Unite workers in UCU on strike last year
Members of Unite who work for the UCU union started six weeks of strikes last week and are set to continue.
Unite union members say they face toxic working conditions, including bullying and micromanagement.
A Unite member told Socialist Worker that UCU “are the worst employer ever. You assume working for a union would be a really nice job. I’ve never encountered an employer so nasty.
“Instructions come out of nowhere that say from now on you will fill out a daily worksheet. If you don’t you will be considered for a disciplinary.
“There is a restructure that they decided to impose with no consultation. We don’t know where this has gone. We have been asking but have had no answers.”
One worker said, “I keep asking myself ‘why?’ Why am I no longer trusted to do my job? Why am I no longer allowed to collaborate with colleagues? Why do I suddenly need to be micromanaged?”
Another added, “I feel more and more disheartened, depressed and stressed by working for UCU.”
Unite also argues that there is an ongoing problem of institutional racism at the union. Black staff say they have been disproportionately targeted for punitive action by management.
Staff who spoke up about racism at previous Unite UCU rallies have been victimised.
The Unite Black Members’ Group said, “UCU management has consistently neglected to adopt an anti-racist approach in its practices, leading us to conclude that it is not genuinely committed to eradicating racism from the workplace.”
Many ordinary UCU members are supportive of the Unite branch in their dispute, which has been ongoing for over a year. UCU branches would usually use their members’ subs to employ someone. Now, some are transferring the money to Unite’s strike fund while the employee is on strike.
A petition signed by hundreds of UCU members called for the union to resolve the dispute with its staff. The statement called for an immediate end to outstanding disciplinary cases against black staff, an end to the victimisation and threats of potential disciplinary cases against UCU Unite officers.
The Unite striker agreed, “It’s six weeks of escalating strikes so it’s quite a big deal. All the work that is supposed to be done with UCU branches and to prepare for the UCU congress is not happening.”
But they added that the strikes are still well supported by Unite members.
The UCU responded to the strikes by stating that it is “unnecessary” for Unite members to take action over “minor issues”.
Workers are set to strike on 7-10 April, 14-16 April, 23-25 April, 28 April-2 May
UCU union members at Cardiff University have voted overwhelmingly to take hard hitting action over mass job cuts and course closures.
Some 83 percent voted for strikes and 86 percent backed action short of a strike. It’s not hard to see why workers at Cardiff want to fight back. The university has plans to slash the jobs of 400 academic workers.
And the proposed cuts to nursing courses would deepen the staffing crisis in the NHS in Wales, which has a shortfall of 2,000 nurses.
The university’s plans also involve axing some courses, including in modern languages and ancient history.
At Brunel University in west London, UCU members are striking until Thursday, and again on 7-11 April. And strike ballots at Sheffield and Durham universities are due to close this week.
A ballot of UCU members at Edinburgh University is also due to start soon. Bosses at the Scottish institution have threatened to make a huge £140 million of cuts.
Bosses had threatened to cut 36 jobs. They have now guaranteed there will be no compulsory redundancies.
Some of the remaining people at risk have been redeployed. When the union branch is satisfied that outstanding issues are resolved for these members, they will hold a ballot on whether to end the dispute.
Workers at Usic, run by the private firm Study Group, run courses to prepare international students for a university degree.
The win shows the power that workers have when they threaten to strike.
The Scottish parliament is considering using its legal power for the first time in its history to force the former principal of the University of Dundee to answer questions.
Iain Gillespie announced last year that there was a £35 million black hole in the budget and redundancies were inevitable.
He then left his job when details of his expenses were revealed. Gillespie is now refusing to attend parliament and face a grilling because he is busy “travelling”.
The current management wants to cut the jobs of 632 workers. Even though the university has now been offered a £22 million bailout by the Scottish Funding Council, it hasn’t yet taken redundancies off the table.
UCU members at Dundee were on strike for three solid weeks in February and March in defence of jobs and education. Last week they held a huge all staff meeting with over 1,000 people attending in person and online. They also held a protest at the management offices.
UCU branch members are considering their next steps. The Unison branch at the university has also voted for strikes so there is an opportunity to take united action if the UCU acts quickly.
At the Capital City College Group of colleges in London, both the NEU and UCU unions are united in their anger at management.
Sixth form workers in the NEU union are demanding to get the same 5.5 percent pay rise offered to other teachers.
UCU members are going into dispute over pay and consolidation. A new CEO, who was appointed last year, is proposing to merge the colleges so that some courses are offered at a single site rather than across the city. UCU say this destroys educational opportunities for young people.
The group’s management also proposes to cut the last four mental health counsellor roles.
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