Send a message to the VC, It woukld be great if you could print this letter out and post it to the VC, I have included and online link but loads of paper would be better.
To
Professor Deborah Prentice
Vice-Chancellor
Cambridge University
Old Schools
Trinity Lane
CB2 1TN
Dear Vice-Chancellor,
I am a Cambridge student/ a university employee/ a resident of Cambridge. *(delete as appropriate).
I am writing in support of the Cambridge University Unite Branch and its continuing efforts to secure a fair level of pay for Cambridge University employees.
It is well known that Cambridge is a very expensive place to live. Few
university staff can arrange mortgages, and Cambridge has been recognised as the second most expensive place to rent a house in the UK.
Cambridge Citizen Advice has identified that September 2023 was the highest month on record for crisis support, highlighting that people are having to make the choice “eat or heat”.
In a recent nationwide survey, Unite has learned that over 70% of higher education support staff are worried about paying for food, heating, and petrol. More than half of the respondents are worried about paying rent or existing mortgages.
Despite this Cambridge University continues to join other Higher Education Institutions in awarding annual pay increases far below the rate of inflation, pushing its employees into the very difficult choice mentioned above.
I urge you to rethink the University’s position on pay. This issue needs to be addressed as quickly as possible. The introduction of a Cambridge Weighting would be an expedient means of addressing the issue.
Cambridge is a wealthy university.
Please use some of that wealth to support your staff.
Signed
PDF file of letter
Link To online form https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe_PnTN3xGE0vgXzk8qcO6rcFYg4OW-pI1OCeq24QMBrNxCcg/viewform