Passed 82% in favour 10% against, 8% abstentions at branch meeting 06.12.2021
This branch notes:
– An unprecedented turn out of 70.2% in the postal ballot, with an overwhelming mandate for action consisting of a 93.3% vote for action short of strike and 85.8% for strike.
– The mandate indicates strong opposition to management’s threat to make 52 members of staff across the university redundant over the course of the 2021/22 academic year, and willingness to take action.
– GUCU is committed to resolving the dispute through negotiation but, due to management’s intransigence, is moving towards escalation of industrial action as a last resort.
– Management is currently refusing to attend dispute resolution meetings.
This branch believes:
– There are no genuine grounds for compulsory redundancies. The only acceptable number is zero.
– Throughout the process, the Senior Management Team has failed to consult in good faith with the campus unions.
This branch resolves:
- To continue to attempt to meet with management to negotiate a resolution to the dispute ensuring no compulsory redundancies and a halt to the restructure.
– If a resolution can not be reached through negotiation, to be prepared to take the following measures as a form of escalation:
– strike action consisting of 21 consecutive days of strike action starting from a date to be decided by members at a branch meeting early in January 2022.
– to prepare to extend our mandate for a summer marking and assessment boycott by means of a strategically timed reballot if necessary
– To continue to take action short of strike for the length of the dispute including:
· refusal of goodwill;
· working to contract;
· working within contractual hours;
· refusing to cover for absent colleagues;
· refusing to undertake voluntary activities or to attend non-contractual meetings;
· refusing to share course materials;
· removing uploaded materials related to, and/or not sharing materials related to, lectures or classes that will be or have been cancelled as a result of strike action;
· not rescheduling lectures or classes cancelled due to strike action;
· refusing to record teaching sessions
· resignation from all voluntary committees;
· refusal to participate in redundancy-related managerial processes.