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Day: 17 February 2014

Preview: Priscilla Queen of the Desert

Written by Stephanie Scott on . Posted in Theatre.

Priscilla Queen of the Desert comes to Manchester this February, and brings with it all the glitz, glam and glitter of its previous success. The show tells the story of three friends on a bus road trip across America, and how their search for love and friendship opens the way for even more exciting discoveries. With classic pop songs such as It’s Raining Men littered throughout the show, this musical will get you up out of your seat and dancing along with those on stage.

Since opening in Australia in 2006 Priscilla Queen of the Desert has lit up stages in the West End and, recently, Broadway, delighting audiences from all across the world. As well as gaining incredible reviews from many reviewers, the musical has also won many awards, including the Oliver and Tony awards for Best Costume Design. Priscilla hits The Palace’s stage with Jason Donavon, Richard Grieve and Graham Weaver for one week only, so be sure to grab your tickets soon and not miss out on this colourful, crazy and fabulous musical.

Priscilla Queen of the Desert runs from 17th to 22nd February at The Palace Theatre

Students Union hosts week on the ‘Future of our World’

Written by Aidan Gregory on . Posted in News.

The University of Manchester Students’ Union has put on a series of interactive exhibitions, academic lectures, and functions aimed at highlighting the issues of climate change and global development.

The programme of events, which ran from the 10th to the 15th of February, asked Manchester students to think about the questions, “What is the future of our World? What issues do we need to tackle in our lifetimes? What are the big problems our society faces?”

The centrepiece of the events was a series of lectures entitled ‘The Future of Our World’, which were given by prominent academics from across the University of Manchester.

The Humanitarian Conflict Response Institute (HCRI) gave students the opportunity to win a fully paid scholarship in one of their programmes.

Different university halls also got involved with the week. For example, Owens Park ran a bike sale in Fallowfield and Oak House did a donate clothes to charity day.

Finally, the Manchester Museum partnered with the Union to run an evening at the Museum and a tour of the Living Worlds Galleries.

Clifford Fleming, Campaigns & Citizenship Officer of the University of Manchester Students’ Union, was responsible for organising the week of events.

When asked by The Mancunion why he went to the trouble of organising ‘Earth Week’, Fleming explained that, “I have a passion for these areas and I think it’s really important for our generation to be considering some of the toughest challenges we have to face. University students will go on to become politicians, CEOs, campaign directors, policy makers and more.

“We have the power to tackle these huge issues, but we’ve got to learn about them and how to tackle them. Also, it’s in Union policy to have such a week, it’s in conjunction with national Go Green Week and I ran on my manifesto that I would do my utmost to raise global issues.”

He added further that the week was “absolutely fantastic, with packed out lectures and lots of people engaging with lots of different themes.

“The volunteer team have been so engaged and just amazing.”

Mourners pay tribute to cyclist killed in Wilmslow Road collision

Written by Aidan Gregory on . Posted in News.

Tributes started pouring in for a cyclist killed in Fallowfield last week.

Joshua Jarvis, aged 21 and who lived in Fallowfield, was killed at the junction between Wilmslow Road and Landcross Road when his bicycle collided with a cement mixer, last Tuesday.

Emergency services were called to reports of a road traffic accident at 3.25pm on 11th February.

Traffic was diverted as dozens of police officers attended the scene, and a large section of Wilmslow Road was cordoned-off to vehicles and pedestrians for several hours.

Within 24 hours of the fatal accident, floral tributes appeared at the roadside. One anonymous mourner left a poem.

Jennifer Rogers, studying French, witnessed the accident. Speaking to The Mancunion, Jennifer described her feelings of horror upon witnessing the harrowing scene.

“Life is short. One minute he was alive, and the next he was dead,” she said. “I’d never seen a dead body before, and I won’t forget the look in his eyes. It’s there when I close my eyes.”

Jennifer declined to talk about the incident any further due to the memory of it being too distressing.

The Mancunion also spoke to an employee of Papa Johns pizza parlour who witnessed the aftermath of the accident. He described the swift arrival of dozens of police vehicles, the cement mixer in the middle of the road, and recalled the ‘twisted metal’ of a ‘bicycle in two halves’.

Greater Manchester Police offered their condolences to Jarvis’ family. Sergeant Lee Westhead from GMP’s Serious Collision Investigation Unit, said, “Our thoughts and sympathies are with this young man’s family as they try to come to terms with their loss.”

In the aftermath of the incident, the GMP have also arranged an event designed to raise awareness of blind spots to cyclists and HGV drivers.

The event, which will take place in Albert Square on Monday 17th February, will give members of the public the chance to sit in the driving seat of a HGV and bus, in order to see the road from a driver’s perspective.

A spokesperson for Greater Manchester Police added that throughout the day, “Police will also be tackling unhealthy winter cars by displaying for the first time a vehicle with multiple defects. People will be invited to point out how many offences the driver would commit if the vehicle was on the road and officers will be on hand to explain and outline the consequences.

“Officers will also be highlighting offences which become a problem in the winter months including ‘car-jacking’, which is the taking of a vehicle which has been left to defrost with the engine running.”

Inspector Paul Rowe from the Serious Collision Investigation Unit said, “HGVs have several blind spots where a cyclist cannot be seen at all and sadly we have attended incidents where a cyclist has literally disappeared under the wheels of a lorry.

“It is important that cyclists are aware of the difficulties lorry drivers can have seeing them. Previous events have proved to be an eye-opening experience and have helped cyclists understand how to position themselves more safely in the road.”

Police have asked anyone who witnessed the collision on Wilmslow Road last Tuesday to call the Serious Collision Investigation Unit on 0161 856 4742.

Students perform ‘neknominations’ during lectures

Written by Dan Harold on . Posted in News.

Students at the University of Manchester have joined in the next level of the viral craze known as neknomination – choosing to complete the challenge during lectures.

Last Thursday a student interrupted an Introduction to Comparative Politics lecture to complete a challenge wearing a Robin costume. Another neknomination took place during a nursing lecture. This comes after reports that lectures have been similarly disrupted at universities in Edinburgh, Nottingham, and Leeds.

While the drinking game continues to be increasingly popular, reaction from other students who were in the relevant lectures has been mixed. Issac Atwal, a Manchester student who was in the lecture, told The Mancunion, “It was all a bit stupid really, he was dressed as robin, not even batman. It was funny for about the first ten seconds then it all seemed a bit pointless really”.

Charlie Spargo, reporter for The Mancunion, also in the lecture, expressed similar feelings, tweeting, “it wasn’t actually very funny or imaginative”.

However, not all students have been so disparaging towards the trend. Nursing student Lauren Boon, who witnessed a neknomination in one of her lectures, told this newspaper, “I thought it was quite funny, the lecturer didn’t however, [the student] was brave to do it like that.”

As previously reported, neknomination involves a person ‘necking’ a large amount of alcohol, before posting a video of it online and challenging others to perform a similar stunt within 24 hours. It is believed the craze started in Australia but has rapidly spread around the world on Facebook and Twitter.

The phenomenon has recently been blamed for the deaths of two Britons. Issac Richardson 20, from Essex, became the first to die after drinking a cocktail of “wine, whisky, vodka, and lager”, while police in Wales are investigating whether the game led to the death of 29 year old Welshman Stephen Brooks.

Health charities have warned that the game can have “consequences that are no laughing matter”.

Dr Sarah Jarvis, adviser from the alcohol charity Drinkaware, said, “Young people often say they feel peer pressure to drink to fit in, but competitions to drink excessively in a short space of time can be dangerous and this should not come as a surprise.

“Quite apart from the risk of accident or injury as a result of drinking to excess, there is another aspect to these online drinking games which is the ‘cybershame’ some young people may experience.” There have been reports that those who ‘break the chain’ – i.e. refusing to complete the challenge that had been set to them – have been subject to online abuse.

Professor Mark Bellis, of the UK Faculty of Public Health, told the BBC that the craze highlighted the danger of having a “culture where people don’t understand the dangers of alcohol”.

He argued that this was only part of a societal problem whereby drunkenness is “probably actively encouraged”, adding, “This is just the tip of an iceberg of young people damaging themselves on a week by week basis”.

Eric Appleby, chief executive of Alcohol Concern, said, “It is devastating for family and friends to lose someone in this way.

“This lethal ‘game’ shows just how hard we have to work to de-normalise binge-drinking among young people. But it’s not just about young people. They take their cues from society’s attitude to drinking and it’s this we have to change for all our sakes.”

 

Man dies of suspected overdose at Academy indoor festival

Written by Michael Williams on . Posted in News.

A man has died after a suspected drug overdose at an event held at the Students’ Union last weekend.

The 30-year-old was admitted to the Manchester Royal Infirmary after it is believed he took a quantity of MDMA at the IllumiNaughty festival last Saturday.

His death is reportedly the first death to occur due to drug-taking at an event on Students’ Union property.

The IllumiNaughty festival takes place across the Academy 2, Academy 3, Club Academy and Union bar venues, just as Pangaea does. The Mancunion has learned that the man was in Academy 2 when he began to feel unwell.

Unlike Pangaea, however, there was no increased police presence at the event – and no drug-detecting sniffer dogs on the door.

An IllumiNaughty spokesperson told The Mancunion, “We are devastated by the tragedy that followed our event last weekend.

“Our thoughts and sincere condolences go out to his friends and family at this difficult time”.

IllumiNaughty is an external club night that runs an indoor festival three times a year in the Students’ Union Academy venues, bringing in an estimated £40-50,000 in revenue to the Union. The theme of last weekend’s event was “The Masked Ball”, and tickets ranged from £12.50 to £17.

Students’ Union General Secretary Grace Skelton said, “IllumiNaughty is a public club night, organised and presented by external promoters and has been held at The Academy since February 2013.

“We are supporting the police appeal for witnesses.”

A postmortem examination into the man’s cause of death was inconclusive, and police are awaiting results of a toxicology report.

An investigation has also been launched in an attempt to establish what happened in the moments leading up to him feeling unwell, and as to the origins of the drugs.

Greater Manchester Police Detective Inspector Ian Cottrell said, “Sadly this man has died after becoming unwell during a night out at The Academy and I want to reassure his friends and family as well as the wider community that we have launched an investigation to establish exactly what happened.

“While we are keeping an open mind we suspect that drugs are a factor in this man’s death.

“Were you in the venue on Saturday night and did you see anything untoward or suspicious? Did you see anyone selling drugs inside the venue or someone collapse inside? If so, please call us.

“I would also like to take the opportunity to remind people of the potential consequences of taking illicit drugs. You can never know exactly what you are taking or what reaction you will have and as this incident so tragically highlights, the consequences can be dire, not only for the person taking them but also for their family and friends.”

Student fights off gun-toting thief on campus: Caught on CCTV

Written by Michael Williams on . Posted in News.

 

This is the moment a student was confronted by an armed robber on campus – and bravely fought him off.

CCTV footage of the incident shows a man brandishing a handgun set upon the 18-year-old student in front of University Place, at around 4am on Friday 29th November last year.

He shouted “Do you want to be shot?” at the student, and demanded the student hand over his mobile phone.

After a struggle which saw both men wrestle with the handgun, the student delivered a punch to the armed man, stunning him and allowing the student to run away.

The would-be robber, later revealed to be 42-year old “prolific and persistent offender” Jason Dunne, was then swarmed by University security guards a short distance up the road and later arrested by police.

The gun was later found to be an imitation firearm.

In a hearing for the incident earlier this month, Dunne was jailed for five years after admitting attempted robbery and having an imitation firearm with intent to commit an indictable offence.

Detective Chief Inspector Colin Larkin, of Greater Manchester Police, said: “Dunne is a prolific and persistent offender who was in an area heavily populated with students in the early hours of the morning with the sole intention of committing a robbery.

“As the CCTV explicitly shows he was armed with a gun, a terrifying weapon that he used to threaten his victim.”

University security staff had first spotted Dunne riding a bicycle around campus on the night of the incident, and tracked his movements on CCTV after having their suspicions aroused.

The footage shows Dunne donning a balaclava before cycling around campus: he is pictured cycling up and down Oxford Road before leaving his bicycle at the junction of Oxford Road and Bridgeford Street.

As the student scuffled with his attacker, security called police and “scrambled to the location” before detaining Dunne.

Gary Rowe, Head of Security, said: “The CCTV footage clearly shows the bravery of our team and I am pleased that this dangerous individual is now off the streets as a result of their actions.

“The safety of our staff and students is always our priority and this incident demonstrates their dedication and professionalism.”

Detective Chief Inspector Larkin seconded the praise.

“Security staff at the university saw events unfolding and saw that he was armed with a gun. Despite this they have bravely and without consideration for their own safety set out to detain this man, which they did successfully,” he said.

“They could have had no idea that the gun was in fact an imitation and this makes their actions all the more impressive and worthy of recognition.

“I must also credit responding officers who were in the area within minutes and the investigation team who, working with the CPS, have ensured a dangerous criminal is off our streets.”

 

 

Olympic dreams dashed for University alumni

Written by Thomas Turner on . Posted in Sport.

Three University alumni have seemingly had their Olympic dreams dashed, as the women’s water-polo team they hoped to represent in Rio had its funding withdrawn by UK Sport.

Kathryn Fowler (Maths and Physics), Hazel Musgrove (Psychology) and Lisa Gibson (Biomedical Sciences) all represented the University, and currently play abroad with a view to securing the best possible preparation for Rio 2016.

In total, seven Olympic and Paralympic sports have had their funding withdrawn: basketball, synchronised swimming, water-polo and weightlifting in the Olympics, and 5-a-side football, goalball and wheelchair fencing in the Paralympics.

While in a statement UK Sport said their door ‘will not be shut permanently’ on any sport which has lost funding, the reasons cited for the withdrawal is the failure to demonstrate a realistic medal potential by the Tokyo games in 2020.

Kathryn Fowler, who is currently playing in Madrid for La Latina having deferred her masters said:

“I haven’t come to terms with it yet, I’m shocked and totally confused by their decision”.

Having been part of the BUCS Championship winning side of 2010/11 and subsequently club captain the following year, Kathryn’s Olympic dream was inspired by the performance of women’s water-polo team at the 2012 London games.

It is indeed an impressive story, seeing the GB team rise from 16th to as high as seventh in the European rankings in just six years.

The seeds of this success story were sewn as early as 2003, when the team were invited as a last minute replacement to the World Championships in Barcelona.

Losing heavily in the 15-16th placed play-off to France, the self-funded team were very much on the periphery of the World and even European water-polo scene.

The setup only appointed its first full-time coach in January 2007, and the improvement since has been marked – culminating in a quarter final loss to eventual silver medallists Spain at London 2012.

As the embers of the Olympic torch died out, the future for GB water-polo looked brighter than ever as 2012 came to a close.

In December 2012 UK Sport revealed their aim to put more money than ever before into the sport starting from May 2013, as a result of the gains made in previous years. The increase was the largest afforded to any Olympic sport.

However just nine months on, a full U-turn by UK Sport has seen them withdraw all funding from the team, leaving their plans in jeopardy.

Many in the water-polo set up will admit that the team is currently in a period of transition following the 2012 games, with retirements and coaching changes contributing to a difficult few months in which the team missed their ‘milestone target’ of 12th at the 2013 World Championships – albeit by just one place.

But quite how UK Sport can deem the sport to have medal winning potential in May 2013, but not in February 2014, is what has baffled most.

This is especially puzzling given the preparations in place to push for podium places in Rio and Tokyo.

Most of the current women’s team are playing abroad with UK Sport help in preparation for 2016, playing against many of the world’s best on a regular basis.

What’s more, the junior team finished 8th in September’s World Championships – the best performance by a women’s GB water-polo team on the world stage ever.

In the wake of London 2012, attendance at national trials increased for both men and women by between 60 and 70%.

The current junior crop would arguably be at the peak of their careers at Tokyo 2020, but it is now doubtful whether Team GB will even field a team.

The decision raises a number of issues, all of which question the Olympic legacy promised at the close of the 2012 games.

Firstly, it places a self-defeating focus upon winning medals, which unfairly punishes emerging sports such as water-polo. As Graeme Thompson told me:

“All sports go through an emerging stage. Even cycling and rowing did”.

The only way for women’s water-polo to win Olympic medals is with the continued support of UK Sport to allow the sport to develop.

This cut in funding now throws the entire future of the sport into question. Without a realistic possibility of Olympic participation, the attractiveness of the sport to would be players is greatly diminished.

The focus on medals is also unhealthy given the sheer unpredictability of sports such as water-polo.

The past two women’s water-polo gold medal winners, the USA (2012) and Holland (2008) were both ranked 5th in the world when they won gold.
UK Sport said it was a risk to continue to award women’s water-polo funding. I think the evidence shows that the risk is in withdrawing it.

Another issue is the message this withdrawal sends out to other young women with Olympic aspirations.

One of the central tenets of the Olympic legacy was to encourage participation. Without the role models of the likes who spurred on Kathryn, Hazel and Lisa, how do we expect this to happen?

“This is not a helpful message”, Graeme Thomson said.

How does UK Sport hope to encourage  young girls to take up sports such as water-polo, when they themselves do not deem them as having ‘medal potential’?

What too does this say about the future of Olympic team sports? With Basketball also having its funding withdrawn, the only team sport to continue to receive funding is Hockey. Men’s water-polo has also been a victim of funding cuts to team sports in recent years.

The evidence showing the benefits of participation in team sports is clear, and what’s more they are far more regularly practiced in school PE lessons.
The emphasis on the individual at the expense of the team sends out completely the wrong message to the generation the London games was meant to expire.

And finally, what do we say to those who have built their lives around the sport? The current water-polo crop playing abroad are mostly tied down to representing their teams until June. Their funding stops in May.

Similarly, the cost to the coaching staff of the funding withdrawal is equally severe. Graeme – who only took up his post in March 2013 – will be made redundant in May.

The water-polo team have already qualified for this summer’s European A Championships in Budapest – a distant dream some ten years ago. Now, it is doubtful as to whether they will attend.

Girls who have and continue to dedicate their lives to a sport and who dream of representing their country; thwarted. This isn’t a legacy, it is a national disgrace.

“It feels like we have been walked up to the top of the hill, and then dropped off”, Graeme said.

We are seeing our Olympic legacy, that we were supposed to be so proud of, hollowed out before our very eyes.

The talk of ‘widening participation’ can now be seen for what it truly is – a facade to disguise the fact that we continue to place success over support, and medals over development.

Nobody disputes that those sports courting public funding ought to be accountable. But to ostracise a sport which has come so far in so little time defies sense.

An appeal will soon be lodged with UK Sport, but in the meantime please take the time to sign the petition detailed on the back page.

A decision which impacts so many people so severely does not deserve to go unnoticed.

Support the petition!

The petition to restore funding to the women’s water-polo team can be found at the link below:

http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/60282

Student visa tests suspended after fraud exposed

Written by Mancunion on . Posted in News.

Home secretary Theresa May last week suspended English language tests run by a major company after a BBC investigation exposed multiple cases of student visa fraud.

Undercover footage filmed by BBC’s Panorama showed applicants being replaced by “ fake-sitters,” to whom the correct answers were read out.  The footage was captured during English language exams, administered by the English Testing Service (ETS), a large firm that carries out English language tests for international students.

Despite a large international student population at the University of Manchester, a spokesman for the institution said, “The qualification featured on the Panorama programme is not one that is recognised by The University of Manchester for degree level study.”

Concerned students are encouraged to contact the Tier 4 visa team.

An e-mail sent to university staff indicated that there was uncertainty about the implications for students with a Tier 4 visa.  As yet there is no “official notification of what this means for applicants.”

The e-mail read, “ Following the recent Panorama programme, colleagues may be aware of the subsequent Home Office suspension of ETS examinations (which includes TOEFL) as acceptable qualifications in support of Tier 4 visas.”

“We understand at present this only applies to candidates applying for a visa from within the UK.”

The exposures of fraud come at a time where Tier 4 visa application fees have been raised in an attempt to make sure prospective applicants have sufficient funds.

Jebi Joseph, a third-year law student from Singapore, said, “A failing in the system has been exposed but that’s no reason to suspend upcoming tests and throw everything into an upheaval.

“This ad-hoc solution only inconveniences and frustrates the plans of students with legitimate standing. UK, as a world-leading education provider should have responded in a more reasonable manner.”

The programme was filmed by sending international students, with legitimate visas, to immigration firms.  They pretended to speak poor English and told the firms they wanted to extend their stay in the UK illegally.

A director of Studentway, one of many immigration consultancy firms in London, told a student, “Someone else will sit the exam for you. But you will have to have your photo taken there to prove you were present.”

Cheating also occurred during multiple choice tests.  The invigilator was filmed reading aloud all 200 correct answers to students being tested.  The two-hour exam was shortened to just seven minutes. In another instance an undercover student was able to purchase a guaranteed entry package from an Immigration Agency in London.

Students were also sold false bank details to show they had sufficient funds – a requirement for a Tier 4 visa.

In one case this was done by collecting the bank details of a person of the same name who had the amount of credit required to qualify for sufficient finances.  One of the agents at Studentways told an undercover applicant,  “Someone else with the same name, whose account and money will be used for you. So when there is need for verification it’s verified for you till you get your visa.”

Home Secretary May told Panorama, “The government has done a huge amount to root out fraud. We have significantly changed the student visa system. As a result, 700 colleges are now no longer allowed to bring non-EU students in.”

However, Labour’s Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, commented, “Yet once again, the rhetoric doesn’t match the reality. Instead abuse is getting worse, whilst genuine international graduate students are being put off.”

This follows a similar incident last year at London Metropolitan University, which had its licence to sponsor students outside the EU revoked by the Home Office.  It failed to monitor students’ attendance and immigration status adequately. Since then, it has managed to regain its licence.

Future measures aimed at tightening applicants for student visas could include more face-to-face interviews.

Piccadilly Gardens: The “Berlin Wall” of Manchester

Written by Inez Dawoodjee on . Posted in News.

Piccadilly Gardens has been hailed as Manchester’s most unpopular attraction by Tripadvisor.

The popular website, which rates travel destinations, describes the city centre as being “dirty”, “ depressing” and being a “ big slab of concrete.” It has been nicknamed “Berlin Wall” by many of the commentors.

The Gardens are ranked 96 out of 114 attractions in Manchester.

The city centre was revamped in 2002 with designs by famous Japanese architect Tadao Ando, who won a competition held to decide whose ideas would feature in the city centre.

A new water feature and concrete pavilion were built in addition to a redesigned garden.

However, the refurbishment did not make it more attractive according to many locals.

A senior contributor on Tripadvisor said that describing Piccadilly Gardens as an “attraction” would be “pushing the description.”

The contributor added, “If in Manchester, just steer clear of this bleak expanse, there is nothing here to interest anyone and your personal safety cannot be guaranteed.

“This square is quite literally, concrete proof that things don’t always change for the better as it used to be a little oasis in the centre of the city.”

Out of 162 reviews, 59 reviews rated Piccadilly as “terrible”,  15 reviews rated it as “ excellent”.

Other unpopular attractions include Victoria train station and the AMC cinema.

John Rylands Library in Deansgate and the Museum of Science and Industry rank among the more popular attractions.

Ministers ‘very concerned’ by vice chancellor’s pay rises

Written by Pippa Allen-Kinross on . Posted in News.

Universities have been warned by ministers to restrict the pay rises of vice chancellors.

In a letter to England’s Higher Education Funding Council, Business Secretary Vince Cable and Universities Minister David Willetts expressed concern about “the substantial upward drift of salaries of some top management”.

This comes at a time of university staff strikes across the country, including at the University of Manchester, over the proposed one per cent pay increase offered by employers. Staff’s pay has fallen by 13 per cent in real terms since 2009, according to the University and College Union (UCU).

However, figures show that last year vice chancellors in the Russell Group received pay rises averaging eight per cent, and a five percent rise in overall benefits.

Last month, the UCU wrote to Vince Cable, asking him to make universities reveal why senior staff are entitled to the pay rises they get.

UCU General Secretary, Sally Hunt, said at the time, “Despite promising to cut back on excessive pay at the top, vice chancellors continue to hide behind the shadowy remuneration committee when it comes to their pay rises.

“Vice chancellor’s have no problem accepting large rises while at the same time telling their staff there’s no money available and that they must accept another real-terms pay cut.

“Their continued avarice is an embarrassment for the sector and we urgently need some transparency”.

Vince Cable and David Willetts also revealed the university budged for 2014/15, which involves the teaching budget being reduced by £945 million this year, and possibly cut by another £246 million next year.

However, universities are expected to receive an increased fee income from students of £2,600 million to compensate for the cuts.

In their letter, the ministers said, “We want to see leaders in the sector exercise much greater restraint as a part of continuing to hold down increases in pay generally”.

Commenting on Vince Cable and David Willetts’s remarks, Sally Hunt said, “Ministers are right to rebuke greedy vice-chancellors for their unjustified big pay rises, not least when according to the government’s own figures average academic pay has flatlined since 2010.

“Unlike those at the top, all staff want is fair pay and we hope ministers will recognise this distinction”.

MMU staff stage full-day strike over ‘unlawful’ pay dock

Written by Charlie Spargo on . Posted in News.

Lecturers from Manchester Metropolitan University staged a whole-day strike after being told that they would lose a day’s pay if they took part in the recent two-hour strikes.

Continuing strike action by members of the University and College Union in response to a “miserly” one per cent pay rise has resulted in employees of both MMU and the University of Salford being told they would be docked a day’s wages for the two-hour stoppages, despite University of Manchester staff only having two hours’ worth of pay taken away.

Manchester Metropolitan University’s Human Resources department messaged staff stating, “If there is evidence that you have participated in the strike on January 23rd then we will deduct a day’s pay on account of you having taken industrial action,” and that any work undertaken on that day would be considered as voluntary.

The University of Salford issued a statement that said anyone “who participates in two-hour strike action will be committing a breach of their contract of employment.”

Staff from a total of eleven Higher Education institutions from across the UK walked out for an entire day in response to this rule, while most universities continued with two-hour strikes.

The one per cent pay rise for employees of Higher Education institutions has lead to a 13 per cent decline in income in real terms according to UCU members, and so far a total of six full-day or two-hour strikes have been held to protest against this treatment.

According to the General Secretary of the UCU, Sally Hunt, a two-hour strike should only result in a two-hour pay deduction.

“Their hard line, aggressive action is designed to frighten us into not exercising our democratic right to strike,” she said.

The Universities and Colleges Employers’ Association said that strike action has had “little or no impact” at most universities and that protestors should focus on negotiating better pay deals for the 2014-15 period.

UCU Scotland Official Mary Senior said that similarly affected staff were “furious at how they have been treated.

“We will be launching a legal challenge to recover money we believe has been unlawfully deducted.”

Human rights campaigner made Honorary Professor of Law

Written by Pippa Allen-Kinross on . Posted in News.

The University has made famous-human rights campaigner Shami Chakrabarti an Honorary Professor of Law.

Chakrabarti is the Director of Liberty, the National Council for Civil Liberties, and a trained lawyer who has spoken widely on the importance of maintaining human and civil rights in a democratic society.

Professor Chakrabarti was one of the eight Olympic Flag carriers at the London 2012 opening ceremony for the Olympics, and this year was judged as one of the 100 most powerful women in the United Kingdom by Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour.

She was also one of the six independent assessors who advised Lord Justice Leveson in his Public Inquiry into the Culture, Practice and Ethics of the UK Press, and regularly appears on Newsnight, Question Time and the Today Programme.

Professor Geraint Howells, Head of the School of Law, said, “I am delighted Shami Chakrabarti has joined our School. She is an impressive advocate for the causes she believes in and will help us in our mission to promote debate about justice.

“Last year she took part in a poplar event with our students in the School of Law and this post will ensure that they will continue to be challenged by her perspective on civil liberties.

“Engaging with our community in these debates is important for the School of Law, and we will be planning public events where interested parties can discuss with Shami important issues related to justice and human rights”.

Shami Chakrabarti said of being appointed to the position, “Liberty began with the struggles of the Hunger Marchers 80 years ago, and Emmeline Pankhurst hailed from Manchester. So it’s an honour indeed to join a great Northern Law school at a time when rights and freedoms are once more on the line”.