Please do not reply to this newsletter, as your email will bounce. Contact your Departmental Rep or uonucubranch@gmail.com if you need any assistance.
Dear members,
Chag sameach to all members observing Passover starting Saturday!
In these worrying times we want to keep our members as informed as possible. To this end, the Redundancy Working Group has compiled detailed advice and information on our website. In addition, as communicated by Lopa on Monday, there will be an online Emergency Meeting and Q&A session this Friday 11th April at 3pm to discuss what the branch is doing to support you and resist job cuts.
Please remember to get tickets for the inaugural Agnes Flues memorial lecture on Thursday 24th April at 6pm. The tickets are now available without an access code, so please share with people outside of UCU.
Read on for the following topics:
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- Educate, Agitate, Organise
- Make sure your colleagues know what’s happening at UoN
- Spotlight on casework
- Unsustainable workloads make us ill!
- Branch Committee meeting summary
- Local and national campaigning
- Joining link and further information
Educate, Agitate, Organise
Last week a total of 1,100 staff members attended two open informational meetings held by the three campus unions. These were used to inform staff about Future Nottingham, University restructuring and possible compulsory redundancies, the Universities financial position, and our next steps as staff and/or union members. The high attendance and engagement signifies that there is both a high level of concern about the future of the University, and a willingness to try to do something about it.
Thank you to all who attended and promoted the meetings.
Colleagues at all levels, all job types, unionised or not, can follow this Whatsapp channel for updates on working conditions, redundancies and restructuring at UoN. Members are anonymous to other members and admins unless you are contacts. Please share this with your colleagues, and ensure they turn notifications ON.
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.
Spotlight on casework
As we are now half way through the academic year, it seems a good time to reflect on the practical solidarity the branch has been offering members. Since September we have helped 72 members, which is nearly double that at this point last year. From advising members on handling protected conversations to supporting members facing bullying, the range of issues we help with is diverse. A big thanks to our local caseworker team without whom none of this would be possible (Lila, Cyril, Michaela, Onni, Peter, Jenny, Liz, Martin, Lisa, Gertjan, Sara, Alice, Luisa and David). I also need to thank the fountains of knowledge and experience Julie and Gareth at the UCU regional office who support our local caseworkers when issues get especially complex or questions of legality are raised.
We are currently looking for extra caseworkers, specifically to help members facing compulsory redundancies should the University announce those. Please contact the branch email, uonucubranch@gmail.com if you would like to help.
As a reminder, if you are a member and need advice on an employment issue, the quickest way to raise it is via the ‘Ask for help’ tab on our website.
– Andrew Renault (Casework Coordinator)
Unsustainable workloads make us ill!
Despite reporting UoN to HSE for failing its legal duty to prevent work-related stress, our employer is still hesitating to establish the Workload/Stress JNCC we have urgently requested. In the meantime, a Freedom of Information request has revealed that 4,713 working days were lost to work-related stress absence between 1st Sept 2023 and 31st August 2024. That amounts to over 21 years of work lost in one year, due to the unmitigated pressure of unsustainable workloads.
Please keep filling in the testimonial form so that we have ongoing evidence of the impact of overwork and the lack of stress prevention, for the HSE inspectors.
Branch Committee meeting summary
Your Branch Committee met on Wednesday 2nd and Thursday 3rd April and discussed;
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- Feedback from meetings with APM staff
- Our plan for the possibility of APM redundancies, including moving forward our timeline for balloting
- Publication of the redundancy campaign documents
- The encampment students’ petition to oppose the renewal of Starbuck’s contract with the university
The Committee also received advice from Steve French on action to oppose 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;
Monday 7 April April 1.00 – 2.00. Meeting Link
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.
UCU reasonable adjustment survey
UCU is aiming to gain an understanding of your experiences with reasonable adjustments at work from both the perspectives of UCU members and branch representatives who support disabled UCU members. They kindly ask that you complete a brief survey to share your insights by Wednesday 16th April at the latest.
Oppose a renewal of Starbucks’ licence on campus!
The encampment students have organised a petition asking UoN not to renew Starbucks’ contract on campus due to the company’s support for Israel. The UCU committee has agreed on supporting the collection of signatures. Click here for more detailed information and to sign the petition.
Joining link and further information
Remember to pass on the online joining link to your colleagues.
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!
Yours sincerely,
L Scott Blankenship and Will Paterson-Bassett, Branch Communications Officers, on behalf of UoN UCU Branch Committee
Branch website: https://uonucu.org/