{"id":1120,"date":"2019-12-13T13:34:13","date_gmt":"2019-12-13T13:34:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/?p=1120"},"modified":"2019-12-16T18:50:59","modified_gmt":"2019-12-16T18:50:59","slug":"return-of-the-angry-ducks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/2019\/12\/13\/return-of-the-angry-ducks\/","title":{"rendered":"RETURN OF THE ANGRY DUCKS"},"content":{"rendered":"
It was pure picket line d\u00e9j\u00e0 vu. Not just the buses and cars queuing on the main drive, trying to avoid running anyone over. Not just the hand-made banners and placards, the angry ducks and the picket discos. No, what most made it seem like February 2018 all over again was that staff had downed tools (or keyboards, in most cases) for pretty much the exact same reason as before: to protest against higher pension contributions, after employers refused to fully implement the recommendations of the Joint Expert Panel convened after the last strikes.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
There were some differences this time around, however. Rather than just being about pensions, this was the first industrial action at Lancaster over pay and conditions for quite some time – no doubt helped by the focus on workload and equality (in particular Lancaster’s massive gender pay gap). Unlike last time, this strike seems to have enjoyed widespread student support, including from the previously rather apolitical Students’ Union. Successively more senior managers visited the picket lines to chat with the unwashed masses. When the interim VC eventually found his way there, he faced some difficult questions, but was not subjected to quite as thorough a grilling via megaphone as the previous incumbent (see subtext 175).<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

Rather than striking for an increasing number of days each week spread over a month, this strike was a contiguous period of eight working days. UCU activists were said to be split over the purpose of this different pattern, with some claiming that the current structure was not conducive to negotiation. And in fact, on a national level, there seems to have been very little movement by employers. It seems likely at this point that the pickets will return in the new year, ducks and all.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It was pure picket line d\u00e9j\u00e0 vu. Not just the buses and cars queuing on the main drive, trying to avoid running anyone over. Not just the hand-made banners and placards, the angry ducks and the picket discos. No, what … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":568,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4],"tags":[537,545,179,70],"class_list":["post-1120","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-issue-191","tag-steve-bradley","tag-strike","tag-ucu"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p99sHo-i4","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":403,"url":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/2018\/03\/01\/tales-from-the-picket-lines-and-beyond\/","url_meta":{"origin":1120,"position":0},"title":"TALES FROM THE PICKET LINES (AND BEYOND)","author":"Johnny Unger","date":"March 1 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"PICKET\u2019S GOT TALENT Picture it: The angry mob of workers, wearing dirty hi-vis jackets, furiously clutching placards as, with red faces and protruding eyes, they scream \u2018SCAB!\u2019 at passing colleagues who dare to go into work. Now picture the exact opposite, and you might have some idea of how Lancaster\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "news"","block_context":{"text":"news","link":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1137,"url":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/2019\/06\/28\/two-strikes-and-youre-out\/","url_meta":{"origin":1120,"position":1},"title":"TWO STRIKES AND YOU’RE OUT","author":"Johnny Unger","date":"June 28 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"More than a year after UCU members stood down from the picket lines, the prospect of another strike is again looming in the air over alleged mishandling by the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS), the fund manager, and over employers acting in bad faith with regard to pensions. The main concession\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "news"","block_context":{"text":"news","link":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":485,"url":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/2018\/03\/15\/subtext-175-complicated-actuarial-subtext\/","url_meta":{"origin":1120,"position":2},"title":"subtext 175 – ‘complicated actuarial subtext’","author":"Johnny Unger","date":"March 15 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Fortnightly during term time. Letters, contributions, & comments: subtext-editors@lancaster.ac.uk Back issues & subscription details:\u00a0http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/about\/ In this issue: editorial, strike, lost and found, UA92, remuneration, LUSU, colleges, shart, pine, jones, widden, letters. ***************************************************** EDITORIAL It must be hard, being a Vice-Chancellor. Apart from the hundreds of thousands of pounds you earn,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "editorial"","block_context":{"text":"editorial","link":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/category\/editorial\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1110,"url":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/2019\/12\/13\/hong-kong-phooey\/","url_meta":{"origin":1120,"position":3},"title":"HONG KONG PHOOEY","author":"Johnny Unger","date":"December 13 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Lancaster University does not seem to be showing a lot of solidarity with its Hong Kong students at the moment. Private Eye and SCAN reported recently on the college accommodation manager who ordered a student to remove a display of sticky notes in a kitchen window which spelled out 'Stand\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "news"","block_context":{"text":"news","link":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1146,"url":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/2019\/06\/28\/subtext-189-imaginative-thinking-subtext\/","url_meta":{"origin":1120,"position":4},"title":"subtext 189 – ‘imaginative thinking subtext’","author":"Johnny Unger","date":"June 28 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Every so often during term time. Letters, contributions, & comments:\u00a0subtext-editors@lancaster.ac.uk Back issues & subscription details:\u00a0http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/about\/\u00a0 In this issue: editorial,\u00a0recruitment drive,\u00a0VC swan song,\u00a0pensions,\u00a0bailrigg fm,\u00a0dundee,\u00a0overheard on the spine,\u00a0art degree show review,\u00a0letters. ***************************************************** And so, we are almost at the end of our sixth VC's tenure. Professor Mark E Smith, CBE (as of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "editorial"","block_context":{"text":"editorial","link":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/category\/editorial\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":474,"url":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/2018\/03\/15\/lusu-news\/","url_meta":{"origin":1120,"position":5},"title":"LUSU NEWS","author":"Johnny Unger","date":"March 15 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"ELECTION Amidst all the \u2018disruption of the student experience\u2019 caused by the strike, the LUSU sabbatical elections rolled around last week, and six new people have been elected to replace the outgoing officers. The results were as follows: President: Rhiannon Llystyn Jones Vice-President (Union Development): Matty Robinson Vice-President (Activities): Toby\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "news"","block_context":{"text":"news","link":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1120","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/568"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1120"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1120\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1121,"href":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1120\/revisions\/1121"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1120"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1120"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/subtext\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1120"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}