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Dear members,
Happy Easter and Subbho Noboborsho! There will be no newsletter next week due to Comms officers taking annual leave. Newsletters will recommence on the week starting 28th April.
While we are all committed to helping each other within our UCU branch, we are not a service. Rather, we are an organisation based on solidarity. A repeat of our training session for supporting compulsory redundancy individual consultations for anyone reps who want to be involved and couldn’t make the last one. Thursday 8th May 2-4pm on Zoom. Trainer: Gareth Brown, regional UCU office. Sign up here.
Please remember to get tickets for the inaugural Agnes Flues memorial lecture taking place on Thursday 24th April at 6pm.
Read on for the following topics:
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- Management scores an own-goal
- Fight back, together
- Solidarity with casualised Language Centre staff
- Know your rights – discrimination
- Workload – a change in framing
- Branch Committee meeting summary
- Departmental Reps meeting summary
- Local and national campaigning
- Joining link and further information
Management scores an own-goal
On Monday 14th April, the first meeting concerning redundancies between University management and campus unions took place. UCU was represented by Lopa Leach (Branch President), Andrew Armstrong (APM Officer), and Julie Cooper (East Midlands Official). This meeting was extraordinarily short as it became apparent that management had not done basic legal minimum tasks required before this meeting. No details of which jobs will be cut, and the business case for cuts to each business unit have been given. In other words, unions were not informed of how many redundancies there are planned, where those redundancies are planned, and why they are ‘necessary’. UCU declared that the consultation period could not legally start without this legally required information being provided. We will see in May if this information is forthcoming.
If you are made aware that your own or your colleagues’ roles come under compulsory redundancy, please let your rep or the committee (uonucubranch@gmail.com) know the details. This information should come first to the Unions alongside a business case so we can be aware and support staff properly.
Fight back, together
The Branch Committee, Reps, Caseworkers, and activists are working hard to resist the draconian and unnecessary redundancies announced by the VC last week. Friday’s lively Q&A session was attended by 230 members, demonstrating the resolve of members to fight back.
You will of course be updated by email, but further information can be found on the redundancy section of the website. Don’t forget to keep discussing the situation with your colleagues, and vote in the indicative ballot (look for email with subject line “IMPORTANT: University of Nottingham UCU consultative ballot” check your spam!). You can also be a part of the pressure against these redundancies by joining the Redundancy Working Group, and/or becoming a caseworker. In either case email rwguonucu@gmail.com.
Solidarity with casualised Language Centre staff
Staff at the Language Centre experience high amounts of casualisation and insecurity, which has been compounded by administrative failings associated with Unicore resulting in missed wages. Within less than a week, more than 100 Language Centre staff and UCU members signed an open letter calling on management to provide more secure contracts and improved work conditions. The HR Director, Helen McNamara, has since replied and committed to respond within our deadline of two weeks. We will keep everyone updated with further developments. We also welcome further signatures. Please add your name here.
Know your rights – discrimination
Section 98 of the Employment Rights Act, 1996 specifies that an employer must apply objective and fair criteria when selecting employees for redundancy. The Equality Act, 2010 protects employees from discrimination based on specific protected characteristics e.g. age, race, gender, disability, etc. Employers must ensure that redundancy selection is not based on discriminatory factors. Under section 98 of the 1996 Employment Rights Act, employees have the right to challenge the fairness of their dismissal, including redundancy, if they feel the procedure or selection criteria were unfair.
Workload – a change in framing
The Workload Group had a major win this week. We have seen written evidence that some schools are now setting maximum workload to 80 – 100%. There is still a lot of work to be done to ensure that this is now rolled out consistently across the university, for equity reasons. We will continue to push for a workload model group within each business unit, comprised of union reps, directors, course leaders, etc. This group will be tasked with reviewing each business unit’s workload model in an ongoing and sustainable way, to ensure there is no shrinkflation of workload.
On a less positive note, the University is still refusing to set up a bespoke Workload/Stress JNCC. This is despite;
- Being reported to HSE for failing legal stress prevention measures
- A Freedom of Information request revealing horrifying work-related stress absence figures
- Conscious and consistent overworking of staff in four out of five faculties.
What will it take for our employer to take this issue seriously?
Branch Committee meeting summary
Your Branch Committee met on Wednesday 9th April. Given current circumstances the meeting focused on;
- Our response to declaration of redundancies
- Discussion of HR1, S188 and Future Nottingham Phase 1 documents presented to us for committee responses.
We also heard a report from the first consultation meeting between management and campus trade unions. Management was represented by the Vice Chancellor, Deputy Vice Chancellor and head of HR. UoNUCU was represented by Lopa Leach and Andreas Bieler as President and Vice President respectively, while Unison was represented by their Executive Committee.
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
The Departmental Reps met on Wednesday 9th April and discussed;
- Administrative preparations for the indicative e-ballot
- Guidance for the Get The Vote Out (GTVO) campaign
- Supporting APM members through phase 1 of Future Nottingham
This 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
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 tomorrow, 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.
Stop the redundancies at the University of Derby
Up to 35 Professors and Associate Professors are facing a compulsory redundancy process at the University of Derby. UCU Derby have written an open letter you are invited to sign, opposing these cuts at Derbyshire’s only University and critiquing the poor engagement with trade Union as it has unfolded. Joining link and further information
Academic-related, professional services staff open meeting
UCU’s academic-related professional services staff (ARPS, i.e. APM in UoN terminology) committee will be holding the next open meeting on Friday 9 May (12:30-13:30). ARPS members are invited to join the meeting to talk about the issues affecting them and their branches currently. The format is open and friendly and all ARPS members are welcome. Please register for the meeting using this online form and a Zoom link will be sent to you on the morning of the meeting.
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/