What we’ve been doing at Greenwich
The University of Greenwich fully supports the work UCEA is doing nationally and the commitment they have shown to reach a resolution on the national dispute over pay and conditions.
In addition to the pay increases implemented in August's payroll, we are continuing to work on improving the things that we know are important to our students and staff. This includes:
- Support with Cost-of-Living challenges: The university made a one-off payment to staff to provide help and support during the current cost-of-living crisis. The payment of £1,000 was provided to all permanent staff, including colleagues on fixed term contracts and Hourly Paid Lecturers. The intention of the payment was to create greater relative financial support for those on lower salaries where the cost-of-living strain is likely to be greatest. The costs to the university was over £2.5 million.
- Supporting Health and wellbeing: our Health and Wellbeing Strategy sets out the approach that the university, in partnership with the Greenwich Students’ Union, takes towards supporting and improving the health and wellbeing of our staff and students. We have continued to provide mental health first aid awareness training for all staff. We are also piloting a new initiative to allow University staff time off work if required to take care of their mental health. Our Wellbeing Days are designated time off work which employees can use where circumstances are significantly impacting their mental health.
- Tackling workloads: We have now launched a new Academic Workload Planning (AWP) tool. 2023 is a transition year in which the new tool is being rolled out and further tested to allow further refinement of the tool and associated processes. As part of the transition year we have introduced a Workload Pledge that has committed to ensuring that no-one will be worse-off in terms of their workload as a result of these changes.
- Addressing the gender pay gap: our latest data, published in March 2022 shows a reduction in the gender pay gap. This supports the university’s ambition to eliminate the gender pay gap by 2030. In addition, and for the first time, we have also published pay gap data in relation to other protected groups (LGBT+, Disability and Ethnicity).
- Covid measures: We continue to keep measures in place to ensure our campuses are Covid safe including the provision of flexibility in relation to on campus working.
What this means for our staff and students
Strike action will take place in February and March.
The university will be open as normal on strike days and many of our timetabled activities will take place as usual. The majority of our staff are not taking part in this strike action.
We are absolutely committed to supporting the wellbeing of our staff and meeting their needs, whilst also ensuring the sustainability of the university for the future. Our students are, and continue to be, at the heart of everything we do. We know that the last few years have been especially challenging for everyone and appreciate the concern that this strike action may cause.
You can read our FAQs for students and staff which we'll continue to update. If you have a question which isn't addressed here, you can email strike.information@greenwich.ac.uk.
If you are a student and have any concerns in relation to the strike action, or would like to access support, the university's support services are available for you. You can find details of the Student Wellbeing Service and the Students' Union Advice Service on our respective websites.
Professor Jane Harrington
Vice-Chancellor
