Buildings vs People
On the 31st of March, the Vice-Chancellor wrote to us about the opening of the More in Common faith and community centre on our campus. The Centre is dedicated to Jo Cox who was raised in Kirklees, served as MP for Batley and Spen and was a vocal social justice advocate. We welcome the opening of this Centre and its dedication to Jo Cox. However, we were surprised to see that the Vice-Chancellor’s announcement contained a reflection on the University’s financial management:
“We are fortunate to have the capital funds to invest in new buildings and cutting-edge facilities. That capital cannot be used to support our usual running costs, which must be met from our normal annual budgets. Schools and Services are focused on achieving the growth in student numbers that will ensure sustainability in those annual budgets, and have been asked to exercise caution in all spending decisions.”
While we cannot be certain, we can guess that the Vice-Chancellor may be attempting to dissuade us from further demands for a better pay offer and more progress on the other Four Fights issues. The aim may be to convince us that, despite being in a healthy financial position, the University cannot spend money on long-term staff support and development and has to routinely resort to redundancies to make ends meet.
The Vice-Chancellor may also be responding to accusations of prioritising buildings over people, especially in the context of ongoing redundancies in the School of Human and Health Sciences in the areas of Psychology, Social Work, Politics and Sociology. This concern becomes even more pressing if we consider that Jo Cox’s undergraduate degree was in Social and Political Science.
In response to our Vice-Chancellor’s statement and using what we know of Politics and Social Sciences ourselves, we would like to note that it was the university staff who earned and continue earning any “capital” that our institution currently possesses and spends on buildings. Much of this capital comes from you working over your contracted hours on weekends and evenings. Without you, the University would be just a collection of empty buildings.
Fair Pay
On the 7th of March, the Director of HR wrote to all of us informing us of the UCEA pay offer of 8%-5% uplift, with 5% applying to anyone earning £31,000 a year and above. The Director’s letter stated that “This is the highest pay offer made within the Higher Education sector in nearly 20 years.” While this statement was seemingly meant as a point of praise for the offer, we believe it accomplishes precisely the opposite. It informs us that indeed, for the past twenty years, our pay stagnated through a series of rises that did not come close to inflation.
University of Huddersfield VC tells staff they will not be paid for fulfilling their employment contracts!
100% pay deductions are threatened for working to contract. https://staff.hud.ac.uk/media/intranet/content/hr/downloads/ASOS_Guidance_April2023.pdf
It is well known that the UK higher education sector survives because of free labour provided by staff who work significantly over their contracted hours. However, on 18th of April 2023 Professor Bob Cryan, the Vice Chancellor of the University of Huddersfield, took the expectations of free labour to a new level. He sent all the University staff an e-mail informing them that 100% of their pay will be deducted for any participation in the UCU Action Short of Strike (ASOS), including for working to contract. “Working to contract” means not working more than the hours stated in the employment contract and in staff handbook and not engaging in voluntary work activities. Effectively, Professor Cryan said that staff will not be paid when fulfilling their contractual obligations to the University
‘Workers Memorial Day 2023’
Remember the dead,
Fight for the living!
Huddersfield
Date Friday 28th April 2023
Meet Place H Booth Memorial Plaque,
near Tesco Goods Entrance,
Viaduct Street, HD1 5DL
Time 12.30 pm
H Booth Factory Fire 1941
The fire at H Booth & Sons cloth business in Huddersfield killed 49 workers, mainly
young women. A smouldering pipe is thought to have started the fire but the real cause
was a death-trap building built as a warehouse, not as a premises for 150 workers.
Two timber staircases had been added which actually spread the blaze;
no fire procedures; an alarm that did not work. Those who died were on the top floor;
there was no access to the roof, no fire escapes and drain pipes were flush to the wall.
At least two women died after they jumped to avoid slow incineration and death.
The 1937 Factory Act stated that there should be means of escape in case
of fire and obstacles. Further, employees should be aware of the routines involved.
To my Knowledge no one was ever prosecuted.
The fire was the town’s worst wartime disaster. And it goes on, Grenfell and the Tories
‘bonfire of regulations!’
speakers
Mick Donoghue, Branch Secretary, Kirklees UNISON
Cormac Kelly, Local Historian
HudUCU 