students in England pay higher fees than in any other developed country and international students opting to study in the UK are obliged to pay even more. With no access to UK student loans, they must therefore pay their fees up-front.

Former Education Secretary Gavin Williamson has indicated that universities need to reimplement face-to-face learning as much as possible this term.

His successor, Nadhim Zahawi, now faces the decision of whether or not to approve the government-commissioned cut to tuition fees, calling for the new cap to be set at £7,500.

Photograph: University of Leeds

Nine Russell Group universities still have links with arms dealers

GryphonEditorAdm on 29 September 2021

More than a third of the Russell Group have either taken money or invested in arms trade firms over the past five years, it can be revealed.

A Freedom of Information (FOI) request revealed that nine of the 24 Russell Group members have received money from or held investments in arms companies despite such financing arrangements coming under intense scrutiny in recent years.

Bristol, Cardiff, Durham, Manchester, Nottingham, Oxford, Queen Mary London, the London School of Economics and the Imperial College London all confirmed they have received funds from or held investments in arms companies.

The research came with the Defence & Security Equipment International (DSEI) arms fair at the ExCeL centre in East London. 

Imperial College London received £11 million in research and consultancy fees since 2016/17, while holding £1.5 million worth of shares in General Electric. The University of Oxford admitted it had taken over £10.5 million on research and consultancy funding since 2015/16.

Bristol £22,816,462.57 in research and consultancy funding since 2017/18
Cardiff£848,823 in research and consultancy funding since 2016/17
DurhamInvestments in 17 companies that offer military contracts
Imperial College London11,085,903.20 in research and consultancy funding since 2016/17 and £1,558,605 worth of shares in General Electric
Manchester£9,249,761 in research and consultancy funding since 2016/17
NottinghamPension investments in five companies and share investments in Smiths Group until the second quarter of 2021
Oxford£10,772,145.37 in research and consultancy funding since 2015/16
Queen Mary London£179,898 in funding for projects which were completed between 2017 and 2020
London School of EconomicsInvestments in General Eelectric capital between 2017 and 2020

Melina Villeneuve, a founder at Ded_ucation, condemned the annual arms fair: “Seeing tanks, military helicopters, and warships outside the ExCel centre is a stark reminder of the strange privilege we have in this country to not be on the receiving end of both the military industrial complex and unnecessary wars.”

“Bright, young minds should have nothing to do with companies that sell billions of pounds of weapons to aggressors across the world.” 

Universities of Nottingham, Oxford and Manchester have defended their involvement with arms dealers to HuffPost.

“All research finders must first pass ethical scrutiny and be approved by the University’s Committee to Review Donations and Research Funding. This is a robust, independent system, which takes legal, ethical and reputational issues into consideration,” said a spokesperson from the University of Oxford.

Photograph: South Korean Defence Military