Newsletter (March 2022)

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It’s Spring Break! We hope you have returned to face-to-face teaching with ease. This may be our final semester on the Richmond campus, but there remains a great deal of hard work and campaigning ahead to improve our position at RAIUL. On February 18th your Executive Committee had its regular meeting with Richmond’s Executive via the Joint Negotiating and Consultation Committee (JNCC) to discuss a full Agenda of ongoing issues. Many of these reflect the ongoing situation nationally.

Pay and Pensions

Recent months have seen a dramatic increase in the headline rate of inflation after a decade or so of economic stability. Major rises in key costs of living—petrol, electricity, gas, Council tax, etc.— have significantly outstripped headline inflation. That we have not had a pay increase in five years means that we now face the prospect of a very severe decline in our real incomes over the next few months and years. As we know, the prospect of a pay rise depends entirely on an improvement in student recruitment, although the move to Chiswick Park promises better cost control. SMT in conjunction with the Trustees will be considering a pay improvement over the course of the Summer months.

Pensions are a major area of contention in HE. Colleagues in some 64 UK HEIs have undertaken industrial action on pay and pensions. Our pensions are under attack from UUK and USS. The threat of either huge increases in contributions or significant reductions in benefits are tangible, based on a seriously-flawed financial model. Further details can be found in the blogs of Mike Otsuka (see the latest instalment).

Adjunct Ts&Cs

Your Executive, spearheaded by Catherine Dille, has continued to campaign against the very poor terms and conditions of Adjunct faculty at Richmond. We continue to push for an end to the use of zero-hour contracts, and to see Adjunct faculty of more than two years’ standing have the option of moving to permanent fractional and full-time contracts. This seems to have found some favour with SMT, and we look forward to continuing progress in this area. We continue to push for a review of Adjunct Faculty pay to ensure equity across departments and pay levels comparable to other HEIs in London. As part of our campaign, we are holding Anti-Casualisation Events March 15-16th (see more information or how to get involved).

The Workload Model

The recent rollout of the Workload model pilot has shown itself to be more flawed than we had hoped. There is a distinct lack of clarity and the Manual is overblown, clunky and excessive. We continue to press for transparency and fairness in its implementation. We continue to emphasise that we cannot support any workload, promotion, and progression scheme that does not ensure the health and safety of Faculty and equality in the workplace. Further, this process must ensure opportunities for professional development, including research, for all Faculty.

Branch elections

The Annual General Meeting will be in May, at which time we will elect officers for the Branch Committee. Please consider putting yourself forward for one of the positions: Chair, Secretary, Treasurer, Membership/Recruitment Officer, Equalities Officer, Adjunct Officer, Green Officer, RIASA Officer, or as a Committee Member. All elected officers receive union facilities time that count towards your workload. For more information about the roles and responsibilities please contact us. Announcements will be made soon for the nominations.

Have your say: Issues for the JNCC meeting with SMT

Branch Officers will be meeting with the Senior Management Team at the Joint Negotiation and Consultation Committee in May. Please let us know issues and concerns you would like us to address.

Get involved with your Local Branch

We are looking for volunteer Caseworkers and Departmental Reps to help build and diversify the voice of the Union. We also always are interested in hearing from members and others who wish to join.

Please contact us via richmonducubranch@richmond.ac.uk and attend our upcoming events:

Anti-Casualisation Brown Bag Social – 15 March, 12-1:30pm (Longley Room and online)

Battling Casualisation in HE Panel – 16 March, 12-1:30pm (online, email to register)

Open Members Meeting on Pay – 25 March, 10-11:30am (online, email for link)

Annual General Meeting – May TBA

JNCC Meeting – May TBA

Together we can improve working conditions at Richmond

Branch Newsletter March 2022_final