CORE/Clear Review Dispute

History of the Dispute

In 2004 the employer’s side put forward sector wide proposals which represented the biggest shake up in pay and grading for 20 years. Within recommended parameters protecting pay and the normal expectation of progression the National Framework Agreement (NFA) was to be implemented locally in each institution. CU chose to significantly depart from those national recommendations with its “Blue Book” proposals which included the thinly disguised performance related pay (PRP) scheme called the DPR. The pay scale involved LOWERING the top of each grade by thousands of pounds and increasing the amount of discretionary pay linked to a punitive and secretive DPR outcome.

This triggered a bitter dispute with UCU which spilled over into 2007 when the management sought to divide and rule the workforce with an “incentive” to accept its “jam tomorrow” proposals. A decade on and all our predictions have been confirmed, pay is suppressed and staff feel bullied and intimidated by a not fit for purpose pay and reward system. Management have repackaged the DPR into an online system “CORE/ClearReview” which is a more bureaucratic, opaque, unaccountable and unfair.  Our members experience an ever increasing unsustainable workload with unrealistic centralised targets placing undue pressure including unethical pressure on staff leading to alienation, demotivation and a lack of professional autonomy. 

In October 2019, UCU re-balloted members on the “CORE/Clear Review” which was successful.  After 5 days of industrial action in November/December 2019 UCU welcomed the offer of talks by university management.  UCU suspended ASOS through a unanimous vote on 2ndDecember 2019 with a view to moving discussions forward whilst reserving the right to reinstate ASOS in Semester 2. At the final meeting with the Head of People, UCU presented our demands which were taken to be considered for a review by the Group Leadership Team (GLT). The GLT response was received on 13thJanuary 2020 by way of an all staff email ‘GLT Approves Reward Package Review’ in which UCU’s demands including moving the baseline of each pay grade upwards in line with other universities and moving the contribution threshold higher up each grade was refused. Due to this response, in January 2020 we continued industrial action for a further 2 days.   

The Branch Resolved on 19th February 2020 the Following

To call on management to enter into genuine negotiations with the purpose of seeking a meaningful negotiated settlement which sees a modernised and fair pay and appraisal system aligned with the National Framework Appendix C. Such a system should better reflect the sector wide standard of the normal expectation of pay in line with the National Framework Agreement.  If this has not been forthcoming by 26/2/2020 we are: 

1.    Implementing a reinstatement of a  marking and assessment  boycott in line with Action Short of Strike mandated by the local UCU ballot (November 2019-April 2020).

2.    Implementing a  boycott of CORE/Clear Review in line with Action Short of Strike mandated by the local UCU ballot (November 2019-April 2020).

3.   To re-ballot for a continued mandate to carry on our local dispute beyond 30th April 2020.