July 20th - Newsflash - London Metropolitan University and UCU - Agreed Statement - read here
At the same time, all avenues for voicing opinion are being closed down. Academics no longer have a seat on the Board of Governors and the new Academic Board is likely to end up without a single academic on it!
Now, the Director of HR has moved to de-recognise UCU on the spurious grounds that as we are no longer NATFHE (as a result of our merger with the AUT) we no longer have recognition! As a result, policies and procedures already agreed with the union are being torn up and major developments are not discussed with staff at all.
Following this ‘de-recognition’, two weeks ago, our Board of Governors approved management’s plan to make up to 60 academics redundant (the majority compulsory). In doing so they explicitly stated ‘as there is currently no recognised academic union’ there will be no union consultation over these redundancies.
In response London Met UCU held a very well attended emergency branch meeting where we agreed a ‘multi-track’ response - this includes moving as fast as possible to a ballot on industrial action (including strike action), calling demonstrations to attract publicity and show our anger at the outrageous behaviour of our maverick management, pursuing all possible legal routes, and initiating a ‘political’ campaign to bring the behaviour of London Met's management and Governors to the widest possible audience. We are also demanding that an academic boycott of London Met (agreed unanimously at UCU Congress to begin in September) is brought forward and immediately implemented in light of the threatened redundancies.
You can help by:
- Observing a boycott: from now on please do not participate in official events, do not agree to give papers or attend conferences, do not take up formal roles (validation etc), do not apply for jobs here, consider resigning from posts such as external examining, publicise the boycott elsewhere. Put pressure on the TUC and affiliated unions to publicly threaten to withdraw from the very many links they have with London Met (for example we house the TUC archive!).
- Writing to the Vice-Chancellor, Brian Roper at b.roper@londonmet.ac.uk or at the address below to explain that you are joining the boycott until he enters meaningful negotiations.
- Passing motions of support for London Met UCU.
- Encouraging your MP to sign Jeremy Corbyn’s Parliamentary Early Day Motion (1776)
- Circulating and signing our petition at www.petitiononline.com/lmufight
- Raising donations for our fighting fund – please email asackur@gmail.com for details.
- Joining our demonstrations.
We really appreciate your support.
Letters can be sent to: Mr. B. Roper (VC) at London Metropolitan University, 166-220 Holloway Rd, London N7 8DB and Mr P. Anwyl (Chair of Governors), c/o Mr. J. McParland London Metropolitan University, 166-220 Holloway Rd, London N7 8DB. We would appreciate copies: Amanda Sackur, Dept. of LGIR, London Metropolitan University, Calcutta House, Old Castle St, London E1 7NT, For further details contact: lmuucu@devisland.net