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Dear members,
Happy Bonfire Night! Don’t forget to vote in the national ballot and then inform your Rep or let UCU know directly. If you have not yet received yours, click here to order a replacement.
As outlined in the update sent after last week’s member’s meeting, next week our strike action will recommence with a picket line on Monday 10th November from 8:30 am at the West Entrance of University Park. Please also sign and share the open letter here asking University Council to review the proposed timeline and process for Future Nottingham Phase 2 due to serious concerns with the plan and the way it is being implemented.
In order to more effectively engage with our students, the branch now has an instagram account. Do follow and share the channel to interested individuals and groups – especially students!
Read on for the following topics:
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- Collective Grievance against HR
- Agnes Flues Memorial Parkrun
- Cardiff University UCU fights back and wins!
- Branch Committee meeting summary
- University of Leicester demonstration
- Know your rights – Royalties
- Local and national campaigning
- Joining link and further information
Collective Grievance against HR
This year has seen casework levels rise considerably. A large reason for this has been errors in contracts and pay, likely relating to problems within HR itself and the roll-out of Unicore. While individual grievances have been able to rectify the specific issues in many cases, there has been no acknowledgment of the underlying causes and no pathway to scrutinise as to whether these issues are being fixed. Compounding this has been severe member frustration when trying to get responses from HR with e-mails and phone calls going unanswered.
In September we sought information and participants for a collective grievance against HR/Payroll with a view to make them identify and admit if there are systemic problems and to implement a recovery plan. The collective grievance was submitted on Thursday 30th October, and we now await a response from HR.
Agnes Flues Memorial Parkrun
The branch has organised the 2nd Agnes Flues memorial parkrun at Wollaton Park on Saturday 8th November at 9am, to honour the memory of the legendary, tireless Agnes and raise money for the branch. UCU members are warmly invited to come along and take part or to support those who are. Please come wearing your UCU colours if you have them.
Cardiff University UCU fights back and wins!
As a result of a protracted fight from the UCU branch at Cardiff University and solidarity from the wider community, Cardiff’s Vice Chancellor has backtracked on her plans to close Music and Modern Language departments. This follows the reversal of announced compulsory redundancies and a U-turn on proposals to axe nursing courses.
This proves that workers at Universities can prevent academic vandalism, but only if those workers are united and prepared to fight back.
Branch Committee meeting summary
Your Branch Committee met today, Wednesday 5th November and discussed:
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- Outcomes from the “union workstream” meeting
- Arrangements for picket lines and rallies over the next period of strike action
- Possible organisation for Palestine Speakers Tour in Nottingham
- Responding to underhand mitigations of strike action from management
The Branch Committee meets weekly. If you would like Committee to discuss a particular topic please email the details to: uonucubranch@gmail.com
University of Leicester demonstration
Next week on Wednesday 12th November a national UCU demonstration will be held in Leicester in solidarity with the local UCU branch who will begin two weeks of strike from 10th November following announcements of aggressive and unnecessary redundancies.
A delegation from the Branch Committee will attend and take the 10:12am train from Nottingham (10:18am from Beeston) and we encourage all members to join us if possible.
Know your rights – Royalties
The Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society (ALCS) is an organisation that helps people get royalties for their publications, including academic publications. As our members well know, academic publication is almost never compensated.
Members of ALCS don’t have to do anything as a member besides agree for them to collect the first £36 of royalties and then anything above that goes directly to the member.
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 08000 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/