In January we wrote to senior management over a recorded failure to agree, in accordance with the Collective Disputes Procedure and entered into a Stage 1 dispute with the University over its handling of the potential job losses in KSA, among other issues.

A formal Stage 1 meeting was held on 18th February, chaired by Dean of the Faculty of Science, Engineering & Computing / Pro Vice-Chancellor David Mackintosh. We received a letter stating the outcome of the meeting from David Mackintosh, which members can read here: Management Letter Outcome_Stage_1_210220

As far as the University is concerned, this dispute is now closed and we are unable to progress to Stage 2 of this process. However, we have serious issues with the way in which this process was handled. We dispute the university’s own judgement of the outcome of the Stage 1 (Resolution meeting) as set out in the letter.

We maintain that Kingston UCU branch has NOT been involved in any meaningful consultation or negotiation about the extent of the debt in KSA, its origins, the impact on remaining overworked staff, the future shape of KSA currently being determined by a Portfolio Review or the timing or potential for any future job losses.

You can read our full response to the outcome letter, here formulated by the Kingston UCU branch at the branch meeting on the 18th February: Response to dispute 6 March_. We believe:

• the meeting was not impartial (the chair was partial)
• HR should not have been providing the management response
• there has been a failure to negotiate
• there has been a failure to consult
• there has been a failure to provide information
• there are holes in the management case (as noted in our timeline documentation)
• current management timelines related to KSA jobs reveal a continued lack of negotiation and consultation with recognised trade unions

Increasingly, it’s our opinion that, regrettably, management uses their notion of “consultation and negotiation” as a tick-box exercise to give legitimacy to decisions already made in the absence of informed input and scrutiny from the experts on the ground – hardworking academic staff. Whilst UCU values its relationship with KU management and our HR colleagues and the opportunity to negotiate and consult on behalf of our members, we are no longer prepared for that relationship to be abused in the plainly unsatisfactory manner outlined above.