President’s Report

 Internal matters

This has, I feel, been quite a healthy year for the branch. Membership is steady, though naturally we would like to see it increasing, and have plans for targeted recruitment in the autumn. The committee is meeting more frequently than previously – once every two weeks during semester, and sometimes more often if specific issues demand it. There have also been several new members of the committee over the past year or two, drawn from volunteers within the branch, and they have brought with them a pleasing sense of vigour. This has also enabled us to set up, and keep up to date, a St Andrews UCU web site (http://standrewsunions.org/ucu/).

Finally, though, and most importantly, the branch has taken on a part-time administrator, Susan Melvin. Coming to us highly recommended from the Aberdeen branch of UCU, she has already proved worth her weight in gold. Thanks to this support, the branch officers now have time (and encouragement!) to represent St Andrews much more regularly at UCU Scotland Executive and at national congresses than has been the case over the past few years. Many members have already commented positively on how efficient and easy to deal with she is, and I second those comments wholeheartedly!

Negotiations with the University

Over the past year, we have been negotiating with the University over many matters, from large (the annulment of the Model Statute in Privy Council and its replacement by Scottish control over academic appointments) to small (how to word the announcement about the cessation of routine use of paper payslips!). Various new policies have been negotiated, including career breaks, additional paternity leave, and revised regulations for the use of University computing facilities. We have also opened negotiation concerning the recent von Prondzynski review of higher education governance in Scotland, though until the Scottish government makes its intentions clearer, there is little we can do but monitor the situation and keep the University aware of the parts of the report (such as Trade Union representation on Court!) that we’re particularly keen on.

In general, we continue to try to oppose and dilute what many members see as the increasingly managerial and centralist tendency in the University. The work is, of course, never-ending; but as they say in Wales, steady tapping breaks the stone. We are particularly concerned at the way in which certain recent reorganisations have been handled, with a lack of union consultation until the process was too advanced to stop or meaningfully alter. We have made representations on this score, and there may already be signs of improvement; but we remain watchful.

Personal casework

While this is a very important aspect of the branch’s work, it is also – naturally – one about which little can be said in a President’s report, since all interactions between our caseworkers and the members they help is in strict confidence. Nonetheless, let me take the opportunity here to thank the branch’s caseworkers, and the Scottish officials Mary Senior and Deborah Shepherd, for all the hard work they do on a day-to-day basis supporting members who are having various kinds of difficulty with their employer. As a caseworker myself, I know that this is both one of the most challenging and one of the most rewarding aspects of union work.

With a view to maintaining an adequate supply of caseworkers, we held reps’ training here in St Andrews during the year; as a result, the branch now has several more trained caseworkers than previously. Further such training courses are coming up in Aberdeen (in September and November this year) and Edinburgh (in January, February, and April 2013). We always need trained reps! – if anyone is interested, please see the St Andrews UCU web site, or contact Susan, for further information.

Campaigning and industrial action

One very big issue of the year has been the ongoing dispute about changes to the Universities Superannuation Scheme, the pension scheme to which most of our members belong. On 30th November we were out on a one-day strike on the issue, as part of which we held the largest demonstration I have ever seen in St Andrews; thank you to everyone who came along, and particularly to those who put in the arduous work of helping to prepare. We also spent much of the first semester working to contract, as part of which we held weekly “take your lunch-hour” lunches – thank you again to all members who supported this initiative. The totality of this action had the desired effect of bringing the USS negotiators back to the table. The second round of negotiations is ongoing, and I hear from our negotiators that there has been some improvement on the originally proposed alterations. Whether this is enough to continue the current suspension of the action will be determined next month, and we will of course keep you posted.

This is just a brief snapshot of the branch’s activity over the course of the past year. As we look forward to an active year ahead, let me reiterate my thanks to everyone involved in union activity in St Andrews: the branch committee, the Scottish officials, and most of all the members themselves. Here’s to more work, and more success, in the coming year!

Local Subs

We thought that the increase in local subs ought to be progressive and staggered – preserving a differential between members in different salary bands, and increasing over two years.

Sept 2012-Aug 2013

£40,000 and above: £3

£30,000 – £39,999: £2

£20,000 – £29,999: £1.50

£10,000 – £19,999: £1

£5,000 – £10,000: 50p

Below £5,000: 25p

Sept 2013-Aug 2014

£40,000 and above: £4

£30,000 – £39,999: £3

£20,000 – £29,999: £2

£10,000 – £19,999: £1

£5,000 – £10,000: 50p

Below £5,000: 25p

Table showing local subs at other Scottish Universities (for comparison)

 

	1	2	3	4	5	6	Ret	Att
St Andrews	£0.50	£0.50	£0.50	£0.50	£0.25	£0.25	£0.00	£0.00
Abertay	£0.68	£0.68	£0.68	£0.39	£0.15	£0.08	£0.08	£0.18
Heriot Watt	£1.00	£1.00	£1.00	£1.00	£1.00	£1.00	£0.00	£0.00
Glasgow Caledonian	£1.50	£1.50	£1.50	£1.00	£0.50	£0.25	£0.00	£0.00
Queen Margaret	£1.50	£1.50	£1.50	£0.91	£0.41	£0.20	£0.00	£0.00
RGU	£1.50	£1.50	£1.50	£1.50	£1.50	£1.50	£0.00	£0.00
Dundee	£1.75	£1.75	£1.75	£1.75	£1.75	£0.00	£0.00	£1.75
Glasgow	£2.00	£2.00	£2.00	£1.20	£0.45	£0.10	£0.00	£0.00
Stirling	£2.50	£2.27	£2.14	£1.31	£0.59	£0.34	£0.00	£0.00
Glasgow School of Art	£3.00	£3.00	£3.00	£1.50	£1.50	£1.50	£0.00	£0.00
Edinburgh	£3.41	£2.10	£1.80	£1.58	£0.74	£0.35	£0.00	£0.00
Strathclyde	£3.50	£3.50	£3.50	£1.75	£0.75	£0.75	£0.00	£0.00
Aberdeen	£4.20	£3.15	£3.15	£1.58	£0.53	£0.00	£0.53	£0.53