Industrial Union 620
NATFHE pay dispute deepens: aggrssive moves by bosses
NATFHE says these threats have only served to "harden lecturers' opinion and resolve" in the pay dispute, and that withholding of full pay would in effect mean locking the lecturers out, since they would not expect to continue work for no pay. Northumbria's NATFHE branch gave bosses twenty-four hours to take back their threats, or more action would occur. As of this article being written, however, it is unknown as to whether bosses have backed down yet.
A union representative at Bournemouth stated firmly that workers have taken the threat to be a "transparent form of intimidation", but "staff have said they will not be bullied". A NATFHE spokesman added that "this escalation by management may now jeopardise the prospects of thousands of students. if the university is not going to pay our members, clearly students' exams will not be marked. This ridiculous threat should be withdrawn".
NATFHE is currently preparing to merge with AUT - Association of University Teachers - on the 1st June, creating the University and Colleges Union. The creation of UCI will hopefully strengthen the unity of lecturers throughout higher and further education, as well as their position in the wage dispute.
Following reports by National HE offical Andy Pike and branch officers to yesterday's 450-strong meeting, the branch has decided to withdraw notice of indefinite strike action for the moment. In a joint statement between university management and NATFHE negotiators of Friday, the university has decided to postpone its threat of docking full pay, giving a month for further negotiations to take place.
Although this is clearly a victory, it is a very small one, and cannot be taken at face value. The resistance of lecturers to the bullying tactics of management is commendable, but the threat still remains, albeit a delayed one. At the branch meeting, it was rightly decided not to declare the dispute at an end, and Wednesday will see a meeting of the branch executive to consider, inter alia, the situation as it develops.