What University? The HE crisis and what we can do

UoN UCU TEACH-IN

Wednesday, 13 November, 2:30-5:30pm plus pub drinks after

Room E07 Monica Partridge Building, University Park Campus

Higher Education in the UK is in crisis, as is our own University. There is no shortage of diagnoses and prescriptions for how to resolve the impasse: higher tuition fees, ‘leaner’ institutions, amalgamated university ‘trusts’, less humanities and more STEM, etc. Parsing the options can be overwhelming—and disheartening. Many imply a future of lower quality and higher cost education for students amidst deteriorating work conditions for staff. 

What are the alternatives, and how do we organise for them? To help us better understand the current situation, as well as possible future directions for HE, the UoN UCU branch is hosting an afternoon Teach-in. All students and staff are welcome. The plan is as follows. 

2:30-4:00pm – Panel discussion – What is the crisis? What can be done? 

This panel, chaired by our branch President, Lopa Leach, brings together speakers with a range of perspectives on: the very real challenges facing HE and UoN more specifically; varied reform options (plus trade-offs); and the wider political context influencing likely reform outcomes.  

  • Howard Stevenson – Long-time education researcher and union organiser, most recently co-author of Harnessing the Power of Post-Compulsory Education, Howard will reflect on his own analysis of the HE crisis and organising possibilities across the sector. 
  • Joe Kearsey – A former UoN PGR and current post-doc, long-time anti-casualisation organiser, and current organiser with the University Rank-and-File Day School, Joe will focus on how work in universities is becoming more precarious, and what to do about it.
  • Marta Aloi – A UCU member from the School of Economies with a background researching labour markets, Marta will discuss our efforts as a branch to develop an ‘Alternative Financial Strategy’ for UoN, which we intend to use in negotiations with management.   

4:00-4:30pm – Coffee break and chat

4:30-5:30pm – Organising at UoN – Practical breakout sessions 

This session will begin with three brief presentations from branch committee members and organisers on: (1) UoN finances and alternative financial plans; (2) casualisation at UoN; and (3) workloads at UoN. Participants will then join one of three breakout groups to discuss organising goals and strategy relating to these three themes. We will conclude by coming back together into a full group and sharing our ideas. 

6:00pm till whenever – Drinks at the Johnson Arms

Agenda for branch meeting 24th September

Dear members,

Hope you have had as nice a summer break as you could. The branch meeting tomorrow will be our first 24/25 meeting of the year. Please find below the agenda for tomorrow’s meeting and the Zoom link again. The meeting will start promptly at 12:30 pm.

We will update you about the beautiful ceremony held last week, which so many of you attended in person or by live stream. The Eulogies were given by Manuel, Olympia (Head of Law) and myself (on behalf of UoNUCU), there were readings by two other friends. The celebrant Louise Savage, was brilliant. The huge role that Agnes played for us was beautifully elucidated by her, Manuel and us. Manuel put together a slideshow of Agnes, which of course had so many images of her at our rallies, picket lines etc. The Regional committee also had a dedicated session this Saturday where Andreas Bieler spoke for our branch.

We have been updated verbally on latest MARS by HR. There were 515 applications, 293 approved, 222 declined and 2 withdrawals. We were told that 69 will leave in August, 13 in September, 8 in October, 1 in November, 183 in December. We have yet to receive numerical data at school level from HR. Thanks to our Reps for letting us have, where available, individual school data. They report inconsistencies and the picture is still incomplete. This makes the Workload as a Health & Safety issue even more important. Please see attached an important document written by Jenny Elliot et al (UCU Workload Group). We have sent this document to HR as well.

Regarding MARS, many of our UCU colleagues have availed themselves of this. We thank them for their amazing loyalty to us and the ways they have always supported workers rights.

And finally, and importantly, we need your thoughts about the UCEA pay offer/pay elements and future UCU strategies which Gertjan Lucas and I can take to the Branch Delegate Meeting and voice your decisions there after our Branch meeting.

See you tomorrow,

Lopa.

General Meeting 24 September, 2024, 12:30 -1:30 pm. Agenda:

  • Update on Agnes.
    • Celebration of the life of Agnes Flues.
    • Annual Agnes Flues Lecture.
    • Tree in UP and Obituary.
  • Workload as a Health & Safety Issue.
  • Pay negotiations and the next steps (voting).

Agnes Flues – Statement from University of Nottingham branch of UCU

The whole of our branch has been shocked and saddened by the untimely death of Agnes Flues – a hugely valued and much loved member of UoN UCU. The branch committee send our condolences to Agnes’ partner and family.

Agnes became involved in UCU during the 2018 USS strikes, when members took 14 days of industrial action in a powerful  defence of our pensions. Agnes had a long prior history of championing human rights and social justice but by her own admission, her knowledge and experience of trade unions was limited.

Agnes was not one to assume others would do the organising. She quickly became much more involved in the union – helping to organise picket lines, becoming UCU rep in the School of Law and joining the branch committee.  It was soon apparent that Agnes brought something very special – not just a willingness to ‘get stuck in’ and work tirelessly to make things happen (Agnes never stopped being a caseworker, supporting individual members), but a commitment always to seek to bring people together, even across deep divides. This is a very rare skill.  It requires a sharp intellect, to be able to analyse context and chart ways forward, and a generosity of spirit that focuses on constructing consensus rather than imposing pre-determined agendas.  Agnes combined both qualities in a unique way. For many of us it was entirely natural that Agnes should become branch President when the position became vacant in October 2020.

Agnes probably did not see herself as President of one of UCU’s largest branches. She always seemed rather reluctant to take on such roles (as those who sought to convince her to stand for the National Executive can attest!) – but, in a typically Agnes kind of way, once she decided to do something, she gave it all of her commitment.

Agnes shone as the brightest of lights during her time as branch President – the public face of the union through some of the most difficult of times.  Always leading strike action through the USS and ‘Four Fights’ disputes, but also representing UCU in countless meetings with management during the pandemic, and helping develop the branch’s ‘Alternative Financial Strategy’. That provided a forensic critique of how national and local financial strategies were progressively dismantling any concept of the public university. In all of this work she displayed tremendous courage. She was never afraid to stand up and speak out on any issue impacting members of the university community – staff and students.

For branch committee veterans of these difficult years, Agnes’ leadership was, literally, an inspiration. She had a very gentle way of managing difficult meetings, making everyone feel included and valued, and winning broad support for the collective decision. Nobody felt ignored, marginalised or disrespected. Those of us involved genuinely felt we were part of something special.  Whatever the outcome of our disputes (a tremendous victory on pensions, but sadly a very different story on ‘Four Fights’), many of us look back at that time as a moment when we experienced real meaning in what we were doing – not just fighting for pensions and pay but struggling for a much more hopeful and optimistic vision of what the public university could be.  Agnes’ contribution to that collective effort can never be underestimated. She was always at the centre.

This contribution was also recognised by the branch members who offered unstinting support to the union throughout the disputes.  That support was not an accident – it was built on trust between branch leadership and members that had been actively constructed. Members knew Agnes, knew they could approach her and knew they would be listened to.

Inevitably, Agnes’ qualities and skills were recognised more widely in the trade union movement and were in high demand. Agnes took on key roles in the UCU Regional Council, the Nottinghamshire Trades Council and on UCU’s National Executive – but she never sought these positions.  Her activism never involved chasing this position or that, or making sure she was on the platform for some high profile event. Agnes’ activism was much more about drawing others in and building the movement for change.  Agnes’ light shone very brightly, but it did so through an approach to ‘leadership’ that was quite different to how leadership is often enacted and experienced (whether in trade unions or elsewhere). That is why Agnes was special.

Agnes’ commitment to human rights and social justice was evident in so many aspects of her life. Most recently her dedication to end the genocide in Gaza and support justice for the Palestinian people. Only this last weekend, Agnes stood on the streets in Nottingham city centre to protest against Far Right and Fascist violence. All of this was consummate Agnes.

But for members of UoN UCU, and in particular those who worked closely with her, we have lost a colleague, a comrade and a companion.  It is an enormous loss – and feels so unjust. Agnes was, quite simply, special. We all knew it – but we have been robbed of the chance to tell her.

Unfathomably, the bright light that was Agnes Flues has been extinguished. At a time when Agnes’ sharp intellect, generosity of spirit and uncompromising sense of social justice are needed more than ever, we must continue the struggles she embraced without her.  At this moment, when grief feels raw, that feels like a more difficult task, but is a task we cannot evade. It is a task made easier by the example and inspiration that is Agnes’ legacy for all of us.

The best way to remember Agnes Flues is to continue to be inspired by her. Let us honour her by renewing our commitment to these struggles.

Response to far-right riots

Dear Members,

In addition to all the horrible events happening in the world, from brutal suppression of student protests in Bangladesh and continued genocide in Gaza, we have now been witnessing ongoing far-right riots, shocking scenes of racist, anti-migrant and Islamophobic rallies in the UK, including Nottingham. There is further notice of such events being planned here for this week. These events affect us all. It impacts directly members, the wider university community and especially staff and students from Muslim, migrant and racialised backgrounds who have to travel to work by public transport. Those with children are concerned about the risks and exposure of their loved ones to racial abuse.

We have written to the university about our concerns. We have asked them to communicate their support for staff and students, including access to wellbeing services, adjustments to working patterns and authorisation of approval of work from home requests (given these are health and safety issues) until the situation has calmed down. We will keep you informed about their response. We can send you the links to various university support resources if they don’t. In the meantime, do reach out to your colleagues, write to your teams and overseas PGR expressing your concern and support.

As you know, the branch has participated in the Unity Rally co-sponsored by the local TUC in which we stood firm against racism and fascism this Saturday. This was very well attended with inspiring talks and amazing posters! Here is a link to pics . We will let you know about further rallies if and when they are organised. It is important for us as a trade union to show our support for and solidarity with migrant and minority workers. We must not abandon public spaces to the far right.

Please feel free to contact us, or your reps on any of the issues above and how we can help. We will be writing to you mid-September (HR promises to provide the data to us then) with our overview on MARS, final numbers, hopefully broken down according to Faculties/Schools, how much UoN has managed to reduce debt by, and how we challenge any increase in workloads.

In solidarity.

Lopa, UoN UCU President (on behalf of the Branch Committee)