University and College Union
Encyclopedia
The University and College Union (UCU) is a British trade union formed by the merger in 2006 of the Association of University Teachers
Association of University Teachers
The Association of University Teachers was the trade union and professional association that represented academic and academic-related staff at pre-1992 universities in the United Kingdom...

 (AUT) and the National Association of Teachers in Further and Higher Education
National Association of Teachers in Further and Higher Education
The National Association of Teachers in Further and Higher Education was the British trade union and professional association for people working with those above statutory school age, and primarily concerned with providing education, training or research...

 (NATFHE).

The union was formed on 1 June 2006. For the first year a set of transitional rules was in place until full operational unity was achieved in June 2007. The union has around 116,000 members and is the largest further and higher education union in the world.

During the first year of the new union the existing General Secretaries (Sally Hunt
Sally Hunt
Sally Hunt is the General Secretary of the University and College Union . Prior to the UCU coming into existence on June 1, 2006, she was the last General Secretary of the Association of University Teachers , having held that post since 2002...

 and Paul Mackney
Paul Mackney
Paul Mackney is a British educator and trade union leader. From 1997 to 2006, he was General Secretary of the National Association of Teachers in Further and Higher Education...

) remained in post, managing the union’s day to day business jointly. Paul Mackney did not stand for General Secretary of UCU owing to ill-health and Sally Hunt was elected General Secretary of the union on 9 March 2007, and took office on 1 June 2007.

The logo of the new union was designed by London design group sans+baum.

The UCU is regularly criticized for its repeated boycotting of Israeli academics and is subject to claims of institutional antisemitism.

2006 HE industrial action

Until the merger, AUT and NATFHE members in higher education were involved in ongoing 'action short of a strike' - including boycotting setting and marking exams, and 'Mark and Park' where members would mark coursework but did not release marks and this action was continued by the UCU. Lecturers were taking industrial action
Industrial action
Industrial action or job action refers collectively to any measure taken by trade unions or other organised labour meant to reduce productivity in a workplace. Quite often it is used and interpreted as a euphemism for strike, but the scope is much wider...

 over issues of pay, and the gap that has grown up over the last 20–30 years between their remuneration and that of other similarly qualified public-sector professionals. Prime Minister Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...

 promised that a significant percentage of new monies released for universities would be put towards lecturers' pay and this had not happened.

AUT and NATFHE rejected an offer of 12.6% over three years which was made on the 8th of May and a further offer of 13.12% over three years made on 30 May.

Concerns grew that students would not be able to graduate in 2006. The National Union of Students' leadership supported the lecturers' action and although the matter was raised at various meetings NUS support for lecturers was never successfully challenged. In response to feedback from a group of students' unions NUS advised AUT/NATFHE (UCU) that their support for action could not be indefinite and was wholly dependent on seeking a fast resolution. Many students' unions from around the country went further and openly condemned the action taken by the lecturers' unions as holding the students to ransom.

To support the industrial action the new union, on its very first day of existence, organised a 'day of solidarity' by its higher education members. This included a demonstration in London which ended with a lobby at the headquarters of the employers' body, the Universities and Colleges Employers' Association (Ucea).

Following further talks on 6 June between UCU and UCEA, sponsored by the TUC and Acas
Acas
The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service is a Crown non-departmental public body of the Government of the United Kingdom. Its purpose is to improve organisations and working life through the promotion and facilitation of strong industrial relations practice...

, the UCU agreed to a ballot of its members on the 13.1% offer (with an increase of around 15% for lower paid members of non-academic university staff) over three years, with the important proviso that any monies docked from striking lecturers would be repaid and that an independent review would consider the mechanisms for future negotiations and the scope of funding available to universities for future pay settlements. The pay increase will be phased over the three years, with the final year's figure subject to further increase in line with inflation. The boycott of assessment was suspended on 7 June.

Controversy on Anti-Semitism

Since 2007, the UCU has been involved in controversy over boycotting Israeli academia and claims that an underlying institutional antisemitism has led to the resignations of some Jewish members.

In July 2011, the UCU was notified of a Jewish member's intention to sue before the Employment Tribunal
Employment tribunal
Employment Tribunals are tribunal non-departmental public bodies in England and Wales and Scotland which have statutory jurisdiction to hear many kinds of disputes between employers and employees. The most common disputes are concerned with unfair dismissal, redundancy payments and employment...

 for violation of the Equality Act 2010. This case was filed under the Equality Act with the Employment Tribunal
Employment tribunal
Employment Tribunals are tribunal non-departmental public bodies in England and Wales and Scotland which have statutory jurisdiction to hear many kinds of disputes between employers and employees. The most common disputes are concerned with unfair dismissal, redundancy payments and employment...

 in September 2011 and is expected to be heard in summer of 2012.

Privatisation of education

UCU is campaigning against private finance initiative
Private Finance Initiative
The private finance initiative is a way of creating "public–private partnerships" by funding public infrastructure projects with private capital...

s and joint venture
Joint venture
A joint venture is a business agreement in which parties agree to develop, for a finite time, a new entity and new assets by contributing equity. They exercise control over the enterprise and consequently share revenues, expenses and assets...

s, such as those proposed by INTO University Partnerships
INTO University Partnerships
INTO University Partnerships is a British limited company that specialises in setting up joint ventures with universities. It focuses on the provision of foundation courses for international students, including English language, especially English for Academic Purposes.-History:INTO University...

.

UCU Left caucus

UCU Left is a group of activists within the union which calls for democratic accountability of union officials. It supports strikes, demonstrations and other actions in support of pay, jobs and pensions. UCU Left opposes "all forms of racism, sexism, oppression and imperialism".

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK