Union blasts Coventry University over "shameful employment practices" in agency workers row

The University and College Union said Coventry University was denying staff their 'union voice'



Coventry University has been accused of using similar tactics to Sports Direct in a row over its employment practices.

The University and College Union (UCU) has accused the award-winning university of using “shameful employment practices” after a group of staff - who had just won a battle for union recognition - were forced to join an agency that doesn’t recognise unions if they wanted to keep their jobs.

The union said the university was denying “vulnerable” staff “their union voice”.

It has written to the university to condemn the actions of its subsidiary company CU Services.

Earlier this month staff at CU Services, who teach English to international students going on to study at Coventry University, won a long-running battle for union recognition.

Almost three quarters of members unaninmously voted to have UCU represent them.

But according to UCU, CU Services has now announced it is “reviewing its business model”.

The union said these staff have been told if they want to continue doing the same work they will have to register as agency workers with a company called thefutureworks – a trading name of Coventry University Enterprises, owned by Coventry University.

Crucially the union has admitted that thefutureworks doesn’t recognise unions.

The university has hit back at criticism and said CU Services had employed English teachers on short, fixed-term contracts, adding this was “standard practice across the sector”.

They said the new contracts with thefutureworks have actually improved terms including a 1.1 per cent pay rise.

UCU general secretary, Sally Hunt, said: “It is extraordinary that at a time when companies like Sports Direct are being forced to review their employment practices, we see the Times Higher Education university of the year using tactics like this to deny hard-working and vulnerable staff their union voice and diminish their employment rights.

“This is a shameful episode and the actions of Coventry University’s subsidiary company are an embarrassment to the sector.

“CU Services Ltd must immediately reverse its decision and Coventry University needs to stop hiding behind the so-called autonomy of its companies and start to constructively engage with UCU at all its education subsidiaries.

“Students and the wider public who contribute so much to our universities deserve to know what is happening to the hard-working staff who teach them.”