Kingston staff are taking industrial action to improve their (our!) working lives. Help them see this through by sharing your salary!
by Kingston UCU in Kingston upon Thames, Greater London, United Kingdom
All pledges will go towards offsetting the deductions imposed by Kingston management, in the event that they follow through on this threat. Kingston members taking part in the MAB will be able to claim support on top of the limited funding available through the national UCU hardship fund. However, if Kingston management changes course, the money you pledge will not be collected.
In January 2023, the national association of HE and FE employers, UCEA, offered a dismal response to months of industrial action on pay and conditions, with an offer of pay rises of between 4 and 5% depending on pay grade, despite the cut in real wages of 20% that lecturers have had to swallow since 2009. Unsurprisingly, the offer was rejected by UCU members, who, in April, voted 85.6% for strike action and 89.9% for action short of a strike. As UCU leadership stated, “it is immediately clear that this offer will do little to protect our members in a cost-of-living crisis, nor is it at the limit of what a sector with over £40bn in reserves can afford. This offer is another devastating real-terms pay cut for tens of thousands of our members, following over a decade of below inflation pay awards.”
Reluctantly, but on the basis of this firm and democratic mandate, Kingston UCU members joined a Marking and Assessment Boycott on April 20th. Since that time, the Branch Committee has been contacted by members across the university concerned over their treatment. In particular instances, colleagues have had their marking completed by others ill-fitted to assess particular content, without their knowledge or permission; they have faced intimidation and misleading information; in others, they have felt isolated and targeted.
Moreover, Kingston members are being threatened with 50% deductions of wages backdated to April 25th, regardless of when their MAB participation actually took place, and well before grades were actually due. This threat also ignores the work beyond marking that members would have carried on in the same period, and which they will now not be paid for. Such deductions will have a drastic financial impact, jeopardising colleagues' ability to pay for housing, cover bills and day-to-day essentials, which will also have a negative impact on mental and physical health.
The deductions will be devastating for members taking part in the MAB, and are entirely unfair, disproportionate and punitive. Our branch is calling on Kingston management to stop all deductions.
However, in the event that they go through with this threat, we are asking fellow Kingston members and allies to help to support those of your colleagues who are on the frontline of this dispute over the next few, difficult weeks. If you are on a secure contract and did not participate in the MAB, please consider making a pledge to share part of your monthly salary (as an indication, 10% or whatever you can manage), and to renew that donation until the dispute is over. If you are on a more precarious contract, please donate whatever you can, with thanks. Please note that your pledge will be collected and held in escroll until the appeal successfully reaches its target; however, in the event that management does the right thing and calls off the deductions, we will cancel the appeal and no money will be collected from you.
"Colleagues acting on your behalf are suffering significant financial consequences for their actions in the MAB. Collectively we can mitigate some of the damage this will do to the lives of our colleagues by each one of us contributing what we can to help our inspirational colleagues." Kingston UCU member
It’s times like these when we need to see solidarity in action, not just words.
If you plan to apply to the fund, please go to the Kingston UCU branch website.