UPDATE: The University of Southampton has just released two sets of information regarding the industrial action taking place next month.
One aimed for students and the other for staff.
In the statements the University insists that its:
primary concern is that our students are not disadvantaged by this proposed action and that there is minimal disruption to your studies and progression.
They also say that:
The University has established processes to manage this type of disruption and will be working hard with your representatives at the Students’ Union (SUSU) and other colleagues to implement contingency plans, so that you can continue with your studies and assessments as planned.
However, when addressing staff, the University states how they feel:
disappointed that the Union is considering this action because of the obvious impact it is designed to have on students’ education and progression.
The assessment boycott is still taking place on Thursday 6th November. More details below.
Do you agree with the strike? Let us know how you feel in the comments.
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28/10
The University of Southampton is set to join 68 other universities around the country in taking industrial action over pension disputes next month.
Up to 1,000 members of Southampton University staff are expected to join in with the industrial action taking take place on Thursday 6th November 2014.
The action will take the form of assessment boycotts. This will mean that students will not be set coursework or receive any formal marking or feedback on assignments, and will also halt any scheduled exams.
Previous strikes on campus (31st October 2013)
The University and College Union (UCU), one of the largest university staff unions in the country, announced the strike action last week.
This came after talks failed to provide a guarantee that employers were making any effort to protect the pensions of members of University staff.
Sally Hunt, UCU’s General secretary gave a statement saying:
The employers failed to convince us of the need for their dramatic changes or the reasons behind the methodology for its deficit reduction plan. Their proposals remain full of holes and the information they are apparently relying on to back them up keeps being exposed as misleading.
There is not, as of yet, an official end date for the industrial action. However, the next scheduled negotiation talk is set for 7th November, although UCU have said they are happy to move it closer.
Although the Unions and staff have a right to take action for their pensions, it will obviously cause disruption for the thousands of students at the University of Southampton and around the country.
What do you think about the industrial action? Let us know in the comments below.
Having been in my office at 10 pm when the cleaners come round…I know I sure didn’t want to be there. And if that was when I was starting work I’d definitely want to be paid properly
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If you didn’t like it, you could always apply for a different job. Even the very lowest paid UoS cleaning staff get £7.43 per hour. (Source: http://www.southampton.ac.uk/hr/services/pay_scale/index.php) This is considerably better than what is offered in comparable jobs like supermarkets – apparently Asda pay an average of £6.51 per hour for checkout operators. (Source: http://www.glassdoor.co.uk/Salary/ASDA-Salaries-E10108.htm) They’re already getting 14% more than people doing comparable work, so if the university wanted to, they could replace the striking support staff with people who’d be more than willing to do the same job for less.
Lecturers on the other hand, definitely do deserve more. They have a very particular set of skills. Skills which are very highly valued outside of academia, and which attract salaries to reflect that. If the university wants to attract / keep hold of the best people, it needs to make sure academic staff are paid what they could earn in the private sector. If they don’t, the academics will leave and the uni’s reputation will follow them.
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In b4 someone says “what, again?”
The deficit reduction plan makes very little sense too, I would not be happy with that were it my pension.
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I’ve exams next month, #winning
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