Thanks to those of you who were able to join our open meeting on 4 May. It was great to see you all and hear about your experiences with the current MAB and beyond. Thanks also to Liverpool UCU who set up and hosted the meeting on their Zoom account.
Marking and assessment boycott
We discussed the management and support of the MAB in branches including the importance of ARPS staff who are involved in marking and assessment in the processing of marks or other assessment-related administration in providing the ‘next layer’ of disruption to this work going ahead as normal. Although fewer of us are involved, those who are represent a crucial part of the boycott. The variety of approaches to exam invigilation was also discussed with some branches reporting it as a voluntary activity which they were refusing.
We also heard about the variety of methods and formulas Universities were using to apply deductions for the MAB, ranging from blanket percentages to attempts to deduct based on hours allocated in workload models.
Solidarity and support ideas
Ideas for solidarity and more concrete support included pledges for salary sharing, meetings for members, fundraising (though it was recognised that this isn’t straightforward and perhaps the effort required to organise events was too great for the amount of money raised.) It was suggested that the Trades Unions Councils are usually useful sources of support both in donations and solidarity and that all branches should be connected with their local organisation.
Members were also encouraged to join and use the ARPS list. It’s hoped that this source of solidarity and support will continue to grow and be useful. Details of how to join are on the UCU website.
Queries were raised about the lack of MAB-specific posters for members to use around their campuses. In a follow-up email to HQ, we were told that these were currently being prepared and would be shared asap.
Health and safety
A member also shared information about research into excessive CO2 levels and cognitive function which indicates that cognitive function scores decrease as CO2 increases. It was suggested that this could be used to help convince departments to install CO2 monitors which could also help with mitigating for Covid. The research mentioned can be accessed at https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1510037 This led to a discussion of office space which included the rise and unsuitability of open plan offices for many health and safety reasons including infectious disease and neurodiversity.
Committee activity
The Committee were pleased to report that a job evaluation training session has been arranged for 16 May, in Birmingham and that it has had enough registrations to go ahead. We are also currently preparing a work plan based on the outcomes of the Annual Meeting and aim to finalise and share this after Congress.
Next meeting
Details of a schedule for open meetings will be included in the Committee work plan, but please do feedback anything to the committee via our email – academicrelated@ucu.org.uk and we look forward to seeing you at the next meeting.
Solidarity to you all.