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Dear members,
Thank you to everyone who joined last week’s joint rally with UNISON and our picket lines! We are currently waiting for confirmation from the Vice Chancellor that Compulsory Redundancies are off the table. The power to de-escalate is firmly in the hands of management.
We have moved sending this newsletter to Wednesday afternoon so that it is up-to-date with the latest discussions from the Branch Committee. We will also pause the newsletter for much of August.
Read on for the following topics:
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- How we fight back together
- Tell us your Unicore woes! Toward a collective grievance.
- Summary of branch meeting last week
- Remembering Agnes Flues
- Branch Committee meeting summary
- Request for feedback on promotions process
- Workload webinars
- Protect University jobs here and across the country
- Local and national campaigning
- Joining link and further information
How we fight back together
As the University refuses to rule out compulsory redundancies, we are now in a period of ASOS. For guidance on what this means and how to participate, see our ASOS Fundamentals. To maximise the impact, remember to set an automatic reply, and change your email signature to reflect your participation in this industrial action.
In order to support members subject to salary reductions, we are bolstering our hardship fund. We ask that members who can donate half a day’s salary – details below:
UCU Nottingham LA63 Hardship Fund
Account number: 20346359
Sort code: 60-83-01
Tell us your Unicore woes! Toward a collective grievance.
The branch has seen a massive increase in casework support requests in the past six months, many are related to the rollout of Unicore, and ongoing systemic failures in HR. These problems can be divided into:
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- Employment contracts: Renewals not being issued, or issued late.
- Salary payments: Inaccurate and/or late
- Incorrect tax reporting to HMRC.
Compounding the stress and uncertainty created by these glaring failures is the seeming inability of HR and Payroll to respond to emails complaining about said issues. This weighs particularly heavily on our most vulnerable members; those on fixed term contracts, or in casualised employment.
We are looking for members to participate in creating and filing a collective grievance, in order to pressure the University to fix these systemic issues. If you have been having any issues described above, please contact the branch at uonucubranch@gmail.com to describe your experience.
Summary of branch meeting last week
The Extraordinary Members’ Meeting on Tuesday 22nd July was attended by over 200 members. Following impassioned expressions of anger at compulsory redundancies and calls for solidarity with APM staff, members voted for both strike action on Thursday 24th July and ASOS.
Members also approved the new grievance procedure and a motion to support the ongoing campaign for a dispute with the Secretary of State for Education over funding of HE.
Remembering Agnes Flues
On 5th August 2024, Agnes Flues, our Branch President from 2020 to 2023 and member of the UCU national executive committee (NEC) from 2023 onwards, died prematurely.
Agnes’s partner will be laying flowers at her memorial in the UoN memorial garden to mark this one year anniversary on Tuesday 5th August at 5:00 pm. He would welcome being joined by her union comrades, and is happy if anyone would like to say a few words.
Agnes’s memory was marked by the Branch with members joining her local Park Run in November to fundraise in her name, and an April memorial lecture in which the RMT’s Mick Lynch gave the keynote address. Branch Committee members are planning another presence at Wollaton parkrun this autumn to mark her birthday.
Lisa Rüll, one of Equality Officers, speaks for many of us when saying “I miss sharing recipes, crochet patterns and loud chants at our rallies – the news of her passing broke our hearts but we still treasure her example. We will continue to work towards her goals and remain inspired by her actions”.
Branch Committee meeting summary
Your Branch Committee met on Wednesday 16th July and discussed:
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- Planning for rally on Monday 21st July,
- Preparations for members’ meeting on Tuesday 22nd July,
- Logistics and materials for strike action on Thursday 24th July,
- The status of the branch hardship fund.
We also met today, Wednesday 30th July and discussed:
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- Last week’s industrial action and the hardship fund,
- Expectations and response to Phase One of Future Nottingham,
- Plans for a new branch banner.
The Branch Committee meets weekly – though it will take a partial hiatus in August. If you would like Committee to discuss a particular topic please email the details to: uonucubranch@gmail.com
Request for feedback on promotions process
As part of the People and Talent Joint Negotiation and Consultation Committee (JNCC), our branch has been asked to get feedback from members about the promotions process, as management is doing an end-to-end review of this.
Please see the existing feedback here, and please email REDACTED or REDACTED to tell us about:
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- Concerns about this process that haven’t been addressed in this document
- Experiences, examples, or feedback (either your own or from colleagues) that highlight concerns with the promotion process, especially where it may have resulted in disadvantage or inequity?
This is our opportunity to help to shape the end-to-end promotions process in ways that better reflect our experiences and needs. Please take the time to send us your feedback.
Workload webinars
In order to push back against excessive workloads in the sector, East Midlands UCU is hosting two webinars to equip members with the requisite skills and information. Details below:
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- Wednesday 3rd September 4pm: Challenging Excessive Workload in Education
- Wednesday 22nd October 4pm: Saying No with Confidence
We encourage members to attend. In either instance, please email REDACTED to register.
Protect University jobs here and across the country
Our dispute is about workers at the University of Nottingham being threatened with redundancies, our Alternative Financial Strategy 2.0 lays out how decisions by management have led to this. We can also see the threat of redundancy is commonplace for many workers in Universities across the UK. Our strength here as a Union is in our collective solidarity within our branch and in extending it to other UCU branches and HE workers.
Please find details and petitions/letters to sign to support staff at UoN and across the country using the links below:
Local and national campaigning
Workload campaign – keep up the pressure!
The Branch Workload Campaign Group is working closely with the UCU National Workload Health and Safety Officer, who has advised us to keep gathering data of unsustainable workloads and work-related stress. This is particularly in light of the HSE taking our concerns very seriously.
You can help by adding your voices to those have already heard via this questionnaire. We will use your voices to keep campaigning for our right to sustainable workloads and a safe and supportive working environment that doesn’t leave us stressed and burnt out. Thank you so much for your help and support.
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.
60 Years of the Tricontinental Conference: Context, Impact, Legacy, and Future
Parvathi Kumaraswami, an academic at the University is crowdfunding for travel grants for scholars, artists and activists from the Global South to attend the above January 2026 conference at the University of Havana. This will celebrate the original event and prioritize contributions from the Global South and stimulate important debates about the original event and its relevance to anti-colonialism, anti-imperialism, and decolonisation.
Please consider making a donation if you’re able. More information and donation link here.
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.
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/