Birkbeck UNISON lead by example, will not cross UCU picket lines on N30

Good luck to all the UNISON branches in HE that will be out on Wednesday on a very historic day for our union movement. Almost 30 unions will all be out - nearly 2.6 Million workers will be out in a magnificent display of unity, of defiance, of solidarity and resistance.

As identified at the start of the balloting period, for HE one of the main issues is that many UNISON branches aren't in a scheme that is being balloted (eg SAUL, USS or specific employer scheme). In that case we discussed at the time the options before those branches, including writing to employers asking that UNISON members would not be discplined for refusing to cross UCU picket lines. Once we knew that those branches couldn't get balloted in time by engineering a dispute, this was really the only option left.

Birkbeck UNISON have lead the way, as today they announced that:

"Although our branch hasn't been balloted we have now had it confirmed that any Birkbeck UNISON members who say they don't want to come to work when UCU are on strike will not have any action taken against them other than losing a day's pay."

For those other UNISON branches that still wish to take action but haven't secured an agreement yet, they could also now use this precedent as an example their management might wish to follow. Well done to Naomi Bain (Chair) and Simon Deville (Secretary) who must have negotiated hard for this agreement.

Solidarity forever - see you on the streets on November 30th and beyond!