SOLIDARITY TO UCU MEMBERS FROM UNISON NI

With the UCU higher education trikes starting today, UNISON NI is sending the UCU members on strike our strongest support and solidarity.

UNISON members, alongside UCU members, have experienced the effects of real-term loss in wages and what it means for our standards of living.  UNISON members, alongside UCU members, have experienced rising workloads and increased stress.  UNISON members, alongside UCU members, are aware of the impact of the gender pay gap, the ethnic pay gap, and the insecurity of being employed by contractors or on precarious contracts.

UNISON alongside UCU, is calling for higher education employers to come back to the negotiating table and and make a meaningful improvement to the pay offers for this year.

In many universities UNISON members have experienced the problems that increases to pensions cause, pushing members to have to make difficult decisions as to whether they can afford to save for a decent pension or not.  A decent pension isn’t a luxury, a decent and affordable pension should be available for everyone.

UNISON members will be supporting striking UCU colleagues across the country.  UNISON members voted overwhelmingly in favour of taking strike action too, but anti-trade union laws have stopped our members from taking the action that they voted for.  Whilst our members aren’t on strike.  UNISON members and branches will be lending support to UCU picket lines in other ways.

As higher education trade unions we stand together with a clear message, our members deserve more, and our members deserve to be heard.  We stand with you in this dispute on higher eduation pay and pensions.

Yours in solidarity

Patricia McKeown & Anne Speed