Now that the strikes are over, and in light of the failed ACAS negotiation, it is more important than ever to take the fight directly to UUK. One fact that has emerged clearly over the past month or so is that UUK is not fit for purpose.
Attention has rightly focused on the governance, structure, and remit of this murky organisation. This is particularly important because when the debate is about the nature of the pensions themselves it is easy for those in power simply to seek managerial justifications for their stance, or to refer the whole thing to an independent body. The risks here are great, as shown by Alistair Jarvis’ preference for ‘independent’ assessment of the pension scheme rather than further negotiations or reform of his own organisation’s procedures.
So, what exactly is wrong with UUK? First, it is neither transparent nor accountable. As a highly successful petition points out, UUK is not subject to Freedom of Information requests. But because it demonstrably has a role in the running of UK higher education this is unacceptable, and should be a matter of government interest. Second, UUK has clearly reached a point where it does not represent the interests even of its own members. Even the FT’s business-oriented analysis describes the role of university leadership in the dispute as ‘dangerous, shortsighted, obtuse’. Many VCs and other prominent members of UK universities have sought to reverse the damage that UUK has done. Penetrating questions have been asked – these need to be reiterated until we have answers. The paywalled and blustery piece in the Times only adds to the feeling that UUK is utterly out of touch. Third, and perhaps most importantly, UUK’s actions appear to be in contravention of both the Companies Act and its own stated charitable purpose.
We must be clear: the fault for the strikes lies with UUK. The solution to the problem is to nullify everything they did following their September survey. We know the 42% figure is false, and we know that UUK’s members were misrepresented.
If senior members of UK universities truly want to represent the interests of their staff, they must continue to distance themselves from UUK. If VCs, financial officers and others in power want to retain any credibility, they need to take up the fight to reform UUK. Union members and university managers can find common cause in simply rejecting all that UUK did since September. Motivation for that unity should come from anger about the very nature of UUK.
The petition regarding FoI is one useful tool. But the UUK problems are so specific and serious that we can press harder. We can ask our bursars, financial officers and VCs why they didn’t protest at the time about the rushed and badly handled survey. We can seek legal advice on pay deductions, on the grounds that UUK was at fault for the strike action in the first place. We can bring the crisis at UUK to the attention of our MPs, who must surely care about what is being done to our universities.
Cambridge MP Daniel Zeichner told me in an email that Labour has already expressed its ‘concerns’ directly to UUK. However, he also pointed out that university governance should come from within. This is absolutely correct: pressure to reform UUK should continue to come from UCU, staff members, as well as senior management.
– Boris Jardine
Cambridge UCU 2018 Industrial Action 