Secret meeting calls for leadership on casualisation

Casual contracts are affecting the physical and mental health of staff, and having a negative impact on students’ learning, according to a secret report from the Russell Group, the self-selected association of the 24 ‘top’ public research universities in the UK.

Leaked minutes of a virtual meeting of Russell Group universities said the group needed to ‘show leadership’ to ‘avoid further reputational damage’. The report warned that politicians and others are starting to express concerns about the casualisation of university teaching and research, as well as a lack of support for staff.

The University & College Union (UCU) said the document showed again how divided universities are over the issues at the heart of the current strikes. The Union urged all university heads to speak out and get their negotiators back to the table to talk seriously about how to resolve the disputes.

The report details how the number of staff on fixed-term contracts has increased at Russell Group institutions since 2012. Previous analysis of data from the Higher Education Statistics Agency revealed that Russell Group universities employed more staff on insecure contracts than other institutions.

However, the Universities and Colleges Employers Association - the body tasked with negotiating on behalf of universities - has sought to play down casualisation and says its analysis shows a trend towards more open-ended and full-time academic employment. UCU General Secretary, Jo Grady, said: ‘This secret report shows some universities do understand the extent of casualisation in our institutions, and the serious damage it does to the health of staff and education of students. Sadly, it looks like it is fear of reputational damage, rather than concern for staff or students, that has prompted universities to act on casualisation.

‘These minutes show how divided universities are when it comes to dealing with the issues at the heart of the strikes. Our message to all university vicechancellors is simple: speak out. Make it clear to the people negotiating on your behalf that you want them to do more to deal with the key issues in these disputes. We are ready for serious negotiations to try and stop the strikes and end the disruption at our universities.’

UK’s biggest ever uni strikes

Members at 74 universities of the NTEU’s sister union in the UK, the University & College Union (UCU) began 14 days of strikes on Thursday 20 February in the largest wave of strikes ever seen on UK campuses.

The disputes centre on the sustainability of the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) and rising costs for members, and on universities’ failure to make significant improvements on pay, equality, casualisation and workloads. A UCU-commissioned report earlier this year found that staff on casual contracts are vulnerable and invisible “second-class academics”. UCU members at 60 universities walked out for eight days of strikes before Christmas. They will be joined this time around by staff at another 14 institutions, as more UCU branches crossed a 50% turnout threshold required by law for them to take industrial action.

The number of universities being hit by the action is the largest since a nationwide two-day strike in 2016, while the number of strike days is unprecedented. Following the eight-day walkout before Christmas, this latest round of 14 strike days means the total number of walkouts will be 22 by March; higher than the previous record of 14 days in 2018.

UCU General Secretary, Jo Grady said: ‘It is incredibly frustrating that UCU members are being forced to walk out again to secure fair pay, conditions and pensions. This unprecedented level of action shows just how angry staff are at their universities’ refusal to negotiate properly with us.

‘If universities want to avoid further disruption then they need to get their representatives back to the negotiating table with serious options to resolve these disputes.’

Below: UCU members striking in Edinburgh. (AndrewPerr/studentnewspaper)