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Dear members,
Happy Diwali to all celebrating this week, and for those on leave over half term, we hope that you have a restful week. We also recognise that for many, half term means additional child care duties and thus can be a more stressful period.
Yesterday’s rally at Portland steps engendered a lot of student interest and support. Thank you to everyone who has come to listen, speak and demonstrate together.
Tomorrow at 12:40 pm we will be holding our final rally of the week, and welcoming our General Secretary Jo Grady. As with yesterday, there will be activities for children so please do bring the littles along!
Read on for the following topics:
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- Keep up the pressure!
- Know your rights – strike deductions
- APM senate elections
- Branch Committee meeting summary
- Workload Collective Grievance
- UoN Coalition for Palestine Launch
- Local and national campaigning
- Joining link and further information
Keep up the pressure!
The strong, and in many areas of the University, growing action members have taken in the last two weeks is fantastic and places pressure on management to understand we will not accept compulsory redundancies. Reps are reporting programmes with multiple modules impacted by our action. As we continue the dispute it is vital we keep up the pressure. Next week we are not on strike, but ASOS continues. We should not undermine the impact of our own withdrawal of labour or that of fellow members.
Uploading lecture recordings is one way that management has found to try to undermine the impact of our industrial action. It should be noted that recordings of lectures have a distinct legal protection, and cannot simply be used without the lecturer’s consent – per the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 and reinforced by UK GDPR and Data Protection law. University Policy on Recorded Online Teaching Materials is in line with these legal protections. We have seen breaches of this policy in some Schools. If you are aware of similar action being taken by your School then do let the branch know at uonucubranch@gmail.com.
Know your rights – strike deductions
As noted in the newsletter dated 8th October, the University deducted too much money for the strike day in July. After we raised this to HR, these incorrect deductions ought to be rectified for your upcoming salary payment, so please check your payslip which you should receive by Wednesday 29th October. If you do not receive a repayment, or receive an incorrect amount then please contact payroll@nottingham.ac.uk in the first instance.
We note that the email from BR-IndustrialAction (subject line Unicore payment) implies that this “additional payment” is a result of some benevolent change in University policy. This is incorrect as University policy has always been to deduct 1/365 of wages per day which is in line with a 2017 Supreme Court decision.
APM senate elections
As communicated in the last newsletter, Senate elections are upcoming to fill a number of vacant positions. On the UK campus these are 2 x APM/TS at L1-6 and 1 x APM/TS at L7.
The deadline to register to vote, and self-nominate has now been extended to 5pm Monday 24th October. Voting is only open to APM staff. If you wish to stand for any of these positions, and wish voters to be aware you are a UCU member please contact uonucubranch@gmail.com before completing the nomination form.
Branch Committee meeting summary
Your Branch Committee met today, Wednesday 22nd October and discussed
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- Plans for Jo Grady’s visit to tomorrow’s rally
- Industrial action strategy
- The national dispute and its relation to our local dispute
- Secondments to Branch Committee
- Access to the hardship fund
- New branch banners
The Branch Committee meets weekly. If you would like Committee to discuss a particular topic please email the details to: uonucubranch@gmail.com
Workload Collective Grievance
We have now started work on collective grievances for:
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- Lack of workload model in Engineering
- Unsustainable workloads (where there is no workload model) and workloads over 100%
We are looking for members to add to the collective action to push back at unsustainable workloads by adding their names to the grievances. Please reach out to REDACTED and REDACTED to let us know about your unsustainable workload or a lack of workload model in your school.
UoN Coalition for Palestine Launch
Join us for the in-person event on what staff, students and wider society can do to challenge the University of Nottingham’s complicity in genocide in Palestine. The event will take place on Wednesday, 29th October 2025 1-4 pm in Room B63, Law and Social Sciences Building, University Park.
You can learn more about the various campaigns of our branch’s Palestine Solidarity Working Group here.
Local and national campaigning
Exposing Empire: War, Capital & Palestine
On 14th October, Victor Kattan and Andreas Bieler, both UCU members, gave teachouts on ‘The Hidden History of War Crimes in Palestine and the Campaign for an Apology’ and ‘Global Capital, Imperial Power and the Political Economy of Genocide in Palestine’. Please do listen and share the echo360 recordings. The event was organised in collaboration with two student groups: Lawyers Without Borders and the Nottingham Camp for the Liberation of Palestine.
Call on Nottinghamshire County Council to divest from apartheid
We encourage all members to sign Nottingham Palestine Solidarity Campaign’s petition demanding that Nottinghamshire County Council divests from from companies and organisations complicit in the genocide in Palestine
Currently the LGPS holds £170 million in shares in genocide-complicit companies. In line with the branch’s BDS motion and solidarity with Palestine motion the branch has given official support to the campaign.
Report anti-trans discrimination
Have you been questioned, stopped or challenged using a single-sex space? Fill in this form to help TransActual advocate on this issue at a national level.
Joining link and further information
Remember to pass on the online joining link to your colleagues.
Donate to the branch hardship fund here!
Having trouble at work? Please log a case with our large, competent casework team!
Need to talk to your Departmental Rep? Find the full list of UoN UCU reps here. If you are interested in becoming a departmental rep, get in touch!
Struggling with your mental health or wellbeing? UCU members get free access to confidential support service educationsupport.org.uk who can be called 24/7 on 0800 562 561.
Yours sincerely,
L Scott Blankenship and Will Paterson-Bassett, Branch Communications Officers, on behalf of UoN UCU Branch Committee
Branch website: https://uonucu.org/