This is what the University and College Union (UCU) will do to defend you at a cost of over £130 per year to join:If you are convinced that you are being unjustly accused, and/or that the complaint is malicious, you should:
- Contact a branch/local association (LA) officer. It may be that an informal discussion between you, the person alleging ill-treatment, and a third party will solve the problem. [Imagine senior managers who manufactured evidence calling an independent external party to investigate...]
- If this does not occur, and it is clear that formal proceedings will ensue, ask for UCU representation. A branch/LA officer or official may agree to represent you. [You can ask for it, but not everyone gets it. And what of the cases where the union rep supported the bully and refused representation to the victim?]
- You should gather evidence in your defence, including witnesses. [Does this count as UCU help?]
- If the outcome of a formal hearing is to find you guilty of bullying or harassment, UCU may continue to represent you through any internal procedures for appeal. However, you should be aware that UCU may not support you further (unless the representatives are convinced that a miscarriage of justice has occurred) beyond advising you of your legal rights. [Simply impressive.]
Let us not forget what the National Union of Teachers did to Tim Field.
5 comments:
As bullying would appear to be rife in academia (Boynton 2005) it is to be hoped that UCU are selecting their first case to support....
.....the first task for UCU is to engage with and actually read the documentation that members send them
....another helpful strategy would be to ensure that members do not have to wait over six months for advice from UCU's solicitors.
...another strategy would be for Sally Hunt to respond to letters from members who have lengthy and complex cases involving workplace bullying.
...the level of support I have received from UCU has been very low key.....
....like...well OK we'll meet with you if we really have to.... if you must keep emailing us....but don't expect us to give you much advice...because well really we're not that interested.... too much like hard work really....
... I'm sure it can't be as bad as you're making out...
....gosh haven't they sorted anything out yet.... haven't they had the meeting with you yet... hasn't HR responded to your emails...
....really..... well yeah we'll support you... like yawn.....
Aphra Behn
You are right on. UCU won't give support, especially if you have resigned briefly on grounds of religious/racial matters but have retracted your resignation within a matter of a few days (discrimination on the basis of race/religion). And heaven forbid if you are from a foreign country and are in a bind whereby you simly have to have legal help to avoid deportation following a dismissal. In such instances, they WON'T act to support you until after you've been dismissed, at which point it's too late to avoid deportation. So if you are then forced to obtain your own solicitor to try to head this off, you're screwed, as they will try to wriggle out of supporting you AFTER dismissal on the grounds that you obtained your own support. (negligence).
anonymous 8:07 AM
Myself and a colleague were both foreign researchers at a 'reputable' university. They extended my colleague's visa, although there was a possibility of not extending his contract (and mine). As for me, because I was challenging them, the university with the full knowledge of the Union, was wriggling out of extending my visa. They eventually extended my visa, after complaints to everyone on this planet, only one week before the expiry of my old visa.
Luckily within that week I found a new job at an upcoming university.
Blackmailing foreign researchers with visa extensions is out there.
The UCU were cowardly and gutless throughout. The problem was ability and will. Also, they really don't care about anything apart from protecting their interests with the employer. The local branch to me - Hants - were truly awful.
The UCU would fret if each badly used member detailed their grievances formally. S Hunt is remote and adept at ignoring but she too could be worn down over time if enough complaints were made. Also write to the TUC and register the point - they are generally clueless but the more points would show strength.
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