Emergency Meeting/Q&A session with UoN UCU: Friday April 11 at 3pm
Further to my email on Friday, we would like to invite you to a branch meeting this week, where we can discuss and deliberate on Phase 1 Future Nottingham plans which begin soon. The Phase 1 document will be available to all stakeholders (we were told) on Tuesday 8 April. We had/have asked to see this document, but were told that it was still undergoing draft changes. Late Friday evening, we received an email inviting Andreas and I to a meeting on the afternoon of the 8th to discuss Phase 1, possibly in the JNCC subgroup meeting on Organisational Change. Last week we also had 2 excellent, hugely well-attended, Joint Unions Open Staff meetings for Professional Services Colleagues who Phase 1 directly affects, with many important questions being asked. Phase 2, which will affect academics, will begin in the autumn term, and there is also a Phase 3 (Estates) planned. We have sent our ASF2 to the interim CFO, who plans to have a finance meeting with us soon.
We know that many of you will be worried about job security in view of the possibility of compulsory redundancies and the methods employed to reach these. We are sure you will have lots of questions about what is happening and what your branch is doing to support you and to push back against any job cuts. We are keen to know all concerns and what you think we should be doing/challenging further. We need to have a safe space where we can discuss all this. To this end, we are hosting an UoNUCU Emergency Meeting/Q&A session, on Friday April 11 at 3pm. See the zoom link below. Please do come.
This week we will also start sending out daily emails outlining various pertinent aspects of our campaign against redundancies. These will be sent from the Redundancy Working Group email, so do look out for those.
Don’t forget the indicative e-ballot emails will start coming to you from April 10, and ends on May 9, we need all to vote.
See you on Friday.
Yours, in solidarity,
Lopa
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UCU UoN is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Welcome to your weekly newsletter. To mark this most important day, we have included half of our news updates in this email with the other half printed on a scroll and hidden somewhere in one of the buildings on the Castle Meadow Campus. You will be allowed to search for these important updates once the campus formally opens in… [transmission interrupted].
This is on behalf of all three University of Nottingham Unions and thus all job levels 1 – 7. Both dates will be online via Teams (Join using your UoN account):
Today Tuesday April 1st 3pm-4pm Thursday April 3rd 9.30am-10.30am
UCU, Unison and Unite
American and Canadian Studies – a sign of things to come?
With all undergraduate degrees already suspended for 2025/2026, colleagues in American and Canadian Studies (ACS) were informed that the degrees will remain suspended for 2026/2027 too. Understandably, colleagues are concerned whether there will still be a job for them in 2027/2028, when almost all current students will have completed their degree. Importantly, they are fighting back collectively, having tabled a constructive proposal for a way forward saving all jobs. The committee is, however, concerned that this is just the start of Future Nottingham, with the suspension and eventual closure of many more courses to follow in due course. It indicates that our dispute over the VC’s failure to commit to no compulsory redundancies remains of utmost importance.
Make sure your colleagues know what’s happening at UoN
Help make colleagues aware of what’s really happening at UoN, from job cuts to vanity projects. Download our campaign poster, print it off and stick it to your office door or anywhere else people will see it.
This poster was developed by the Redundancy Working Group, which develops our strategy to combat the risk of redundancies and feeds back to the Branch Committee. If you are interested in joining, please contact uonucubranch@gmail.com.
Workload testimonials for Health and Safety Executive
Following reporting to HSE for UoN failure to meet legal obligations regarding stress prevention, the Workload Working Group has asked for a bespoke Workload/stress JNCC or equivalent to be created, so that this work can be addressed swiftly and efficiently. We will keep you posted on the University’s response to this request.
UoN is sending out formal invitations to attend Long Term Absence Meetings while members are still signed off sick by their GP. Please note that the UoN sickness absence management policy (section 5.1) states: “In all cases, contact should be approached sensitively and should be clearly focused on the employee’s health and wellbeing and their return to work”. UCU considers such requests insensitive and detrimental to health and wellbeing and advises you to not attend any meetings until you are fit for work.
Branch Committee meeting summary
Your Branch Committee met on Wednesday 27th March (despite power cuts preventing some members’ timely arrival) and discussed;
The previous day’s Vice Chancellor inaugural lecture,
Improving Branch Committee meeting efficiency as well as the roles and responsibilities of the various Working Groups,
The possibility of a Trade dispute with the Secretary of Education,
How to effectively reach out to non-unionised staff at UoN,
Plans for the upcoming AGM,
Strategy and timeline for combating the threat of APM redundancies,
The Branch Committee meets weekly. If you would like Committee to discuss a particular topic please email the details to: uonucubranch@gmail.com
Local and national campaigning
Gathering information on redundancy At UoN UCU, we are determined to fight management’s cuts, especially when they put the job security of our members at risk. In order to prepare for any future redundancies we are keen to find out more about what sort of cuts or suspicious changes are happening across the University. We’ve set up a google form for you to share this information with us.
Workload group drop ins The Workload Group is organising drop-in sessions to support members to fight against unsustainable workloads. The next sessions will take place online; Tuesday 1st April 3:15-4:15 pm. REDACTED
Call for delegates to hybrid congress – either in-person or online Lisa Rull and Gertjan Lucas, Equality Officers, had been nominated as delegates to the annual UCU congress. With four positions available, they have been elected unopposed. Nominations will remain open until a sufficient number of delegates is reached, so if you are still interested do get in touch by emailing the branch.
‘Green Futures’ newsletter UCU’s Climate Ecological Emergency Committee are now releasing a quarterly newsletter. Read all about them and their work. Interested in this topic? Please email the branch at uonucubranch@gmail.com so we can direct you to more information on UCU’s Climate and Ecological Emergency work.
Solidarity with Unison healthcare assistants in Nottingham Hundreds of healthcare assistants have voted YES to strike action with a majority of 94%. This comes after the employer’s refusal to improve an offer on back-pay to compensate workers performing clinical duties outside their job description during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Please support your fellow workers by paying a visit to their picket lines at QMC and City Hospital on the 10th, 11th, 17th, 22nd, and 28th of April. Pickets will be in place from 6:30 am – 2:30 pm each day.
UoN complicity with Gaza genocide On Wednesday, 26th March the local UCU branch held a seminar on UoN’s complicity in genocide in Gaza with a speaker from the encampment students, outlining key findings from their research report in this respect. This included links between UoN and arms manufacturers as well as UoN and Israeli institutions of Higher Education. Rachel Rosen from the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign at UCL also addressed the meeting, speaking about their experiences with engaging wider staff and management at their university, thereby providing food for thought re the BDS campaign at UoN. The recording of the event is now available here.
We are happy to announce that tickets for the Inaugural Agnes Flues memorial lecture, given by RMT Secretary-general Mick Lynch on Thursday 24th April at 6pm, are now available. Please use code ‘UONUCU’ when booking. Celebrate the life of Agnes and the movement that she worked so passionately and tirelessly for. All money raised will go to the hardship fund and the running of the event.
Read on for the following topics:
Sound the alarm on redundancies
University reported to Health and Safety Executive
Your Union needs you!
Branch Committee meeting summary
Local and national campaigning
Focus on Equality
Joining link and further information
Sound the alarm on redundancies
Help make colleagues aware of what’s really happening at UoN, from job cuts to vanity projects. Download our campaign poster, print it off and stick it to your office door or anywhere else people will see it.
This poster was developed by the Redundancy Working Group, which develops our strategy to combat the risk of redundancies and feeds back to the Branch Committee. If you are interested in joining, please contact uonucubranch@gmail.com.
University reported to Health and Safety Executive
As communicated in the email from Jenny Elliot on Friday, UCU Branch Committee have made the decision to report UoN to HSE for workload and stress health and safety breaches. This follows repeated unsuccessful requests for the University to provide the legally required stress risk assessments and business unit stress risk assessments. Your branch considers that there is substantial unmitigated risk to workload-related health across the University. We will keep you updated with the news from HSE.
Your Union needs you!
If you’re a member in any of the below listed areas, we would love to talk to you about what it means to become a Rep or, if that sounds daunting, an area contact for the branch. If you think it could work for you and you’re curious to hear more, then email our reps coordinators, Ella (REDACTED) and Michaela (REDACTED)
Archeology & Classics
Bio Sciences
Counselling
Cultural, Media & Visual Studies
Electrical and Electronic Engineering
Engineering Research
External and International Relations
History
Law
Mechanical
Materials and Manufacturing Engineering
Medicine
Music
Pharmacy
Registrar’s department
Branch Committee meeting summary
Your Branch Committee met on Wednesday 19th March and discussed
Arrangements for e-ballot towards industrial action,
Materials and actions for responding to – and informing staff of – University financial mismanagement,
Arrangements for event in solidarity with Palestine,
UCU UoN presence at the Staff information Fair,
Lopa Leach and Gertjan Lucas also reported back from their meeting with members of Parliament as part of a delegation from UCU.
The Branch Committee meets weekly. If you would like Committee to discuss a particular topic please email the details to: uonucubranch@gmail.com
Local and national campaigning
Call for delegates to congress Lisa Rull and Gertjan Lucas, Equality Officers, had been nominated as delegates to the annual UCU congress. With four positions available, they have been elected unopposed. Nominations will remain open until a sufficient number of delegates is reached, so if you are still interested do get in touch by emailing the branch.
UoN complicity in genocide in Gaza With the genocidal onslaught by the Israeli war machine against Gaza and across the Westbank in full swing again, our Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign here at the University of Nottingham remains of utmost importance.
Join us tomorrow, Wednesday, 26 March from 4 to 5.30 p.m. for a Zoom meeting (details below) on UoN’s complicity in genocide, hear from our fabulous encampment students about Nottingham’s co-operation with arms manufacturers and Israeli universities, and learn from the BDS campaign at UCL.
REDACTED
Gathering information on redundancy At UoN UCU, we are determined to fight management’s cuts, especially when they put the job security of our members at risk. In order to prepare for any future redundancies we are keen to find out more about what sort of cuts or suspicious changes are happening across the University. We’ve set up a google form for you to share this information with us.
Workload group drop ins The Workload Group is organising drop-in sessions to support members to fight against unsustainable workloads. The next sessions will take place online;
Wednesday 26th March 3:00-4:00 pm. REDACTED Tuesday 1st April 3:15-4:15 pm. REDACTED
Focus on Equality
International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade Today, Tuesday 25th March marks the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade, and UCU will be hosting a special webinar that day, 6:00-7:00 pm entitled “Education, reparations and justice: the legacy of slavery in post-16 learning”. Keynote speech will be given by Dr Leona Vaughn, academic and researcher in the field of equalities and social justice, and the webinar is hosted by UCU president Maxine Looby. Please click here to register
‘Green Futures’ newsletter UCU’s Climate Ecological Emergency Committee are now releasing a quarterly newsletter. Read all about them and their work. Interested in this topic? Please email the branch at uonucubranch@gmail.com so we can direct you to more information on UCU’s Climate and Ecological Emergency work.
This newsletter is coming out slightly late due to Scott and Will being on leave. We will resume the regular Tuesday mailings from next week.
At UoN UCU, we are determined to fight management’s cuts, especially when they put the job security of our members at risk. In order to prepare for any future redundancies we are keen to find out more about what sort of cuts or suspicious changes are happening across the University. We’ve set up a google form for you to share this information with us.
Read on for the following topics:
Members strike back!
Solidarity with casual workers! SIGN the Open Letter in support of Language Centre staff
Know your rights – are you an “Employee” or a “Worker”?
Branch Committee meeting summary
Departmental Reps meeting summary
Local and national campaigning
Solidarity with Palestine
Focus on Equality
Joining link and further information
Members strike back!
As reported by email from Lopa Leach (branch President), the last members meeting on Wednesday 12th March sent a resounding message that UoN UCU will not accept compulsory redundancies. As a result of the approved motion means that we have now formally declared an industrial dispute and can prepare for industrial action if necessary.
The dispute has also been reported in the Nottingham Post, alongside details of the University’s financial management. See the AFS 2.0 for the branch’s proposals on how the University could manage its finances to prevent job losses and save the University.
No compulsory redundancies!
Solidarity with casual workers! SIGN the Open Letter in support of Language Centre staff
Casual staff at the Language Centre convene, deliver, and assess undergraduate modules and/or teach evening classes. Some have worked full-time equivalent hours for years. Yet, like casual workers across the University, casual staff at the Centre face serious challenges, including late and incorrect payments, poor communication, and cumbersome administrative processes. Casual engagements also offer lower pay, fewer benefits, and less job security compared to fixed-term or permanent contracts. The introduction of Unicore has made a bad situation worse, leading some staff to borrow money for essential bills due to delayed wages. The resulting stress has been immense.
Please sign the open letter to support casual workers at the Language Centre in their call for more secure contracts and a robust system to ensure timely payment for their work.
Know your rights – are you an “Employee” or a “Worker”?
Staff at UoN can have two types of employment statusin line with UK labour law. They may be ‘employees’, meaning that they are directly employed by the University on fixed-term or permanent contracts. Alternatively, they are ‘workers’ and casually engaged. Workers have fewer rights than employees, and at UoN, their pay is generally lower and administered differently (i.e. through the more cumbersome and error-prone submission of time-sheets).
The UCU-affiliated Anti-Casualisation (Anti-Cas) Network has long campaigned for the elimination of casual engagements at UoN. In 2023, as a direct consequence of the 2022 MAB, UCU and UoN jointly agreed Principles for Casual Engagements, which should see many casual workers moved onto more secure employment contracts. As of December 2024, the Principles were extended to all job families at UoN.
Despite these gains, implementation of the Principles is still lagging.
Report! If you are yourself a casual worker and believe the Principles entitle you to a direct employment contract, get in touch with Anti-Cas: anticasuon@gmail.com
Branch Committee meeting summary
The Branch Committee met on Wednesday 12th March. After hearing an update from the Workload Campaign Group. We also discussed;
A draft open letter to the University concerning implementation of policies for casual engagement,
Solidarity between our branch and UK institutions facing redundancies,
Arrangements for the Agnes Flues Lecture,
Contingency plans for delivery of this newsletter in the absence of communications officers,
Gathering information on Redundancies at UoN.
The Branch Committee meets weekly. If you would like Committee to discuss a particular topic please email the details to: uonucubranch@gmail.com
Departmental Reps meeting summary
Your Departmental Reps met on Tuesday 11th March and discussed;
The nature and implications of protected conversations,
Getting involved in formal meetings in our areas as Departmental Reps,
There was also a call by Gertjan Lucas (Equalities Officer, Business School Rep) for nominations for delegates to the annual UCU congress.
The Departmental Reps meeting occurs approximately monthly to provide space for Reps to feed back comments and concerns from members in their areas.
The Reps network extends across most academic Schools and professional services, however there are a number of academic and professional services departments still needing Reps. If your department has no Rep, and this role interests you please email uonucubranch@gmail.com. New Reps are well supported by the Branch Committee and the rest of the Reps network.
Local and national campaigning
Workload group drop ins The Workload Group is organising drop-in sessions to support members to fight against unsustainable workloads. The next session will take place online tomorrowThursday 20th March 1:30-2:30 pm. Meeting Link
Call for delegates to congress Lisa Rull and Gertjan Lucas, Equality Officers, had been nominated as delegates to the annual UCU congress. With four positions available, they have been elected unopposed. Nominations will remain open until a sufficient number of delegates is reached, so if you are still interested do get in touch by emailing the branch.
Climate lecture Join us for the third and final ‘Democracy at the Crossroads’ lecture with Alan Simpson. Today, 19 March Alan will speak on “Rebuilding from the base: the ‘me’ and the ‘we’ of democratic renewal” in A39 in the Sir Clive Granger Building, University Park from 2 to 4 pm.
Policy of Deceit: Britain and Palestine 1914-1939 Tonight, Wednesday 19th March at 7:30 pm Peter Shambrook will discuss his book on the betrayal of the Palestinian people by the British state. The talk will take place in the Mary Seacole Room, Queen’s Walk Community Centre, Nottingham NG2 2DF. No booking necessary. Hosted by Nottingham PSC and Nottinghamshire & Derbyshire Labour History Society.
Silent March for Palestine On Saturday 22nd March at 3:30 pmNottingham PSC is organising a silent march starting from Forest Recreation Ground. If attending, please wear black. The march will finish by 5:00 pm to allow those observing Ramadan to return home for iftar. More details here.
Save-the-Date – UoN complicity in genocide in Gaza On Wednesday 26 March, 4:00 to 5.30 pm UCU will organise a public Zoom seminar on UoN complicity in genocide in Gaza. Our main speaker will be from the student encampment, presenting key findings of their research report on UoN complicity. A UCU representative will speak about our own BDS campaign here at UoN, leaving us with ample time to discuss what we can do at our own workplace to stop the genocide. Zoom details will follow in due course.
Focus on Equality
International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade Tuesday 25th March marks the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade, and UCU will be hosting a special webinar that day, 6:00-7:00 pm entitled “Education, reparations and justice: the legacy of slavery in post-16 learning”. Keynote speech will be given by Dr Leona Vaughn, academic and researcher in the field of equalities and social justice, and the webinar is hosted by UCU president Maxine Looby. Please click here to register
Pride and Prejudice in Education 2025 UCU is updating the Pride and Prejudice in Education report about LGBT+ experiences in FE and HE (2016). They are inviting you to complete a survey by the deadline of Friday 21st March. Please do share the survey as it is for all LGBT+ FE and HE staff and students/learners. The chief investigator is Dr Kieran Higgins based at Ulster University.
‘Green Futures’ newsletter UCU’s Climate Ecological Emergency Committee are now releasing a quarterly newsletter. Read all about them and their work. Interested in this topic? Please email the branch at uonucubranch@gmail.com so we can direct you to more information on UCU’s Climate and Ecological Emergency work.
Happy Holi to all those celebrating this Friday! Remember the all members’ meeting on tomorrow Wednesday12th March at 1:00 pm to discuss and vote on declaration of dispute with our employer, in order to defend jobs at UoN. In addition we will be making preparations for the 2025 UCU national congress.
Read on for the following topics:
Alternative Financial Strategy 2.0
Know your rights – workload
TUC Women’s Conference report – Lisa Rull
Branch Committee meeting summary
Local and national campaigning
Focus on equality
Joining link and further information
Alternative Financial Strategy 2.0
As the Vice Chancellor has refused to rule out compulsory redundancies during the current and next academic year and there is talk about a 20 per cent cut in activities across the university, the branch has released the second version of the Alternative Financial Strategy (AFS 2.0). Undoubtedly, there are sector-wide financial pressures and UoN is not alone in facing redundancies. However, there has also been drastic UoN specific financial mismanagement especially around the Castle Meadow Campus, which significantly aggravates our local situation.
In the AFS 2.0, we specify what can and should be done in order to continue performing the educational and research role of the University. This includes an urgent review of all planned infrastructure investments as well as the establishment of better accountability procedures for management decisions.
Know your rights – workload
There are two main pieces of health and safety law which cover work-related stress:
Taken together, this means that by law employers must:
Identify any risks to their employees’ health, for example by carrying out a risk assessment,
Take steps to prevent or reduce work-related stress
Employers must also make sure they’re following the law on working time rules (for more information see Working Time Regulations 1998). This is because working long hours without regular breaks can be a cause of work-related stress.
TUC Women’s Conference report – Lisa Rull
UCU sends a delegation to the TUC Women’s Conference each year, of which our own Lisa Rull (UCU UoN Equality Officer) formed part of the delegation. This year she spoke on Composite 8: Menopause, highlighting the need for both employer and union support and policies for those experiencing menopause (including premature, peri- and post- symptoms).
The Committee also heard updates from the Redundancy and Palestine Solidarity Working Groups.
The Branch Committee meets weekly. If you would like Committee to discuss a particular topic please email the details to: uonucubranch@gmail.com
Local and national campaigning
Workload group drop ins The Workload Group is organising drop-in sessions to support members to fight against unsustainable workloads. The next session will take place online on Thursday 20th March 1:30-2:30 pm. Meeting Link
Climate lecture Join us for the third and final ‘Democracy at the Crossroads’ lecture with Alan Simpson. On Wednesday 19th March Alan will speak on “Rebuilding from the base: the ‘me’ and the ‘we’ of democratic renewal” in A39 in the Sir Clive Granger Building, University Park from 2:00 to 4:00 pm.
Focus on equality
Pride and Prejudice in Education 2025 UCU is updating the Pride and Prejudice in Education report about LGBT+ experiences in FE and HE (2016). They are inviting you to complete a survey by the deadline of Friday 21st March. Please do share the survey as it is for all LGBT+ FE and HE staff and students/learners. The chief investigator is Dr Kieran Higgins based at Ulster University.
International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade Tuesday 25th March marks the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade, and UCU will be hosting a special webinar that day, 6:00-7:00 pm entitled “Education, reparations and justice: the legacy of slavery in post-16 learning”. Keynote speech will be given by Dr Leona Vaughn, academic and researcher in the field of equalities and social justice, and the webinar is hosted by UCU president Maxine Looby. Please click here to register
