Staff at Cardiff University say they are prepared to take further action after claims the university threatened to withhold up to 100% pay from workers who participate in the Univeristy and College Union's assessment boycott. On April 19 staff at Cardiff University received an email from HR management that threatened to deduct between 50 to 100% of their pay if they follow through with the UCU’s marking and assessment boycott.
On April 20, the following day, members of the UCU across 145 universities in the UK, including Cardiff, began the boycott. This means that some staff have stopped doing all work related to students’ summative assessments, including exam preparation, marking, and invigilating.
Andy Williams, a senior lecturer in Cardiff University's school of journalism, media and culture and a UCU spokesman, said: “We were already scared and feeling very guilty for our students and then this email drops which threatens us with punitive strike deductions between 50% to 100%. The main overriding feeling when it dropped was anger, anger, and absolute rage at the insincerity of our employers who have given us such subpar standards and subpar offers.
“They are threatening to withhold up to 100% of our pay for withholding our labour of which they underestimate the value of anyway. It is staggering hypocrisy, and it has made us really angry and has only strengthened the resolve among members who were scared about taking these actions.”
Dr Williams said the reaction from students, alumni, politicians, and other trade unions has been nothing but horror. “It has backfired, it is going to batter and damage the reputation of Cardiff University in the community, in Wales and in the UK,” he said.
In the email, the university said: “We hope that it will be recognised that the approach outlined has been decided upon because of the seriousness of this potential action on our students and that it is not an approach that this institution relishes taking. It is also not intended in any way to suggest that we do not value all our staff highly nor that we wish to damage the good employee relations that exist here.” Cardiff University is not the only UK or Welsh higher education insitution to threaten a pay deduction.
What is the plan now?
The UCU is showing no signs of succumbing to pay threats as universities across the UK take a similar position. It is the policy of Cardiff University, and many other institutions, to withhold all or a percentage of staff pay for each day they participate in strike action or action short of a strike.
A Cardiff University spokesperson said: “We regard the marking and assessment boycott as called by UCU as going to the heart of the contract of employment for academic staff involved in student learning and teaching and as such affects the fundamental duties of such academic staff.
“Staff who take part in this form of action short of a strike but perform the rest of their duties as normal, do so on a voluntary basis and Cardiff University is under no obligation to pay them for any work done during the period, whether in the University, at home or elsewhere, and any such work would be voluntary on their part.”
The university has said this response is in proportion to the potential impact the boycott may have on students and the reputation of the institution. But Dr Williams said: “The action plan is to threaten to escalate now. If they are going to threaten to withhold that much of our pay in a legal action like this, then we are going to hit back even harder. We are going to target them with all out-strike action.”
The UCU spokesman anticipates that not only will branches across the UK be planning strikes throughout exam seasons, but he believes that there will be strategic targeting of university open days, A-level result days and so on.
He said: “What they have done is make us angry and forced us into a position where we have no choice other than to escalate this action. It will impact not only our students but the next generation of students who are due to start in September and even the year after who are shopping around for universities at the moment.”
Dr Williams claims that students and staff believe the responsibility lies squarely with the Vice Chancellor. “We cannot lose sight of the fact that the Vice Chancellors could end this issue very swiftly if not today, then tomorrow by giving us a fair offer and stop this threatening and bully boy behaviour. Our fight is with the management. It is with the Vice Chancellor.”
How do students feel?
The marking and assessment boycott will have a direct impact on current students. Many final year students will be worried about graduation and employment if they do not have their assessments marked.
“This boycott is like the nuclear option in terms of industrial action,” said Dr Williams. Greg, not his real name, is a fourth-year student at Cardiff University. He said: “The money withheld should be going back to us, the customers who aren’t getting a service we paid for.
“If we didn’t have to pay massive tuition fees I wouldn’t mind as much, but if universities are going to be run like a business, then they should be treated like one.” Jess, also not her real name, is a fourth-year student at Cardiff University who is trying to balance four modules, a dissertation and part-time employment. She said: “The final term of my final year has been the worst, especially with the marking boycott looming which puts my graduation date at risk.”
Jess supports the “redistribution of wealth amongst university staff”, referring to the annual £289,000 annual salary for the Vice Chancellor of Cardiff University. But, despite despite being in support of the cause, the student believes that “by striking, the lecturers hurt their students more than they hurt the Vice Chancellor.”
Dr Williams said: “None of us want to affect our students, we regularly go above and beyond in terms of our workload to give our students a quality education. It is the job of the university to account for the effect on students. If I was a student I would be asking for rebates on my fees and the UCU has whole heartedly supported students in doing this and we always will.”
What are staff striking for?
Members of the UCU say they are fighting for secure employment contracts, the end of pay gaps, fair wages, and reasonable workloads. As a senior lecturer in a secure contract, Dr Williams said: “I feel I have a duty or responsibility to others who do not have the same security.
“We have lost between 25% and 30% in the value of our pay since 2009 and the cost-of-living crisis has exasperated that massively. There are colleagues now, as in all industries, that are struggling to just make ends meat.”
A Cardiff University spokesman said: “It is important to stress that this is a national dispute over levels of pay and pensions. The University cannot solve these issues independently. We do appreciate our staff. Staff are already receiving the, albeit disputed, 3% pay uplift in their pay.”
The institution also highlighted the 5 to 8% annual pay award and the introduction of an interim uplift of £1,000 or 2%, effective from March 2023. The University spokesperson continued: “We recognise the impact of the current cost-of-living crisis. In recognition of the extremely challenging financial position that staff face, the University has made a number of one-off (pro-rata) payments to staff.”
In a leaked survey completed by 4,058 Cardiff University staff members in 2019, 48% said they were able to meet the requirements of their job without regularly having to work unreasonable hours and 47% said they the university demonstrates a commitment to supporting wellbeing.
Since the 2019 survey results, Dr Williams said there has been limited change to support the needs of staff. Dr Williams said: “There is a workload crisis, and the university is essentially run on the good will of its staff.
“We all know numerous people who have gone on sick or leave with mental health issues that can be directly linked to long hours and the workload crisis. There are not enough hours in the day to do the work we are asked to do.”
Workload allocation models in universities across the UK expect lecturers to assess student assessments at a rate of 20 minutes a piece. Dr Williams said: “To get it done we either rush it and do it shoddily, which we don’t do because we care about our students, or you work over hours and all aspects of our work falls behind the university’s expectations.
“So, when it suits them, they underestimate the workload by expecting us to mark 2,000-word essays in 20 minutes. But when it suits them again, they are going to withhold either half or all our pay and expect us to do the rest of our job essentially for free.”
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