[New post] And We’re Off: The First Day Of The Dispute
royalhollowayucu posted: " We appreciate the strong show of student support It was a dry morning, and not too cold, by the time we had set up the picket line at Egham Gate this morning. Spirits were raised by the great support shown to us by our students this week. A petition i"
It was a dry morning, and not too cold, by the time we had set up the picket line at Egham Gate this morning. Spirits were raised by the great support shown to us by our students this week. A petition in support of our claims, signed by well over 600 RHUL students, has been presented to the SU. The SU Constitution means this will now lead to a referendum to determine the position of the entire RH Student Union.
Join a picket line and meet some new colleagues
Members from a wide range of Departments showed up at Egham from 8am. Picketers were delighted to find a strong show of support from biscuit-bearing student demonstrators, with hot drinks supplied by our campus clergy. It took just three minutes for passing traffic to commence a cacophony of toots of solidarity, a fanfare which lasted the duration of our protest. Our Egham picket finished on a real high with a couple of strike standards lead by our minstrel, Dan. The only point of confusion was why College felt the need to hire temporary security staff. Again.
You can still sign up for picketing at Egham and Bedford Square - or just turn up!
A group of picketers at the main gate of the Egham campus.
The TeachOuts kick off
Picketers and student demonstrators moved from the Egham picket line to The Packhorse, where we were joined by more current and former students. Staff at the Packhorse welcomed us and our alternative programme of education, sessions led by students and staff designed to stimulate and challenge the audience. This dispute's programme kicked off strongly with Oli's "seven ethics of capitalism" and Ray's "the problematisation of youth". The programme will offer two sessions a day for the rest of the current dispute dates and the programme lead, Alfie, is collating offers for any future dates next term.
Introducing daily on-line strike meetings
"Innovations" in working methods have been matched by innovations in industrial organising. To support our members, some of whom are taking action for the first time, we have added a short daily strike meeting to the TeachOut schedule. Each strike date we will get together at 12.45pm on Zoom to share updates and answer questions. If you would like to join the meeting, please e-mail the branch at rhulucu2018 @ gmail.com for the links.
Today we were joined live from the sizeable crowd on the picket line over at Bedford Square. The Bedford Square picket starts a little later, attracting those for whom the commute to Egham is a stretch. On Friday, colleagues will be meeting at Bedford Square at 1pm to join the London UCU march en masse.
We recommend our own strike action reporting form
Senior Management produced a strike reporting form which they shared before the dispute started. Some of our members felt this form was overly complex and others found it unusable for access reasons. Our own form collates the information required to make our salary deductions and may be submitted via e-mail or in hard copy. You can download the template letter, and the updated FAQs have more information about procedure.
Come on, join us this week
Are you feeling inspired to stand in solidarity with your colleagues? There are many ways you can unite with colleagues (and our fabulous students) in showing your support for better working conditions and for saving a decent income in retirement. You will be warmly welcomed at either the Egham or Bedford Square pickets, at the TeachOuts, on the march or and at our daily strike meetings.
Supplies for the picket - a tea pot, water, and biscuits!
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