Another week, another message from Sally Hunt of the UCU. This is the end of the first week of the ‘work to contract’ action of the union in response to pensions. (See my earlier scepticism here.) The message is self-congratulatory, pointing to the ‘fantastic’ response and suggesting the employers are perhaps now more open to negotiation. I obviously hope it works.

The Union’s ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ are here. And yet, they say nothing about research, publication, applying for grants, editorial work, visiting seminars, review for journals or publishers… Unless on a teaching and admin only contract, these are part of an academic’s concerns on a daily, certainly weekly, basis. And they cannot simply be forgotten for large chunks of time. Are other people not asking these questions of the UCU?

The most significant change to my own working practices over the last two weeks – one week before the action started, for comparison; and this week while the action is taking place – has been to keep a rough log of the hours I’ve worked, and on what. No great surprises. I work roughly the contract hours Mon-Thu, and then anything else is on top of that. I would probably exceed the hours if I simply did the teaching, teaching preparation, meetings, PhD supervision, management role and work-related email. But 40% of my contract is for research. So, UCU, here are a few questions that I think it would be helpful to have answers to:

– I’ve exceeded my contracted hours this week, and yet I don’t feel I’ve moved the current article I’m writing forward sufficiently. Should I leave it sitting for another week?

– a colleague has asked if I am willing to be involved in a grant application. I think this would be excellent for my research, for building links with colleagues at my institution and elsewhere. I would benefit, as would the university, if this was successful. But it would require time this weekend. What should I do?

– there is an opportunity for a research fellowship, but the deadline is very tight. Where do I find the time to apply for this unless I exceed my contracted hours?

– I edit a journal. What do you suggest?

– should I refuse to do any external review work – grants, journal articles, book proposals and manuscripts – until this dispute is over?

– should I refuse to write job/fellowship/grant references for colleagues, ex-students, people whose PhDs I have examined etc.? Who would lose out then?

I’ve sent these questions to the Union. I’ll let you know if I get a reply.