Category: UCU

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UCU Hardship Fund – Donations and Applications

Email sent to members on Thursday 30th October

Dear members,

Thank you for your continued solidarity and commitment throughout this period of industrial action. Our collective strength depends not only on participation but also on mutual support — ensuring that those most affected by pay deductions can continue to take part.

Maintaining a strong hardship fund is essential to sustaining effective action and sharing the financial burden fairly across the branch.

We recommend you save this email for future reference.

Hardship Fund Donations

Many members have chosen to focus strike activity on high-impact days while working on others. If you are not striking every day, we strongly encourage you to donate at least a quarter of your salary for the days you are working.

These donations directly support colleagues with heavy teaching or administrative workloads who are striking more frequently — helping everyone to stay the course.

To donate:
UCU Nottingham LA63 Hardship Fund
Account number: 20346359
Sort code: 60-83-01
Reference: Autumn 2025

Every contribution, no matter the size, strengthens our collective position and ensures no member is left behind.

Hardship Fund Applications

Once you have payslips showing strike-related deductions, you can apply for support from both the national UCU fighting fund and the local branch hardship fund.

National UCU Fighting Fund

Members can claim for up to 8 days of strike action:

  • £75/day for salaries under £30,000
  • £50/day for salaries over £30,000

Please note:

  • The cap applies to the entire dispute, including the July action.
  • Members cannot claim for the first three days of strike action.
  • You must apply to the national fund first before applying to the local fund.

Details on how to apply to the national fighting fund can be found here. 

Local UCU Hardship Fund

Thanks to the generosity of members and other branches, we are happy to report that we can offer members support at a rate similar to the national fund (which is obviously much better resourced!).

We will offer:

  • Up to £50 per day, capped at £600 total,
  • Covering the 42 days of action this term (Sep-Dec 2025).

Eligibility:

  • Members applying after the first phase ending on Friday 24 October must show deductions for at least 12 of the first 20 days.
  • Members applying after the second phase ending on Friday 12 December must show deductions for at least 20 of the 42 total days.
  • For part-time staff, both the required strike days and the cap are pro-rated.

Important:

  • Funds are limited and will be allocated for as long the resources last
  • Please only claim what you need, so we can prioritise members in greatest hardship.
  • Priority will be given to those facing the most acute financial pressure.

To apply to the local fund:
Fill out this google form. To do so, you will need:

  1. Copies of the relevant payslips showing strike deductions.
  2. Evidence that you have already applied to the national fund.
  3. Confirmation that you have struck for more than the required threshold for hardship applications
  4. Details of the bank account you wish to be credited.

Applications will be reviewed by a small team from the branch committee, including Tony Padilla (Treasurer) and Kitty Howarth (Branch Organiser).

Members with acute financial needs can request an immediate loan of up to £300 ahead of a full decision — please email the branch at uonucubranch@gmail.com and mark your email “Loan request.”

In exceptional cases of extreme hardship, additional funds or flexible payment arrangements may be considered — please include full details and justification in your application.

Thank you for your continued solidarity. Every donation and every act of mutual support helps to sustain our collective strength.

In solidarity, 

Tony Padilla

UoNUCU Branch Treasurer

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Members meeting 30 October!

Original email sent to members on Wednesday 22nd October. Please see original email for Zoom link.

Dear members,

Thank you for your continued action, support, and solidarity. We are writing with a few key updates which are below, but also wanted to mention that last week we met with Alex Norris the MP for Nottingham North and Kimberley to discuss the dispute. Alex was due to speak at an event on campus but cancelled when we approached him, and he was shocked to hear about the proposed restructuring and the loss of jobs so far – he was also saddened to hear how much things have changed since he was taught by Andreas as an undergraduate in 2003! Alex has promised to speak with the Vice Chancellor about this, and while we will continue to lobby other local MPs, please consider writing to your MP mentioning the scale of potential redundancies.

Rally with the UCU General Secretary Thursday 23rd

We are ending this round of rallies with a bang. We have a great lineup of speakers including Jo Grady, the UCU general secretary, tomorrow. She is coming to show her solidarity to us and to speak about the National dispute. As usual we will be meeting in the Trent Courtyard at 12.40 before marching to Portland Steps for the speeches. Do please come along, in your numbers and show your anger.

Submission of next block of industrial action to the VC

Notification of our next block of industrial action was served to the VC this morning by our regional officer. Following your overwhelming rejection management’s opening offer, and the clear majority support for prioritising action this term the University has been notified of strike action on the following dates:

Monday 10th November – Friday 14th November

Monday 17th November – Friday 21st November

Monday 24th November , Tuesday 25th November

Monday 1st December – Friday 5th December

Monday 8th December – Friday 12th December

On Monday 24th and Tuesday 25th of November we will have big pickets in major entrances, Rallies in the Courtyard, Invited external guests, and a media presence. These particular dates have been chosen with key council meetings on Phase 2 in mind. All of these actions gives us the capacity to exert significant pressure on management, from without and within. 

Having served management the notice of the action today,  we will be writing to them to discuss the implications of it for students and staff and to explore resolutions that can avoid the damage this action has the potential to create, to rethink shrinking size and shape ideology. 

Members’ meeting Thursday 30th October 3-4pm

To discuss this second phase of action, including additional picket line days in November and December and to inform on any potential negotiations with management we have called a members’ meeting for next Thursday at 3pm (link in original email). It has been fantastic to hear from so many of you in recent meetings, so do please come along.

Finally,  some of you will have started to receive your ballots for the national dispute. Please vote in this, and please let your rep know once you have. 

In solidarity,

Lopa

(on behalf of 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

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