26.02.2004

Stakes are high

Education

This week saw a rolling series of one-day strikes in universities. Association of University Teachers members came out in Wales on February 23 and England on February 24; both the AUT and the National Union of Students called for strike action throughout Britain on February 25; AUT members were due to strike on February 26 in Scotland and in Northern Ireland on February 27. From March 1 the AUT begins a boycott of formal examinations and assessments, of staff appraisal and job activities, and of forms of out-of-hours and absent colleagues cover, which affect staffing levels.

AUT and NUS are calling for joint action on the basis of an agreement to combine the AUT’s campaign over pay with that of the NUS against top-up fees. The government and the employers have immediately condemned this link-up as “opportunistic” (this argument assumes that the government and employer majority line on fees - that higher fees are the only way to provide more money for universities, including higher pay for staff - is true). However, the evidence so far is that the NUS has not been able to deliver much in the way of mass student action in coordination with the AUT, though there has been some support from the activists.

The willingness of AUT members to take action has to be understood as part of the general increase in willingness to take industrial action which has developed over the last 18 months, as the Blair government has lost legitimacy - a change in mood also reflected in the development of the ‘awkward squad’ in the core manual trade unions. However, this AUT action, like many other union campaigns, is defensive. The university employers withdrew from negotiations and are currently standing on a ‘non-negotiable’ offer. This ties a pay increase at around the rate of inflation to changes in pay structures which would provide openings for the breaking up of the current national bargaining system, would separate “academic-related” staff from lecturers’ pay scales and would increase managerial discretion over individual rates. What began as a negotiation about pay has thus become a dispute about managerialism versus solidarity.

The one-day strikes are, like all such actions, aimed at mobilisation and publicity rather than directly forcing the employers to negotiate. The decision to go for a series of regional one-day strikes, as opposed to a single concentrated action across the UK, must be seen in this context. However, it was probably the wrong decision from this point of view: though the AUT walkout achieved good support, there was only limited media coverage of Monday’s action in Wales and less of Tuesday’s action in England.

The real industrial action will begin with the examination and assessment boycott, starting on March 1: if carried through successfully, this could cause major disruption and inflict significant financial costs on universities. The strike ballot saw 81% support for action short of a strike, on a turnout of 54%, but it remains a question how far AUT members will collectively hold our nerve.

Industrial action by the AUT reflects a significant ‘proletarianisation of intellectual labour’: ie, universities have become increasingly like other employers and many lecturers, reflecting this, see themselves as white-collar workers. However, the ideology of professionalism has in the past limited members’ willingness to actually carry through actions which adversely affects students.

This year the stakes are higher.