Dear colleagues,
The overwhelming vote by AUT and NATFHE members in favour of industrial action in support of the 2006 pay claim means that there will be strike action across UK HE institutions on Tuesday 7 March and action short of a strike including an assessment boycott from Wednesday, the 8 March onwards (see below). Teaching Assistants will of course be affected by this. Besides the issue of principle whether or not to cross a picket line, at the bottom end of the academic pay scale and hopeful future permanent university staff, the issue should be close to the heart of every Graduate Teaching Assistant.
With regards to the one day strike on 7 March, in most cases lecturers will cancel their courses on the day of the strike. GTAs not wishing to cross the picket line should also make sure to cancel any tutorials on that day. The Students Union at the University of Manchester is supporting this action and will ask the student body to refrain from attending tutorials and lectures.
Action short of a strike will commence on the 8 March until an agreement has been reached. This will importantly include any assessments or guidance indicating students' progress, so it includes assessed work but also the marking of practice essays or any other form of assessments in tutorials. However, students' work should still be collected, but not marked until further notice. It also means that tutorials will go ahead, but tutors are asked to refrain from any form of assessment so as not to undermine the AUT action short of a strike. Please ensure to inform your students clearly about the implications of this action. We seek students' support and as fee-paying students they may wish to complain to the university administration about any inconvenience resulting to their studies as a result of the deteriorating conditions that have led to this dispute. For further details on what this action includes, please consult the AUT website following this link.
However, with regards to the 7 March strike, there is the matter of GTA pay. Most staff on strike for the day will lose a day's pay. However, for GTA's who might have their entire teaching scheduled for that day, that can mean an entire week's, or in some cases, two week's income. The AUT Exec is looking into a possible solution to this problem (for affected GTAs who are also members of the AUT: Trade Unions can only represent their own members) and hope to be able to inform you soon of the outcome. At present and in theory, GTAs would simply lose the pay for the day (though the university system might have difficulty to police this in any case). All GTAs not wishing to cross the picket line in this important matter, are strongly encouraged to join the AUT before the strike to be able to officially take part in the action and benefit from AUT protection. GTAs can join the AUT at the most basic rate, which, depending on your earnings, tends to work out at around £1 and a bit a month. To join the AUT please obtain a form from Fiona in the AUT office on the ground floor in the Williamson Building (aut@fs1.art.man.ac.uk or telephone: 53080/64031).
Ivan Leudar
UMAUT President