UCU Demonstration Kings Cross 30 November

[Andrew*Debbie]

University and Colleges Union (UCU) are planning a national demonstration at Kings Cross on 30 November 1PM. I suggest planning around this if you are traveling on the day.

I'll be there unless Avanti West Coast cancel the train.

The dispute is over pay, working conditions, casualisation, and pensions. The pension has had massive benefit cuts and large increases in contributions. MANY lecturers are on fixed-term part time contracts. We've had years of no or below inflation pay increases. Employers offered 3% this year.

FAQs

www.ucu.org.uk

 

[SargeNpton]

Where does it say on the UCU web site that a demo is taking place at Kings Cross?

 

[Andrew*Debbie]

Where does it say on the UCU web site that a demo is taking place at Kings Cross?

On Wednesday 30 November at 13:00 we are asking every branch in the country to descend on Kings Cross in London for the biggest national rally in UCU history.

The Friday email: 18 November 2022

This week: UCU Rising strikes | Respect FE win and ballots | Barnet and Southgate College | University of Sheffield International College | Birkbeck | 'Teach out' sessions | Climate and environment | students and cost of living crisis | Equal pay toolkit | St Andrew's Day anti-racism march and rally

www.ucu.org.uk

Facebook

www.facebook.com

 

[PeterC]

Kings Cross Station or Kings Cross as an area of London?

 

[Ediswan]

Kings Cross Station or Kings Cross as an area of London?

According to the poster for the rally, the station: https://www.ucu.org.uk/media/13312/...y/large/ucuRISING_little-people-big-rally.png

 

[Andrew*Debbie]

Station. I don't have many details yet.

 

[Mag_seven]

Have the organisers of this asked permission from Network Rail the operators of Kings Cross station?

I don't think you can just turn up and hold a rally in the station just because you feel like it.

 

[Andrew*Debbie]

Have the organisers of this asked permission from Network Rail the operators of Kings Cross station?

I don't know.

I assume they've informed or made arrangements with Network Rail and the police. Industrial action is meant to be disruptive but not illegal. I won't be tresspassing but we might get in the way.

There may be tens of thousands of people showing up. UCU has about 70,000 memembers. NI members won't be coming and I doubt we will see many from Scotland either. Many branches are hiring coaches.

I may know more in the next few days.

 

[Flying Snail]

The mind boggles why a group with no association with the railway thinks it is appropriate to attempt to blockade a major railway station.

Shouldn't you be focusing your demonstration on the government departments involved?

 

[Kite159]

I wonder how many of those attending using the coaches are simply going for a day out in London to do some pre Christmas shopping and will reappear when it's time for the coaches to depart carrying shopping bags.

 

[Andrew*Debbie]

The mind boggles why a group with no association with the railway ...

Shouldn't you be focusing your demonstration on the government departments involved?

I'm not involved with UCU decision making. I don't know why they choose Kings Cross.

The point of the demonstration is to get national attention.

I wonder how many of those attending using the coaches are simply going for a day out in London to do some pre Christmas shopping and will reappear when it's time for the coaches to depart carrying shopping bags.

I would hope very few. This is the first time UCU has met the high threshold for a national strike.
We will be standing out in the cold and rain and not getting paid...
The people I am going with will be at the rally. I doubt our branch will organise a coach. We will be paying about £80 each for train tickets.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 22 Nov 2022 ==


Edit: Universities are not government funded. The main source of income is student fees.

We are in dispute with Universities and Colleges Employers Association(UCEA) over pay and working conditions and Universities UK(UUK) over pensions.

UCEA's registered office is Woburn House 20 Tavistock Square. UUK own Woburn House.

I doubt UCU can hold a national rally there. We'd overflow into the roads.

 

[gswindale]

So, to get "national support", the plan is to effectively hold rail passengers hostage?

I get the point about trying to get national attention to the issue, but I do think causing disruption to a completely unrelated sector is a bit much. Surely 70% (a guess) of lecturers being off campus and all protesting at say Christ's College Cambridge would disrupt the universities and gain national coverage without upsetting commuters?

 

[duncanp]

I hope that anyone causing an obstruction at Kings Cross station next Wednesday is arrested.

Why should rail passengers be inconvenienced over a dispute which has nothing to do with them?

And I don't think the UCU will have much in the way of public support either.

 

[Andrew*Debbie]

The mind boggles why a group with no association with the railway thinks it is appropriate to attempt to blockade a major railway station.

Shouldn't you be focusing your demonstration on the government departments involved?

Universities are not government funded. Our dispute is with the Vice Chancellors and related management organisations.

RMT was there in support. Mick Lynch spoke at the rally. I spotted him walking along Euston Road and followed him to the rally.

Surely 70% (a guess) of lecturers being off campus

At my campus all lectures are taught in person. . Academic staff are expected to be in on campus a minium of 3 days per week. Most are on Campus full time.


The rally was well organised with union volunteers and police directing participants.


After the rally we marched down Euston Road to Tottenham Court Road. The police blocked off a lane for us to march on.

 

[High Dyke]

Just to remind some of you demonstrations like this are planned and coordinated with local authorities/ police etc.

Protests and marches: letting the police know

Organising a march, rally or demonstration - when you do and do not have to contact the police before the event

www.gov.uk

 

[Ediswan]

The rally was well organised with union stewards and police directing participants.

Any idea how many people participated ?

 

[youngiecj]

Solidarity. Being a former student and having friends in the industry I understand some of the conditions you guys are having to put up with.

 

[Andrew*Debbie]

Any idea how many people participated ?

Not really. My guess is at least a thousand but less than ten thousand. We filled the square outside the station. I wasn't in a position to see if there was an overflow.

During the march down Euston Road I couldn't see either end.

UCU posted this photo on Twitter. It is a view from the stage looking out. I was behind the CWU banner. There was good crowd behind us as well as out of view to the left of this photo.






Here is a photo I took at about the same time. You can see the back of the CWU banner on the right.


This is looking towards my right. None of these people are in the photo taken from the stage. There were a lot of people behind me too.

 

[Andrew*Debbie]

Update ahead of next Month's planned industrial action:



We had a pay offer from UCEA, which the Unions declined.


The offer is

Feb 1, 2023

Annual Salary
<£24,144 2.8% Uplift
£24,144-£31,410 2.4% Uplift
£34,111-£50,300 2%
£50,301-£65,578 1.8%
>£65,578 Zero. -- Professors get zero.


August 2023, which is the next fiscal year. This would be our pay increase for 2023-24.

<£24,144 4.2%
£24,144-£31,410 3.6%
£34,111-£50,300 3%
£50,301-£65,578 2.4%
>£65,578 Zero. Professors get zero again.

Many professors will leave. I'm already seeing this happen. Some of our best have either left the country or gone into industry.

One condition from the UCEA is that the unions accept the pay offer before they are willing to discuss workforce casualisation or any other issues.


We've had no movement on pensions, which is a seperate dispute.