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Dear members,
Ramadan Mubarak to all members starting their fasts on Friday! Also a big welcome to Peter Woods as our new Social Media Officer.
If you have not posted your ballot for the national officers and NEC elections yet, please dig through your pile of mail to locate your papers ASAP! The last safe posting day is today. Ballots can still be posted until Thursday 27th February, but if you wait until then, make sure you attach a First Class stamp.
Read on for the following topics:
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- No to compulsory redundancies!
- Overworked? Come and talk
- Branch Committee meeting summary
- Local and national campaigning events
- Joining link and further information
No to compulsory redundancies!
As communicated by email yesterday, last week Lopa Leach as Branch President formally wrote to the Vice Chancellor inviting her to rule out compulsory redundancies this year and next. The VC has since replied and failed to rule out compulsory redundancies on both counts. Thus there will be an all members meeting on Wednesday 12th March 1-2pm to vote on a motion that would trigger a dispute over compulsory redundancies. Motion and Zoom details will be sent out next week from Nick Clare as Branch Secretary. Please ensure you attend – our strength is in our unity.
On a related note, APM staff are undergoing capability mapping with the consultancy company Strive Higher. This consultancy company offers “professional services redesign” and “efficiencies and cost improvement” so will likely result in restructuring and thus large scale redundancies. It has been reported that assessments are rushed, and roles very roughly categorised, resulting in increased stress for colleagues affected.
Overworked? Come and talk
The Workload Group is organising drop-in sessions to support members to fight against unsustainable workloads. The next 2 sessions will take place on:
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- Thursday 27th February, 2-3 pm on Teams. Meeting link
- Wednesday 5th March, 2-3 pm on Teams. Meeting Link
The Workload Group was promised they would be sent the university-wide stress risk assessment early last week, but they still have not received it. The deadline for legally mandated stress preventative documentation is this Friday – 28th February, after which we will be reporting the university to HSE for negligence. In the meantime, check the ‘why saying no is an act of solidarity’ materials, with information about our ‘just say no!’ Campaign.
Branch Committee meeting summary
Your Branch Committee met on Wednesday 19th February and heard reports from the Workload, Anti-casualisation and Palestine Solidarity working groups. We also discussed;
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- Administration and organisation of branch files,
- Our commitment to pushing ahead with the collective grievance concerning unsafe conditions at Sir Clive Granger,
- Our response and strategy towards “protected conversations”, and the possibility of upcoming compulsory or voluntary redundancies,
- Arrangements for the Agnes Flues Memorial Lecture,
The committee also confirmed Peter Woods as our new Social Media Officer.
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 events
Climate lecture
Join us for the second ‘Democracy at the Crossroads’ lecture with Alan Simpson. Tomorrow, Wednesday 26 February Alan will speak on “Climate: the big disrupter or a lifeline for democracy?” in A39 in the Sir Clive Granger Building, University Park from 2 to 4 pm.
Palestine Poetry night
Nottingham Palestine Solidarity Campaign has organised an open-mic poetry night on Saturday 1st March at 7pm at the Sumac Centre in Basford to honour the resistance of the Palestinian people. All money raised will go to Medical Aid for Palestinians and Al-Harah Theatre in the West Bank. Food and Iftar will be provided. Click here to buy tickets.
HRLC Annual Human Rights Conference: Human Rights under Pressure
The annual Human Rights Law Centre conference is taking place on Wednesday 5th March at 1 pm in B62 Law and Social Sciences, University Park. Online attendance is also available. More information and registration here.
Who do you think should lead universities?
Please provide your views on who are best placed for vice-chancellor roles by completing this short survey. This survey is being administered by researchers at the Centre for Higher Education Transformations (CHET) at the University of Bristol. It has received full ethical approval for distribution.
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/