Positive thinking

Jen Bagelman, University of Exeter and Jonathan Cinnamon, University of Exeter A few weeks ago – back when we used to teach and research rather than stand at picket-lines challenging the marketisation of the university – we discovered that we share something in common. As international staff our right to strike and participate in peaceful, collective action is limited by the Home Office. Days before the UK-wide universities strike we were anonymously slipped the following information under our door, printed off and photocopied from the University and College Union ( UCU ) website: For staff employed under a Tier 2 visa, you should be aware that your sponsor is required to report unauthorised absence (such as strike action) if it continues for more than ten consecutive days … your sponsor is required to report unauthorised absences to the Home Office. The Home Office considers industrial or strike action as an unauthorised absence. So if you take industrial action ...

Ania Zalewska, University of Bath University staff across the UK are striking over changes to their pensions. Academics at 64 universities, who are members of the University and College Union (UCU) and who are signed up to a defined benefit pension scheme (known as USS), are faced with cuts that could leave them significantly worse off in retirement. Universities UK, the umbrella group for UK universities that manages the pension scheme, claims that the change is needed because there is not enough money to make the scheme financially viable. This is disputed by the striking staff and a closer look shows why this has merit. From the outside, it might look like another case of a pension black hole problem hitting another UK institution. Many companies have made the news in recent years for pensions problems – retailer BHS , construction company Carillion , steel firm TATA in the UK , telecoms giant BT , just to name a few. What’s more, the UK is much worse than many o...