Tim Westlake

Chief Operating Officer and Joint Chair of the UNISON - Unite Joint Negotiating Committee wrote to all staff on Friday 22 September. You can read the full text of his email below. 

UNISON has announced two days of strike action taking place on Monday 2 and Tuesday 3 October 2023.  

Sussex is one of 21 universities in England and Scotland where coordinated strike action will take place in September and October as part of an ongoing national dispute over pay.  

We recognise that no one decides to take industrial action lightly and we respect people’s right to strike. We are aware that in these financially challenging times, pay is at the forefront of everyone’s minds. As our new Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Provost Professor Michael Luck said last week with reference to the upcoming UCU strike action (which has now been called off), at Sussex, like other universities, we are bound by a national collective bargaining agreement. 
 
What do I need to do if I am taking part in the strike action? 
You must complete the University’s electronic declaration form to confirm the date(s) on which you took strike action by 5pm on Thursday 12 October 2023. 

As Michael said, we remain committed to working collaboratively with you all to improve our employment practices and working conditions for all staff. We are keen to continue to work with our three recognised campus trade unions, Unite, UNISON and UCU to achieve this, as we did over 16 weeks to reach a joint agreement on a number of issues relating to pay and working conditions. We will be updating you shortly on our progress since that agreement. 
 
Where can I find more information? 
Please see the University’s FAQs on industrial action. 
 
Kind regards, 
 
Tim Westlake  
Chief Operating Officer  
Joint Chair, UNISON - UNITE Joint Negotiating Committee