MyGlasgow News

As you will be aware, an industrial dispute is underway between the University and College Union (UCU) and most of the universities which are members of the Universities Superannuation Scheme (the pension scheme for academic staff and professional support staff in related grades). The dispute involves strike action which began on Thursday 22 February and continues until Friday 16 March, and ‘Action Short of a Strike’ – essentially a work to contract coupled with a refusal to reschedule classes cancelled during strike action.

Further information can be found from the websites:

www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/

www.ucu.org.uk/

On Monday of this week, the national negotiators for the UCU and Universities UK (which represents the employers) reached a draft agreement which, if accepted by both sides, would have resulted in a cessation of strike action. However, the settlement was rejected by the UCU’s National HE Committee on Tuesday. At present, therefore, the industrial dispute continues.

The University of Glasgow’s position has remained the same since before the dispute began – we are calling for further national talks without preconditions aimed at reaching a settlement which is acceptable to all parties. We have also made clear that we are willing to support a modest increase in employers’ contributions (currently at 18% of salary) to help preserve good pensions and address the financial deficit in the scheme. The University’s position is essentially the same as that of the UCU’s and will not change as a result of any future strike action.

The information we have suggests that the impact of the strike across the institution has been variable, with about a third of Schools being noticeably more affected than others.
As a University, we are committed to doing everything we can to minimise the negative impact on students. This view is widely shared throughout the University and we are pleased that local UCU representatives have agreed to ask their members ‘to do everything they can to minimise the impact on students, and to ensure that students are well prepared for examinations’. On this basis, we have made clear that we do not envisage withholding any pay for ‘Action Short of a Strike’. In addition, at the request of UCU Glasgow we have agreed to spread deductions for withheld pay over three months.

A number of students have enquired about whether the University will pay compensation to those who have missed classes as a result of the strike. At this stage, our position remains unchanged – we are confident that students will be able to complete the academic year on time, and as such do not propose to offer compensation. Pay withheld from those taking strike action will be used for the general benefit of students.

The Senate Office is currently preparing more detailed guidance which we will issue to Schools and students on Monday 19 March. In the meantime, students can be assured that:

- No student will be assessed on work that they have not had an opportunity to cover in the course of their studies
- Schools will be asked to extend the deadline for pieces of assessed work as appropriate where students have faced delays or disruption to their studies
- Classes on week commencing 19 March should proceed according to schedule
- End-of-year examinations will proceed according to schedule
- Viva examinations for research degrees will proceed according to schedule unless otherwise notified
- Field trips scheduled for April should proceed according to schedule
- We will put in place fair and consistent guidance for students who wish to cite strike-related disruption to studies as part of an academic appeal.

Please look out for the further information which will be issued early next week. In the meantime, if you have specific queries about your studies and especially about assessed work, please refer these to your School.

David Duncan
Chief Operating Officer and University Secretary
14 March 2018

 

 

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First published: 15 March 2018