Birmingham UCU

It is now over a week since we called for a full investigation into the financial affairs of the Chancellor of the University of Birmingham, Lord Bilimoria. We remain very concerned about the reputation of the University of Birmingham. Despite several messages from the University management about the apparently “challenging environment for the sector” – no mention whatsoever has been made of the fact that Lord Bilimoria has been the subject of considerable discussion in the international media, as a result of his connections with offshore tax havens.

It is starting to look as if this so-called “challenging environment” is simply something that is conveniently referred to whenever staff seek to maintain their existing pay rates in the face of ongoing inflation – regardless of the University’s earnings or ability to pay – or whenever the University feels a justification for proposed redundancies is needed. In his most recent e-mail our Vice-Principal refers to “increased costs from this year due to pensions (£3.5m a year), National Insurance (£4.4m a year), the apprenticeship levy (£1.5m a year) and for work permits for overseas staff (£182k a year)”, all of which sum up to about £10M, i.e. only about 20% of last year’s surplus, and allowing for a £15-20M investment in a new hotel and conference centre.

A quick google search for Lord Bilimoria reveals that his offshore company – Mulberry Holdings – is a company related to the fallout of his bankrupted earlier company, Cobra Beer. It appears that Lord Bilimoria himself earned £3.2 million in dividends from that company, at the same time as it was about to go bankrupt!

The University’s recent actions, and silences, raise a number of questions that need to be answered:

• Why has the University of Birmingham issued no statement on the financial affairs of its own Chancellor, despite being the only university chancellor in the country to be exposed by the Panama Papers leak?
• Why was Lord Bilimoria considered to be a suitable leader of this University in the first place? Who made this decision, and according to what criteria?
• If we face such a “challenging environment”, then why do we have a Vice Chancellor earning £416,000 per year, one of the highest in the country? Why was our most recent operating surplus £45 million? Why is the average salary of UEB members £145,000?

We would like to encourage you to vote in both of the current UCU ballots ongoing at present – on local industrial action on redundancies, and on national industrial action on pay.

It has become apparent that Lord Bilimoria, the University of Birmingham’s Chancellor, has recently been exposed for having connections with one of the offshore tax havens detailed in the recent “Panama Papers” leaks.

This has resulted in national and international press coverage and raises extremely serious questions about the Chancellor’s financial operations.

Guardian coverage here

Coverage in student paper, The Tab, here

BUCU are absolutely opposed to the use of offshore tax havens, or the support of their use, as a means of undermining the tax revenues of the national government. Indeed, in a time when we are constantly reminded of the need for austerity, it absolutely beggars belief that a leading member of this university appears to have actively contributed to the dwindling of government resources.

That such a development should occur at the University of Birmingham also raises serious questions that go the heart of the operation of this university. We have one of the highest paid vice-chancellors in the country; and now it seems we have the only university chancellor in the country that is exposed by the Panama Papers leak. It is absolutely unacceptable to run a university in a way that shows concern only for private individual gain, profit, and status, without concern for scientific progress or the contribution that higher education can make to wider society.

BUCU notes that the Prime Minister of Iceland, Singmundur Gunnlaugsson, has been forced to resign as a result of the same leaks, despite his claims that he was not personally implicated. Indeed, the very business of tax havens is such that arms-length associations are a means by which direct personal involvement is concealed.

BUCU calls for a full investigation into Lord Bilimoria’s financial affairs, and for an end to any association between this University and the shadowy world of tax havens and offshore finance which threatens to damage the reputation of all who work here.

BUCU committee

MORE REDUNDANCIES – MORE PROTEST
UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM 10TH FEBRUARY 2016

A few days after the announcement of the next 32 members of staff at risk of redundancy, now in the department of Modern Languages, members of BUCU, the recognised trade union for academic and academic-related staff at the University of Birmingham, organised another protest action.

This time, in honour of the forthcoming Valentine ’s Day, the theme was “Can you feel the love?” The protestors met at the stairs of the main library to split into groups which were walking towards the affected departments of Engineering, Neuroscience and Pharmacology in the Medical School, Hydrogeology in Geography and Earth Sciences, and Modern Languages, while distributing leaflets and flyers.

At present, about 90 staff members from 4 different units are at risk of redundancy at the University of Birmingham. At least 26 of them will lose their jobs.

“We cannot see any economic or acceptable academic reasons for these redundancies” said a BUCU spokesperson. “The University made a surplus of £ 45M last year and pays the Vice-Chancellor an annual salary of £410,000. This would pay the salaries of the English and the French prime ministers.”

A BUCU official said: “We surely cannot feel the love of our employer who claims to care about us and to make important things happen at our University. It seems the only important thing the Vice-Chancellor wants to make happen is the dismissal of staff who worked very hard for our University for many years. Some of the individuals at risk of redundancy have worked at the University for more than 30 years and some are world-renowned high achievers in their fields.”

BUCU members will decide in their next members meeting whether to ballot for industrial action. The branch has already decided to ballot for continuous industrial action as a last resort if the University does not change direction. The branch president, Dr Roland Brandstaetter, said: “We cannot see an end of this avalanche of proposed redundancies. Every few months, the University adds another unit. While we are negotiating on the avoidance of redundancies more and more individuals are added to the list of proposed dismissals. We are exhausting all negotiation options and soon we will have no other choice left than to ballot for industrial action. The stress levels staff members are exposed to are not acceptable any longer. I am seriously worried about the wellbeing of staff at the University of Birmingham.”

On Wednesday 9^th December an estimated 120 staff and students of the University of Birmingham united and assembled outside the University campus for a silent protest to express their concerns and dissent.

At the beginning of the event, the president of the recognised trade union for academic and academic-related staff BUCU, Dr Roland Brandstaetter, summarised the aim of the protest event by saying “We protest against – un-negotiated strategy/policy documents such as the new 2015-20 strategy of the VC which  is now used to justify compulsory redundancies – REF-related metrics to justify staff dismissals -any compulsory redundancies as long as the University is overspending on facilities and senior management salaries, including the VC’s >£400K salary – the silent killing of academic freedom by unilaterally eliminating research fields from the University portfolio – the destruction of distinctiveness and research diversity as exemplified by Neuroscience and Pharmacology in CMDS which has been reduced to one research topic, Engineering in EPS which has been reduced to only three research topics and the proposed complete elimination of Hydrogeology in LES – and finally, the most recent “4* or out” policy.”

Following this acclaimed announcement, the protestors passed the following resolution to be forwarded to senior management:

“This group of protestors, including staff and students of the University of Birmingham, rejects compulsory redundancies at the University of Birmingham. We call on the University management to abide by the existing agreement on the avoidance of compulsory redundancies with the recognised trade union for academic and academic-related staff BUCU and fully refrain from compulsory redundancies as long as the University pays the highest salaries to their senior academic staff in the country, pays a <£400K salary to its VC, and as long the annual surplus of the University allows multi-million investments in facilities and buildings. We call on the University to enter into negotiations with BUCU in order to i) establish ways alternative to staff dismissals to achieve future goals, ii) review and revise their spending policy and remuneration policy of senior managerial staff, and ii) immediately suspend all nonessential spending in order to save jobs from being lost. We call on the University to retract from their un-negotiated disinvestment policy and to refrain from any future proposals of compulsory redundancies.”

This was followed by a one minute silence to mourn the silent killing of academic freedom at the University of Birmingham and the job losses due to compulsory redundancies.

The protest ended with the release of 100 helium-filled balloons with “UoB, STOP sacking people” printed on them.