Strike threat at South Birmingham College over observation row

The union said today that if the college did not withdraw the proposals immediately it would move towards balloting members over industrial action.
 
UCU said the college was in clear breach of its own regulation and procedure agreement - which clearly states that the college cannot make a change of conditions of service without negotiating with UCU - and that its members do not have to, and will not, accept the new rules being forced on them. The union has expressed its concerns, both verbally and in writing, that the unannounced observations are a change of conditions of service and today said it has been left with no alternative but to call the dispute as the college has 'changed existing practices without consultation'.
 
The union has told all members at SBC to refuse any attempts to have their lessons observed. When a trade dispute is declared the status quo must remain until it is resolved. Currently there are no unannounced lesson observations and the college would be contravening agreed procedures were it to try and force any staff to be observed.
 
UCU regional official, Nick Varney, said: 'The imposition of punitive observation regimes, rather than fully negotiated developmental policies, is just not acceptable and we are incredibly disappointed that South Birmingham College has forced us to declare a trade dispute. We have made it quite clear that any attempts to impose unannounced lesson observations break their own rules and UCU members will not stand for it. The college management must immediately withdraw these proposals. Failure to do so will lead to us with no option but to ballot members for industrial action.
 
'There is a growing issue across the sector about observation, performance and monitoring in colleges. Principals obsessed with trying to improve the rating of their college have to understand that they will not achieve that through adding extra pressure on already overworked and underpaid staff.'

UCU has issued its members with guidance on the dispute, how any attempt to observe classes unannounced contravenes college guidelines and that staff should refuse to observed.