It's official - I'm a class warrior..

Pretty tired tonight as I've had a heavy week. Lots of Union activity (UCU.org.uk) as I was at the Annual Congress / Conference in Manchester all last weekend which was both hard work and fun. My University was well represented. Three of us went and we had three motions on the agenda. We lost one on the governance of our pension scheme but won the other two. The one that was really close to my heart and which I actually wrote was passed with a unanimous vote. Mainly due to the most fantastic speech given by one of my fellow delegates. It commits the union nationally to work towards having employee voice on remuneration committees (which decide on the pay of the big boys in an institution) in all Higher and Further Education establishments. The speech was well tweeted, picked up by the Times Higher Education and we even made The Morning Star; http://tinyurl.com/ccyejmu I was also elected as the representative of non-academic staff on the University's council. This is one of the main decision making bodies of the University so it's a pretty important committee. The encumbent has done a fantastic job of making sure that the interests of all staff were protected and furthered. A big job in the rarefied environs of a University. So a good couple of weeks in respect of collective issues but also rewarding in terms of individual casework. I've got a few cases on the go at the moment but I think a couple of them are drawing to a close and I've managed to get some compensation for the affected members. In reality it's not enough to adequately cover their pain and suffering but I guess it's better than nothing which they would probably have got without union support. On top of all the union work I've had my usual job to do which is why I'm pretty whacked but I guess even the the most tough and fit combatant feels it some days.