UCU members are asking that potential students and existing alumni boycott the universities that are taking punitive action against their staff. A blog is being maintained as well as a list which potential donors and students can view here.
Ninety-three per cent of UCU members voted to take Action Short of a Strike or ASOS. ASOS is when university staff work to contracted hours which are normally between 35 and 37 hours per week. This means staff work to contract and do not
This is a legal right and some universities have jeopardised relations with their staff by threatening to take punitive action such as deducting pay if staff do not reschedule classes.
During the recent UCU strike regarding pensions several institutions engaged in punitive actions against their staff.
This included, for example:
* Introduction of heavy financial penalties on staff taking 'action short of a strike' (ASOS) if they refused to reschedule lectures (and so on) or cover for absent colleagues.
* Seeking to undermine the strike action by offering financial incentives to reschedule work.
* Punishing staff on precarious contracts even more severely (e.g. graduate teaching assistants).
UCU General Secretary, Sally Hunt has made it clear that 'universities that wish to exploit the law and punish their staff as much as possible are storing up problems for the future and risk prolonging the dispute".
We agree.
We the undersigned will boycott these universities by,
for example:
* Revoking regular donations and declining to donate in future to alumni funds as a graduate of these institutions.
* Withdrawing from and refusing future requests to be an external examiner on a teaching programme at these institutions.
* Withdrawing from and declining invitations to speak at these institutions.
* Choosing not to apply to positions at these institutions.
We will continue to boycott these universities for this and any future period in which they engage in such punitive actions against their staff.
Signed,
