Strike Action by UCU

You should respond by Friday 2 December if you intend to take, or have taken, industrial action

Purpose

The purpose of this note is to inform staff who INTEND to STRIKE as part of the forthcoming industrial action on Wednesday 30 November 2011 about the process for informing the University of their participation in the strike and the consequences of such actions on pay.

Current position

We have been notified by the University and College Union (UCU) that its members will be taking discontinuous industrial action in the form of a strike in support of claims regarding the changes to the USS pension scheme – one days’ strike action on Wednesday 30 November 2011.

The University of York will continue to provide its services to students and staff during this period and will make every effort to ensure that staff and students are not adversely affected by the situation.

We realise that many staff will not wish to participate in this action and regret having to write to so many staff. However, as we do not know which of our employees are members of trade unions we have to write to all staff who are eligible to be members of UCU to understand who will be on strike.

If you take strike action

If you are a UCU member who intends to or has taken strike action on this date, you must inform us as detailed below. As your employer the University has the right to ask if you intend to or have participated in the strike and you should inform us of your intentions. Given the short timescale we understand members are most likely to inform us after they strike.

Reply to hr-notifications@york.ac.uk and indicate if you have taken strike action on 30 November 2011. Please include your name, job title and department in the email message.

By replying in this manner you should understand that you will not be entitled to your normal contractual pay for the day in which you participate in strike action.

We would like your response no later than Friday 2 December 2011

You should read the information about how strike action will affect your pay before making your response.

We appreciate that due to planned absences from work and access to emails there will be some staff who are not able to respond by the deadline of 2 December 2011. If responding after this date you should follow the same instructions as above to inform the University that you have taken part in strike action.

How strike action will affect your pay

The obligation to undertake the duties and responsibilities of your role form a material part of your contract of employment. Therefore any member of staff who refuses to carry out their duties and takes strike action will be committing a breach of their contract of employment. In response to strike action the University of York will be withholding pay for the period of the strike action.

A member of staff taking part in strike action will have 1/260th of annual pay withheld for each day of strike action. There is no entitlement to repayment for sums withheld after the employee has returned to work and the University expects staff to return to normal working as soon as possible after the strike action.

Answers to frequently asked questions about the strike action are available. Further information can be found in the University policy on the management of industrial action . If you have any queries please contact hr-enquiries@york.ac.uk

Action Short of Strike by UNITE and UCU

You should respond by Friday 2 December if you intend to take, or have taken, industrial action

Purpose

The purpose of this note is to inform staff who intend to take part in the forthcoming industrial action commencing on 30 November 2011 about the process for informing the University of their participation in this action.

We recognise that staff have the right to take part in industrial action but realise that many staff receiving this note will not wish to participate in this action. We regret having to write to so many staff. However, as we do not know which of our staff are members of the UNITE and UCU we have to write to all technical staff and academic and related staff.

We have a history of positive relations with local unions and we will endeavour to continue to work together to resolve concerns. Our main priority is to ensure that students and staff are not adversely affected by this situation.

Current position

We have received notification from UNITE that it has called on its members to take industrial action commencing on 30 November 2011. This action relates to the union’s dissatisfaction with the current pay negotiations.

UCU have previously notified the University that their members had also voted to take part in action short of a strike, namely working to contract. This industrial action has been ongoing since October 2011 and it is anticipated that UCU’s action short of a strike will continue until further notice is received from UCU.

UNITE has called for on-going 'action short of a strike' which involves a work to rule and an overtime ban. This means that staff are still expected to abide by the terms of their contract, including the obligation to perform their duties in an efficient manner. A member working in accordance with the ban on overtime will only be in breach of their contract where overtime forms part of their contract of employment.

The UCU’s on-going 'action short of a strike' involves a work to rule and relates to the union’s on-going dissatisfaction with the recent changes to pensions that have been implemented nationally by the Board of the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS). This means that staff are still expected to abide by the terms of their contract, including the obligation to perform their duties in an efficient manner.

Specifically the notice from UCU highlighted the following instructions to their members to:

• Work no more than their contracted hours where those hours are expressly stated and in any event not to exceed the maximum hours stipulated by the Working Time Regulations
• Perform no additional voluntary duties, such as out of hours cover, or covering for colleagues (unless such cover is contractually required)
• Set and mark no work beyond that work which they are contractually obliged to set and/or mark
• Attend no meetings where such attendance is voluntary on the part of the member.

The University has previously shared with unions its policy with regard to managing industrial action. This will be implemented and can be accessed at http://www.york.ac.uk/admin/hr/resources/policy/er_managing_industrial_action.htm

The University expects all staff to fulfil their contractual obligations, including the performance of all teaching and related duties. The University does not recognise partial performance which is in breach of contract. Such action will result in deductions from pay.

If you participate in ‘action short of a strike’.

If you participate in industrial action you should inform us by emailing hr-notifications@york.ac.uk indicating your name, job title and department. You are requested to respond as soon as you commence industrial action.

As UNITE and UCU are not asking members to breach their contracts, in terms of the working to contract, the University expects this contractual position to be observed. If your actions do NOT constitute a breach of contract your pay will not be affected. The University will expect staff to prioritise essential work and ensure that commitments are met within reasonable timescales.

However, if contractual obligations are not being met or conducted by staff in an efficient manner, the University will implement the managing industrial action policy and pay will be withheld in line with the University policy.

If you have any queries or concerns about the situation please contact hr-enquiries@york.ac.uk.