Tag: Branch Meeting

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Update and invite to member’s meeting Monday 2nd June 1-2pm

Email sent to members Tuesday 27th May 2025

Dear members,

I hope you were able to have some much needed time off over the bank holiday? We are just writing with some key updates to events happening both here and nationally, so apologies for the amount of information but we have tried to keep it as clear as we can!

Member’s meeting – Monday 2nd June, 1-2pm

We have called this meeting to provide you all with more updates on our dispute with the University. After the excellent response to the indicative ballot, UCU has now formally sent our ballot information to the VC Jane Norman and the full ballot will open for a month from the 30th of May. As ever it is crucial we have a strong turnout in this ballot, in order to respond to both Phase 1 and Phase 2, and so you will be hearing from our wonderful reps as they help get the vote out.

This meeting is a chance to hear from the committee about all the meetings we have been having with management, ask questions about the dispute and ballot, and provide feedback on potential industrial action plans as we move into summer, next academic year, and even Phase 2. The meeting link can be found below:

UCU UoN is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: UCU UoN’s Member Meeting

Time: Jun 2, 2025 13:00 London

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87172097595?pwd=uAFTwas32QouWEmBibmEJtFQCVzaz1.1

Meeting ID: 871 7209 7595

Passcode: 918987

Phase 1 update

Lopa, Andreas, and Andrew recently sent you a detailed update on Phase 1 of Future Nottingham. Since then the deadline for VR applications has been extended to the 9th of June and we have continued to meet with University management and have submitted and discussed a range of questions and queries about the process. These questions reflect the fact that we have still not received proper and meaningful information about Phase 1 and therefore we still dispute that we are in a proper period of collective consultation which would enable us to give counter-proposals.  

As you can see from the many comments on the staff sharepoint, there is a strong response from staff that communication from the University has been unclear and confusing, and that the way pooling and redundancies have been handled has been rushed. This has been disastrous for staff wellbeing, and is why it is so important we have a strong turnout in the upcoming ballot. 

You received emails from our APM officer Andrew Armstrong on Friday 23rd about area-specific member meetings for APM staff so please do come along to these, and we will be continuing to roll out faculty-wide, all staff meetings over the coming weeks to help provide all UoN staff with as much clarity as we possibly can. We are also working with our sister unions so that all staff can push back together.

Phase 2 information

While officially we are being told that Phase 2 is yet to start, as we flagged with the situation in American and Canadian Studies, academic restructuring decisions are already being taken without proper stakeholder consultation. An increased focus on ‘performance management’ through unprecedented use of protected conversations and potential changes to the ADC process is also underway. 

Recently the short-sighted decision to shut down the important (and surplus-generating) evening classes and some inter-faculty programmes at the language centre, with the potential cost of over 20 jobs, shows exactly why we need a strong turnout in the ballot. We must hold the University to account in both Phases 1 and 2. 

As soon as we have any more concrete information on Phase 2 we will of course share it with you, especially as we know that Faculty level discussions have begun.

National picture updates

Finally, just some wider information on the national picture following the UCU congress at the weekend. Our fantastic delegates (Lisa, Gertjan, and Alan) will provide a fuller report in time, but the key thing to note is that the ‘Trade Dispute’ motion that we overwhelmingly supported as a branch was passed at congress. This Times Higher article gives a bit more detail on what this could mean, but we feel this is a positive step for exploring other avenues at a national level – something crucial given the derisory 1.4% pay offer from UCEA.

In solidarity,


Nick (Branch secretary) 

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Notice of General Meeting 20th November 2024 1-2pm.

The University of Nottingham UCU Branch is calling a General Meeting on Wednesday 20 November,  1-2pm on Zoom.*

The meeting agenda is as follows:

  1. Update on the Alternate Financial Strategy 2.0 (AFS2) [circulated to members on 4th November] and the University’s Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP).
  2. Motion on the American and Canadian Studies (ACS) programme 
  3. Motion on Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) pledge

The motions will be circulated to members by email prior to the meeting along with a Zoom link for the meeting.

*Original notice was circulated to members by email on 6th November.

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Agenda for branch meeting 24th September

Dear members,

Hope you have had as nice a summer break as you could. The branch meeting tomorrow will be our first 24/25 meeting of the year. Please find below the agenda for tomorrow’s meeting and the Zoom link again. The meeting will start promptly at 12:30 pm.

We will update you about the beautiful ceremony held last week, which so many of you attended in person or by live stream. The Eulogies were given by Manuel, Olympia (Head of Law) and myself (on behalf of UoNUCU), there were readings by two other friends. The celebrant Louise Savage, was brilliant. The huge role that Agnes played for us was beautifully elucidated by her, Manuel and us. Manuel put together a slideshow of Agnes, which of course had so many images of her at our rallies, picket lines etc. The Regional committee also had a dedicated session this Saturday where Andreas Bieler spoke for our branch.

We have been updated verbally on latest MARS by HR. There were 515 applications, 293 approved, 222 declined and 2 withdrawals. We were told that 69 will leave in August, 13 in September, 8 in October, 1 in November, 183 in December. We have yet to receive numerical data at school level from HR. Thanks to our Reps for letting us have, where available, individual school data. They report inconsistencies and the picture is still incomplete. This makes the Workload as a Health & Safety issue even more important. Please see attached an important document written by Jenny Elliot et al (UCU Workload Group). We have sent this document to HR as well.

Regarding MARS, many of our UCU colleagues have availed themselves of this. We thank them for their amazing loyalty to us and the ways they have always supported workers rights.

And finally, and importantly, we need your thoughts about the UCEA pay offer/pay elements and future UCU strategies which Gertjan Lucas and I can take to the Branch Delegate Meeting and voice your decisions there after our Branch meeting.

See you tomorrow,

Lopa.

General Meeting 24 September, 2024, 12:30 -1:30 pm. Agenda:

  • Update on Agnes.
    • Celebration of the life of Agnes Flues.
    • Annual Agnes Flues Lecture.
    • Tree in UP and Obituary.
  • Workload as a Health & Safety Issue.
  • Pay negotiations and the next steps (voting).
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Branch meeting 28th February 1-2pm and motion

The below email was sent to members on 22nd Feb, with initial notice for members of branch meeting circulated on 7th Feb.

Dear members

In anticipation of the Branch Meeting on Wednesday 28 February, 1-2pm, the message below promised that Branch Committee would circulate today any draft Branch motions proposed for this year’s UCU Congress. One motion has been proposed:

Reporting back of NEC members to constituencies

Congress instructs the NEC to formulate rule change motions to ensure the following:

  1. NEC members canvass opinions from branches and regions in their constituencies prior to NEC and NEC subcommittee meetings.
  2. NEC members produce a written report within two working weeks of NEC and NEC subcommittees to be circulated in the appropriate constituency.
  3. Appropriate mechanisms to be established by UCU to support circulation of reports from NEC members to constituencies.

If you wish to propose an amendment to this text, please email uonucubranch@gmail.com by Monday 26 February at 12 noon.

The motion will be voted upon, and Delegates to Congress will be elected, at the upcoming Branch Meeting. If you are interested to put yourself forward to attend as a Delegate, there is still time – the message below explains the how to nominate.

Zoom details for the Branch Meeting will follow.

In solidarity,

Tony

Tony Simmonds (UoNUCU Secretary)

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Member email: Update on financial situation!

A version of the below email was sent to members on 5th February 2024

Dear members,

My colleagues Lopa Leach, Cecilia Testa and I have been in regular contact with management about the university’s financial situation. While there is a projected deficit this academic year, the university has also built-up cash reserves of £124 million over recent years. These reserves must not go below £50 million, but in our view this still leaves ample room for manoeuvre and cannot justify the severe cuts to our research, teaching and administration budgets. Management argues that the cuts are only this and next financial year. We, however, point out that these cuts have rather medium- to long-term consequences for the university’s reputation and research capacity. We will continue to press for a change in financial policy that addresses long-term financial sustainability without damaging university core business.

To discuss these issues in more depth, we will hold a members meeting on Wednesday, 28 February, 1 to 2 p.m. Details to follow, but please put the meeting in your diaries already now.

Best,

Andreas