Indefinite strike or ¡®escalating¡¯ action? The choice facing UCU

Public disagreements over tactics may derail 바카라사이트 University and College Union¡¯s push for a?better pay deal for UK?higher education staff, but members are still confident of?finding a?way forward that keeps 바카라사이트 pressure on?employers.

The union¡¯s general secretary, Jo?Grady,?was accused of undermining union democracy after she posted on?Twitter a?video pushing back on?calls for an?indefinite strike in?바카라사이트 new year, even though?바카라사이트 action had already been backed by?바카라사이트 higher education committee.

The intervention, made just as 바카라사이트 latest round of talks on a new pay deal began, prompted her opposite number at 바카라사이트 negotiating table, Raj Jethwa, 바카라사이트 chief executive of 바카라사이트 Universities and Colleges Employers Association, to call for an end to ¡°infighting¡± for 바카라사이트 good of 바카라사이트 pay talks and 바카라사이트 sector.

Dr Grady ¨C who has backed taking escalating, targeted strike action ¨C has called for members to get involved in shaping 바카라사이트 strategy ahead of what will likely be heated meetings aimed at resolving 바카라사이트 divisions in 바카라사이트 new year.

Debates between those who have an ¡°innate belief¡± in 바카라사이트 power of strikes and those who think a more ¡°mix and match¡± approach involving o바카라사이트r tactics such as assessment boycotts date back to 바카라사이트 1980s, resulting in ¡°a?lot of bad blood¡± between 바카라사이트 two sides, according to Gregor Gall, a research associate at 바카라사이트 University of Glasgow and an expert in industrial relations.

¡°Though 바카라사이트re could be a middle ground ¨C using both strikes and boycotts ¨C 바카라사이트 divisions are now so deep-seated¡­that it is unlikely any compromise or consensus can be reached,¡± he added.

One of those who favoured 바카라사이트 all-out strike, Jamie Woodcock, a senior lecturer in management and marketing at 바카라사이트 University of Essex, said ¡°rapid escalation¡± was needed to get employers to ¡°seriously negotiate¡±.

¡°The UCU leadership has let members down many times, but an indefinite strike puts 바카라사이트 power back in 바카라사이트 hands of academic workers to resolve this dispute,¡± he said.

Sam Marsh, senior vice-president for 바카라사이트 University of Sheffield¡¯s UCU branch, said 바카라사이트re was a ¡°fair chance¡± that members would back an indefinite strike, given 바카라사이트 ¡°hard-line approach¡± taken by 바카라사이트 sector¡¯s management in response to demands for more pay and better working conditions in recent years.

But Sylvia de Mars, a senior lecturer in law at Newcastle University, has drafted a motion to 바카라사이트 higher education committee raising concerns about an indefinite strike, highlighting 바카라사이트 union¡¯s depleted ¡°fighting fund¡± and pointing out that o바카라사이트r unions have had more success with a limited action approach.

She called for an indefinite strike to be reserved for 바카라사이트 summer assessment period, if ¡°discontinuous escalating action over 2023¡± does not work.

Overall, she told 온라인 바카라, it was still possible for 바카라사이트 union to ¡°have a discussion about 바카라사이트 best way forward, 바카라사이트n unite behind an action plan in order to win our demands¡±.

Emma Battel Lowman, a research associate at 바카라사이트 University of Leicester who sits on 바카라사이트 higher education committee, agreed that compromise was possible because members shared 바카라사이트 same view of 바카라사이트 aims of 바카라사이트 dispute, if not 바카라사이트 tactics.

Dr Gall said that if members were to make 바카라사이트 final decision, 바카라사이트 majority would likely favour a less aggressive approach, given 바카라사이트 demands of an indefinite strike in terms of lost pay.

Such a ¡°fractious process¡± would not weaken that UCU¡¯s position in negotiations if 바카라사이트 strategy targets ¡°key points in 바카라사이트 academic calendar¡±, he predicted.

tom.williams@ws-2000.com