FFFP Response to Richard Black’s all staff-email on 1 August

Fractionals For Fair Play announces with regret that negotiations between UCU and SOAS to secure an improved contract for fractional staff have ended without agreement. SOAS Management made its full and final offer on 8^th July, which was overwhelmingly rejected by 95% of fractional UCU members on a 63% turnout. Since then, two further meetings have taken place with management under the collective dispute resolution procedure in which management failed to make an improved offer.

In his latest email to the school, Richard Black announced that management are going to unilaterally impose new contracts based on its full and final offer. This is a serious attack on union recognition at SOAS and UCU’s collective bargaining rights. FFFP condemns management’s decision to do so in the strongest terms. Unfortunately, this attack on union recognition at SOAS is not the only problem with Professor Black’s email. Indeed, he fails to mention the approach management have consistently adopted in negotiation since the signing of the agreement at ACAS on 23^rd May, under which fractional staff, acting in good faith, resumed unpaid marking.

The first offer by the School proposed cutting the multiplier across the board to 2.3 and a marginal increase in plain time hours for preparation. This proposal would have represented a pay cut for most fractional staff – 9% on average – in breach of the agreement signed at ACAS. Despite this very disappointing move, UCU nevertheless indicated its willingness to concede in principle on a major element of its original claim - the proposal for a progressive multiplier, aimed at compensating the advantage experienced by those teaching a small number of hours - if the School were willing to address the substantive issues of unpaid time spent on preparation and marking.

Following this large concession by UCU, the School made its full and final offer, which proposed to retain the existing multiplier in addition to the other small payments that were originally suggested. In terms of guaranteed basic pay for marking and preparation, these extra plain time hours would in most cases ensure payment of a tiny proportion of unpaid hours. For other essential tasks, such as course preparation by Senior Teaching Fellows, exam marking, or lecture attendance, the School proposed unspecified or discretionary arrangements. Based on a detailed analysis of these final proposals, UCU and FFFP recommended rejection of this offer in a consultative vote of fractional staff because of its fundamental failure to address the major concerns raised by the campaign - specifically hours spent on preparation and marking. On 17 July, it was announced that 95% of UCU fractional members had voted to reject the School’s final offer on a 63% turnout.

Throughout negotiations, our claim has been based on the evidence of actual working practice as collected in our, now well recognised, survey. That survey, which was based on 94 fractional contracts, showed that, on average, fractional staff work more than twice the hours to perform their duties than their contracts remunerate. Each concession we make in negotiations therefore represents more hours of work for which fractionals will remain unpaid. FFFP is willing to accept compromises, but we are not willing to abandon the fundamental principles on which our campaign is based.

 Whereas the School argues that fractional staff “over-prepare” for classes and spend “too much time” on marking, the feedback from our students on our courses, permanent staff colleagues and the Student Union, as well as nominations for teaching excellence, indicate that every hour that fractional staff work is essential to the maintenance of a high quality of education that we provide, and for which the School charges students a very high price. Fractional staff should be paid fairly for this work. Professor Black’s email claims that it would cost £1 million pounds to correctly remunerate fractional staff for the work they deliver, and judges that this is an unrealistic demand. Leaving to one side that this figure represents the actual hours worked by the staff in question, it is worth reminding ourselves that SOAS management has found enough funds to buy the Senate house north block and pay its growing managerial layer comfortable six digit salaries.

Furthermore, FFFP is shocked at the way in which Mr Black uses his communication to the school in a clear attempt to influence an on-going dispute over the victimisation of a UCU representative and a fractional activist. His approach is particularly appalling in that he misrepresents the School’s own policy and procedures on rehiring teaching fellows and senior teaching fellows employed on fixed-term contracts. It is normal practice, and official policy, to renew those contracts when both the post and the candidate filling the post are able to continue for another academic year - as pointed out by the chair of SOAS UNISON in an email to management (attached). Professor Black’s email is not the first example of SOAS management’s attempts to unfairly influence the outcome of this case. It is further evidence that management is actively attempting to victimise a SOAS UCU union rep. The UCU branch passed a motion unanimously on 17 July pledging to take “further action” to protect the UCU rep concerned if necessary.

Given the breakdown of negotiations and the end of the dispute resolution procedure, FFFP expects that Professor Black is right when he points to the danger of industrial action in the Autumn. This will be the inevitable outcome if management continues to refuse to pay its fractional staff for the majority of the hours they work. However, this outcome is squarely management’s responsibility. This entire process has highlighted the concerted efforts of those at the top of the school to avoid paying their staff for the all the hours they work. Professor Black makes this clear in his letter. While the school aims to increase its intake of students, it aims to control its teaching budget through the greater use of poorly paid fractional teachers. This is obviously an unsustainable model and would severely impact teaching quality, the student experience, and staff welfare if successful. FFFP rejects this vision for the future of SOAS in the strongest possible terms.

Management’s continuing attempt to underpay, and undervalue, fractional staff’s work will only contribute to damaging SOAS’ reputation as an institution, which prides itself on high teaching standards. Furthermore, the contradiction between the focus on labour rights of many academics and students at SOAS and the blatant disregard by SOAS management of those same rights is unsustainable in the long term.

The failure to resolve the dispute due to management’s refusal to negotiate is disappointing. However, this moment is also a crucial opportunity to seek a resolution of the issue of fractional pay and conditions and to prepare for the struggles awaiting us in the new academic year.

In solidarity,

FFFP

* Richard Black’s communication by email to staff of 1^st August was reproduced as “Fractionals Update” in the SOAS news bulletin on the School website -

http://www.smartbulletins.co.uk/view/article/8102?&utm_source=2014+Aug+1+&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=SOAS+-+Weekly+Digest+5

Students' Union statement on attempts to victimise Fractional staff member 

The Fractionals For Fair Play (FFFP) campaign claims that one of its leading activists and elected UCU representative for fractional teaching staff, is being prevented from re-applying for employment for the next academic year. This breaches SOAS management’s commitment to non-victimisation of FFFP activists, made in the agreement signed at ACAS on 23rd May 2014.

The Students’ Union voted to support FFFP in our Union General Meeting this year. FFFP has played an important role – not only at SOAS but also in the sector as a whole – in highlighting the current working conditions of non-permanent staff members and organising to improve them.

The SOAS Students’ Union condemns any attempt to victimise members of the SOAS community and any activists and trade union members for their participation in campaigns and trade union activity. Moreover, SOAS UCU branch voted unanimously to take action to protect from attempts to victimise him.

We call on SOAS management to stop preventing him seeking re-employment in the position he has held this year without prejudice and to cease any and all victimisation and/or intimidation of members of the SOAS community.

For more information read this petition, and sign it to show your support and to pressure SOAS management to end the victimisation - http://chn.ge/1nBai7A

Signed,

Students’ Union Co-Presidents

Georgie Robertson, Co-President Welfare & Campaigns

David Suber, Co-President Democracy & Education

Kabir Joshi, Co-President Events & Activities

For more information about Fractionals For Fair Play: https://www.facebook.com/SOASFractionalsForFairPlay