Uni staff back strike action in row over pay and appraisals

STAFF at Coventry University have backed a strike as part of a row over pay and appraisals.

The University and Colleges Union (UCU) said three quarters of their members at Coventry University backed strike action in a ballot this week.

And 88 per cent voted for action short of a strike which could involve boycotting a new appraisal process.

A spokesman for the UCU said that the university has refused to adopt a national system for pay increases, and instead introduced an appraisal process.

The spokesman said this process ‘forces staff to jump through ludicrous hoops’ to achieve the annual incremental pay award that the union said is standard at other institutions.

Staff must get their line manager to submit a business case to HR for approval before a pay increase is awarded, the spokesman added.

Coventry University said that the number of staff who had voted for strike action was 243 out of a total workforce of 4,471.

But a spokesman added that their concerns have been ‘noted and understood’ and that the university is open to ‘listening and learning.’

Members of the union will meet on Wednesday to discuss the next steps in the dispute.

Coventry University UCU branch chairman Sharon McGuire said: “Staff are rightly furious about the university’s approach to pay and appraisals.

“The process is even worse than the one it replaced and forces staff to jump through ludicrous hoops to secure what should be standard pay increases.

“This issue risks causing serious reputational damage to the institution, but the management has so far ignored the concerns of staff leaving them with no option but to ballot for strike action.

“The strong support for strikes shows the level of anger amongst staff, and we hope this will focus the employers’ minds.

“If the university wants to avoid disruption to students, it needs to scrap the current appraisal system and adopt a fair framework that would see staff receive pay increases along similar lines to other UK universities.”

In a statement, a spokesman for Coventry University said: “The focus, commitment and passion of our academic and professional services staff has ensured we have established a reputation and achieved recognition for delivering outstanding teaching and learning.

“Working to build an inclusive and vibrant learning community, that serves both our students and wider society, is at the heart of what we do.

“Coventry UCU branch recently balloted its members in relation their dispute regarding the CORE appraisal system. 243 of the 4471 staff in the University have voted for strike action.

“We have noted their concerns and understand, given the commitment of our staff, they will not have taken this decision lightly.

“We believe CORE has delivered a number of benefits to the appraisal system and through a survey completed last year most staff agreed they were fairly paid and felt a sense of pride when rewarded for going the extra mile.

“We remain open to listening and learning, therefore we take note of the concerns of some of our staff, expressed through their trade union, Coventry UCU.

“We have been in discussions with them and will continue to engage in open dialogue.”