Tag: Industrial Action

Posted on

Our current mandate

In this current period of balloting for industrial action, we want to remind members of what we are voting for. Thus, we reproduce here our branch motion on moving towards a new industrial action mandate, passed at members’ meeting on Friday 12th December.

This branch notes:

  1. The current dispute for no CR in 2025 and 2026 remains live because the commitment given is only until 31 Oct 2026.
  1. That we see a breach of the agreement reached in November when we suspended our informed strike action. 

The University said in our agreement

“We make a commitment to meaningful and immediate engagement ie w/c 17th November with unions to discuss timeframes and proposals with sufficient time to review 2026 recruitment for suspended courses.  By meaningful we mean the University to provide in as quick as time as possible, any data needed to allow for a counter proposal to suspension.  This counter proposal will be seriously considered and responded to. The aim of the counter proposal is to show other areas of potential investment the University will adopt, with the sole aim of ensuring the reversal of potential suspension in time for 2026 or 2027 recruitment. “

On 4th December the University said (taken from the University’s own minutes)

“It was clarified that while alternative proposals from unions and staff were welcome at any time, they would not be incorporated into the initial consultation document. Instead, all proposals would be considered collectively during the formal consultation phase in the spring or early summer.

              UCU gives acknowledgement that data has been received but the above statement makes it clear that nothing is going to be considered until the formal consultation. This does not fit with the highlighted sentence of our agreement, as it will be too late.”

  1. The university has been making plans for months (possibly longer) regarding workload, whether that be an enormous increase in SSR or to impact time for research. It has even paid for outside consultants to assist in the decision making. Until late November, i.e. just prior to going to Council, this was not even mooted with the unions. This does not fit with genuine dialogue. 

This branch believes: 

  • The recent actions of the University do not give confidence in meaningful dialogue and some of the actions indicate the precise opposite.

This branch, therefore, resolves that a trade dispute should be registered with the University on the following points:

  • UCU seeks an agreement from the University that there will be no compulsory redundancies from the current commitment of 31st October 2026 until 31 December 2027. 
  • For the University to suspend its plans for increasing workload and job cuts (either by increasing SSR or by reducing research time) and to enter into discussions with UCU on a more appropriate ratio that is broadly in line with other Russell Group universities, who are within the QS global top 100 universities.
  • We seek to safeguard jobs and as such expect the University to provide a guarantee that degree programmes will be reinstated in all areas where programme suspensions or closures would have job implications; 
  • For a return to the agreement reached in November regarding suspended courses. In particular for the University to enter discussions with UCU with the sole aim of ensuring the reversal of potential suspension in time for 2026 or 2027 recruitment.
Posted on

Indicative ballot results

Email sent to members on 9th February 2026

Dear UCU members, 

   We have now been informed about the outcome of our indicative ballot to take industrial action over Future Nottingham Phase 2 restructuring, see below underneath this email. Over the years, our branch has regularly delivered some of the highest turnouts in the country. The 73.3% turnout in this indicative ballot are the highest turnout yet. This result is a strong indication about our collective commitment to defending jobs, research time and working conditions at UoN. 

   I can confirm that I have now written to national UCU requesting that our branch is given permission to open a formal ballot. The committee will be in touch about next steps in due course. 

Solidarity and thank you, 

                            Lopa (Branch President)

Indicative ballot result:

Turnout: 73.3% 

1. If the vice-chancellor continues to refuse ruling out compulsory redundancies until 31 December 2027 and worsening workloads, are you willing to take strike action? 

YES : 71.8%

NO: 28.2%

2. If the vice-chancellor continues to refuse ruling out compulsory redundancies until 31 December 2027 and worsening workloads, are you willing to take action short of strike (ASOS)? This type of action can be things like working to contract, not doing specific tasks. No decision has been made yet on what type; this will be part of the discussions with members.    

YES: 83.6%

NO: 16.4%

Posted on

Last days to vote in the indicative ballot! Members meeting

Email sent to members on Thursday 5th February 2026. Please see your emails for zoom link and text of motion at members meeting.

Dear members,

Just a quick email with a couple of key bits of information to reinforce what was covered in our excellent newsletter yesterday.

Indicative ballot

This closes on Friday, and takes less than 30 seconds to complete. The stronger the turnout in this ballot the stronger our hand is in negotiation with the University, so please do vote. Thanks to everyone who has voted so far, and do check in with your colleagues to make sure they have too.

A reminder, the original email with the link to ballot (subject line ‘UoN UCU: Oppose job losses – protect your workload!’) was sent on 19th January from yoursay@ucu.org.uk. Please check your spam if you can’t find it in your inbox.

Members meeting

Just to inform you that we will have our next members meeting at 12 noon on Wednesday 18th February.

We have received a member motion. The meeting will provide a chance to discuss and vote on this motion. There will also be time to give feedback on how the dispute meetings are going with management, keep you updated on our consultation on the promotion pause, and answer any other questions you may have.

Nick, on behalf of the branch committee

Posted on

Call for members meeting

Email sent to members on Monday 19th January. Please see original email for Zoom link.

Dear UCUmembers,

   Despite our agreement of 13 November 2025, it is now clear that alternative proposals to management’s restructuring Future Nottingham – Phase 2 will not be considered, until it is too late. It is for this reason that today, the indicative ballot of all members on whether we are prepared to take strike action and/or action short of strike if management continues to reject our demands, has been launched. Please look out for the email from yoursay@ucu.org.uk with the subject heading ‘UoN UCU: Oppose job losses – protect your workload!’ It should have arrived this morning.

   Please participate in this indicative ballot, which if successful will allow us to move towards a formal ballot in March 2026. This indicative ballot is open from 19 January to 6 February. A strong result in the ballot will in itself increase pressure on management, as it will indicate the strength of potential future action.

   Moreover, please note that we will hold a general members meeting on Friday, 23 January at 1 p.m. Zoom link below.  This will allow us to discuss our industrial action strategy and the indicative ballot as well as update you on our dispute meetings, the parallel collective actions we are currently working on including the drafting of an alternative proposal and contestation of management’s decision to pause this year’s promotion round.

In solidarity,

Lopa Leach, on behalf of branch committee. 

Posted on

Welcome back! Dispute update, ASOS info, and promotion ‘consultation’

Email sent to members on Monday 12th January

Dear members,

Welcome back, we hope you have had a restful festive season to gain some strength. And strength we will need for the tasks ahead. In this email, we want to update you on our first dispute resolution meeting with management on 9 January as well as provide further information re management’s request to provide information on ASOS and the pause to promotions.

Report from first dispute meeting

Following your overwhelming support for launching a new dispute, we have now held the first dispute meeting with the University. We expect to receive more information this week regarding the timetable for the restructure. As soon as we have this, we will share it with members.

Alongside this, we are continuing our work on preparing the indicative ballot to start on 19 January as part of the new dispute. Further information on this will follow shortly. While there is benefit in a newly framed dispute, it is also evident from our first resolution meeting that the continued threat of industrial action will be necessary to move matters forward. So far, management has rejected all our demands outright.

Reporting of ASOS

We are aware that the University of Nottingham intranet contains a form for staff to report any Action Short of a Strike (ASOS) they have participated in. We are currently seeking further clarification, as it is not yet clear exactly how the University intends to treat ASOS or what actions they will take.

If you are considering confirming participation in ASOS to the University, we strongly advise that before completing the form you:

• Ask your manager what they believe the potential impact of your actions will be, and what deductions (if any) may be made.

• Speak to your local union representative for advice.

We will update members once we have received clarification from the University. Further guidance on ASOS is also available on our website.

Promotion ‘consultation’

As we are sure you have seen, the University has taken the decision to pause the promotion process in order to ‘consult’ with the Unions about whether it should run this year while they develop their restructuring plans. We were not told of this in advance of the pause, and we made it clear that we opposed the move. We have since had two meetings to discuss it and have two more to come before the end of the consultation period on the 10th of February.

Thanks to all of you impacted by this who have submitted your feedback on the proposal, seeing it all anonymised today was very powerful and showed not just how much anger and disappointment there is, but also how united people are in their feelings. We are exploring collective ways to push back against this beyond the formal meetings, so please be in touch with your rep or the branch if you are keen to contribute.

In solidarity,

Your branch committee