Author: L Scott Blankenship

Posted on

Strike update and links

Email sent to members on 25th July 2025

Dear members,

Thank you for going on strike yesterday and thank you to everyone who  attended yesterday’s pickets at West and North Entrance, whether that was for a few hours or all day. An especially big thank you to all those members who joined us that are new to the branch, to picketing or to striking in general! 

As well as being highly visible to anyone coming on to campus from 8am till 3pm, our strike was also covered by BBC East Midlands on the lunchtime and early evening news (see about 9 minutes in) and reported on by Nottingham Post/Nottinghamshire Live, as part of their ongoing coverage of Future Nottingham and our campaign against loss of livelihoods and compulsory redundancies. 

Thanks  for sending  messages of support, and to those who were unable to participate in yesterday’s strike thanks for donating to the local solidarity fund. If you have yet to donate to the fund, we are asking members who were unable to strike to donate 50% of a day’s salary to support members most in need. The account details are:

UCU Nottingham LA63 Hardship Fund

Account number: 20346359

Sort code: 60-83-01

Reference: “July 24th”

We are now in a period of live Action Short of A Strike (ASOS), please consult the guide on our branch website that answers common questions and outlines what this means in practice. Don’t forget to change your email signature and set up an automatic reply in order to maximise our impact! If any members do face salary deductions for participation in ASOS, remember that support from the local solidarity fund is available. Due to payroll cut off dates, any deductions the University does decide to apply for participating in industrial action will at the earliest come in August payslips. We will therefore share information about how to apply for financial support from the branch nearer to the time.

We have had a very busy week as a branch with Monday’s rally with Unison and Unite as the University Council made its decision on Phase 1 of Future Nottingham (lovely images on our website and social), Tuesday’s branch meeting and vote to continue with our strike action and action short of a strike, and of course yesterday’s strike action and pickets. This activism and action has ensured that our collective objection and opposition to how the University is treating staff through Phase 1 of Future Nottingham cannot be ignored and it lays down a marker that we will continue to oppose this approach as and when Phase 2 begins.

In solidarity and with best wishes,

Will and Lopa, on behalf of UoN UCU Branch Committee

Posted on

Extraordinary Members Meeting on 22 July 2025

Email sent to members Thursday 17th July 2025

Dear Members

I would like to invite you to this extraordinary meeting (link below). Apologies for the timing, but Jane has agreed to let us know on this day rather than end of this month, re withdrawal of CR or not for Phase 1. She is aware of our strike date (24 July) and beginning of ASOS, but one can’t be certain about efficiency and timeliness of their reporting, thus the lateness of the timing of this meeting!

At the meeting we will need your approval on the next steps we take. We will update on picket lines, which entrances, our plans and hear your wonderful ideas for the day.

Please don’t forget to come in force to the rally on Monday the 21st, at Trent Building Courtyard. It times well with a Council meeting, where the sign off or rejection on Phase 1 redundancies will occur. This is a joint rally with Unison against these punitive job cuts. There will be external speakers, banners and lots of noise. Unison is even providing a light lunch!

I have attached a new updated Grievance Procedure, negotiated by our JNCC sub group, we need your approval of that, so do peruse. It is an important document and we do need your sign off. 

Please also find a Motion, https://www.universityrankandfile.org.uk/post-congress-model-motion on the ongoing campaign for a dispute with the Secretary of State for Education over funding of HE. We will take this motion if time permits.

Thanking you in advance, see you on both days.

Solidarity,

Lopa

On behalf of branch committee

—————————————————————

Topic: Emergency members meeting
Time: Jul 22, 2025 16:00 London
Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85635939225?pwd=PLZgEMb9y1StJGG6Wfjjwjm7RYbYnp.1


Meeting ID: 856 3593 9225
Passcode: 210176

Posted on

Industrial Action in July

Email sent to members on Thursday 10th July 2025

Dear Members

It was great to see you at the meeting yesterday (9/7/25). Unfortunately I could not tell you about ASOS plans or the date of a possible strike, until UCU had informed the VC. This has now happened.  Paraphrasing from the letter sent:

“The  industrial action will consist of:

* discontinuous strike action on 24 July 2025

* continuous action short of strike consisting of: 

     Not working beyond contractual obligations;

     Not covering for absent colleagues or unfilled posts;

    Not rescheduling or sharing materials from strike-affected sessions;

    Not performing voluntary or out-of-grade duties; 

    Not using personal devices for university work; 

    Not participating in graduation related activities; 

    No admin work related to REF, Course reviews, Future Nottingham, University rankings, Timetabling, Financial year end. 

Actions short of strike (as listed above) will begin on a continuous basis from 24 July 2025.

For the avoidance of doubt, this dispute will continue until such time as the dispute and any matters arising from the dispute… have been resolved to UCU’s satisfaction. In the event the dispute is not resolved to UCU’s satisfaction at the conclusion of the action identified in this letter, the union may notify you of further industrial action.”

Note, as discussed in our meeting yesterday, as a concession we will not be using ASOS for student recruitment events.       

The multiple meetings with management have made it abundantly clear that the only way to shift their position is to show our collective strength through industrial action. The power of a union lies in its unity, and we expect every member to take part. If you will be on holiday or on research leave during the strike period, we encourage you to donate to the hardship fund to support your colleagues.

We will be holding another members’ meeting shortly to discuss all of this in detail. We are preparing a set of FAQs to help members navigate Action Short of a Strike (ASOS), we will share soon. BC is planning ASOS Q&A sessions too.

We will circulate information about hardship support in due course.

And finally, we need to send a clear message to management: We will not accept compulsory redundancies.  So, join us at the rally on 21 July, and most importantly, join our collective fight by striking on 24 July, followed by ASOS.

Thanking you in advance. 

Yours

Lopa

Posted on

HSE takes action on our workload and work-related stress concerns

Email sent to members on Monday 7th July 2025

Dear members,

We are pleased to share some very positive news from our workload campaign.

Following our formal report to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) regarding the University’s failure to meet its legal duties on work-related stress prevention, the HSE has issued a letter to the Vice-Chancellor confirming that our concerns warrant further scrutiny.

The HSE has requested a formal response from the University by 8 August 2025, asking them to demonstrate:

  • That suitable and sufficient stress risk assessments have been carried out;
  • That effective control measures are in place and being monitored;
  • That there has been appropriate consultation with staff.

This intervention by the HSE is a significant milestone. It confirms that our evidence of excessive workloads, under-resourcing, lack of consultation, and failure to comply with legal duties is being taken seriously at a national level. This is particularly timely, as Future Nottingham redundancies will inevitably lead to even higher, unsustainable workloads  

Please find the HSE’s letter attached for your information.

We will continue to push for meaningful changes that support the health, safety, and dignity of all staff. Thank you for your support in making this possible.

In solidarity,
UCU Workload Group

Posted on

Our alternative to job cuts: read the UCU counterproposal

Email sent to members on Friday 4th July 2025


Dear members,

We are pleased to share our detailed counterproposal to the Future Nottingham Phase One cuts, formally delivered to university management this morning on the final day of the consultation period. Management is now legally obliged to consider this document in full before proceeding with any compulsory redundancies. A series of meetings with management is already being planned to discuss the University’s response.

Unlike the University’s proposals — driven by senior managers relying on spreadsheets and arbitrary targets, without essential granular knowledge — our counterproposal is informed by you: the staff on the front line. It reflects the realities of your work, the essential role of APM colleagues in supporting teaching, research, the needs of our students, and the long-term health of the University.

This 70-page document is the culmination of an immense amount of hard work by members of the branch committee and the redundancy working group, with input from members, lay experts, and many of our APM colleagues who have sadly been pooled during Phase 1. Thanks also to everyone who attended any of the specific chapter/business unit meetings during the consultation period as well as our sister unions.

While management must read and respond to the entire proposal, we know members are busy; we encourage you at the very least to read the executive summary, where we set out the key, practical alternatives to the University’s destructive plans.

This is a critical moment. We have just secured a mandate for industrial action, and it is important to remember that industrial action is our most powerful tool to stop job cuts. This approach has already worked at Dundee, Cardiff, and Newcastle, where compulsory redundancies were withdrawn under pressure.

We must stand together to protect jobs, defend our colleagues, and fight for the future of our university. Hopefully see you all on Wednesday 9th at 1pm for the members’ meeting.In solidarity,


Your UCU Branch Committee