UCU members picket outside Queen Mary University in east London in February (Picture: Guy Smallman)
Workers at 145 universities across Britain have begun a marking and assessment boycott (Mab) in their battles over pay, equalities and pensions. And—once again—UCU union members had to fight against their general secretary Jo Grady’s attempts to thwart industrial action.
Grady wanted to delay the boycott, which began on Thursday. But UCU members voted to keep up—and escalate action—at a higher education special sector conference (Shesc) on Wednesday.
Peta Bulmer is a UCU member from Liverpool university who attended the Shesc. “The vast majority of those at the conference wanted the Mab to go ahead,” she told Socialist Worker.
“They also voted to say that any branch hit by university bosses with a 100 percent deduction in pay for taking part in the Mab should be able to strike.
“Currently 16 branches have been hit with a 100 percent deduction in pay, with even more being hit with 50 percent or 40 percent deductions. With the Mab already begun, we want strikes to be called as soon as possible.”
Peta explained that the Shesc largely dismissed the strategy put forward by union leaders. “The argument from headquarters all along has been, ‘Let’s not call any action. But okay, if you want action, let’s call the least amount possible.’,” she said.
“Another strategy has been to delay the action members want and then to pause it when it’s called. This approach has been defeated at every opportunity. You can see this in the recent reballot results, the branch delegates’ meetings (BDMs) and the latest e-consultation. And we saw it at the Shesc.
“All demonstrated a determination on the part of members to fight back, despite the negative messaging coming from HQ.”
The Shesc passed a motion that said Mab will need a higher level of democracy and organisation among rank and file members. The motion called for fortnightly BDMs, or national strike committees, so union members could discuss the future of the strike together.
Unfortunately, another motion was passed to “decouple” the Four fights dispute—pay, workload, casualisation and equalities— and the fight over the USS pension scheme. This has long been pushed by union leaders.
Meanwhile, almost 160 people joined a UCU Solidarity meeting on Wednesday night to discuss the future of the dispute. Speakers explained how workers could begin a Mab successfully.
Meetings such as this will be even more critical as thousands of workers begin the boycott– which can be quite an isolating experience compared to strikes. Workers must fight to keep the Mab going and couple it with strikes. And every branch that is facing pay deductions should push to strike as soon as possible.
The battle over who controls this dispute continues—but many workers have shown they are determined to ensure it’s them, not union officials.
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