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Dear members,
We hope you enjoyed your bank holiday weekend.
Please remember to vote in the indicative ballot (look for email with subject line “IMPORTANT: University of Nottingham UCU consultative ballot” check your spam!). If you are a new member, you should have now received your ballot by email as of 1st May. If you have not received your ballot, please contact your Rep.
Newer members may have questions about the nature of a trade union, and what industrial action is. University of Durham UCU have made a document to answer some of their members FAQs.
Read on for the following topics:
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- University workers stand together and win
- Annual General Meeting (AGM) report
- Have your say on what comes next
- Departmental Reps meeting summary
- Transgender solidarity events
- Local and national campaigning
- Joining link and further information
University workers stand together and win
In the past week we have seen two major wins for workers at UK Universities. At the end of March, the University of Dundee announced that 700 jobs would have to be cut in order to balance the books. However after the threat of strike action University management appear to have seen a better way and reduced job losses to 300 via a voluntary severance scheme. Similarly, workers at Cardiff University forced their management to abandon plans for compulsory redundancies.
This shows that despite all the pressures on the sector, redundancies can be avoided. However, this is only possible when workers unite and wield the only weapon we have – the withdrawal of our labour.
Annual General Meeting (AGM) report
Our AGM took place on Wednesday 30th April, where we heard reports from Branch President (Lopa Leach) and Treasurer (Tony Padilla). Thereafter the nominees for next year’s committee were confirmed. While the committee remains much the same, we are happy to welcome Frederique Poujades as Anti-casualisation Officer (job share with Hannah Heilbuth). We will be sad to lose Gertjan Lucas (Equalities Officer), Onni Gust, and Sam O’Thomson (Anti-casualisation Officer).
The following motions were passed;
Motion 1: New progressive pay structure for highest earners to protect jobs at UoN
Motion 2: No 120 percent workload at UoN!
Motion 3: Support a Trade Dispute with the Secretary of Education over funding
In addition, the branch approved an amendment to motion SFC7 scheduled for debate at Congress. The amendment is as follows;
“Insert following resolve i.
ii. Working with relevant specialist committees, review all officer role job descriptions and the use of language throughout the model branch rules to ensure they reflect current equality strands and language. For example, insert ‘migrant members’ in the enumeration of equality groups in bullet iv) under 8.6 Equality Officer.
And renumber accordingly.”
Have your say on what comes next
Because our dispute is local, we can, to some extent, choose the forms of action that work best for us. What kind of action do you think would be most effective? Tell us your thoughts and ideas, anonymously here.
Departmental Reps meeting summary
The Departmental Reps met on Thursday 1st May and discussed;
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- Feedback and concerns resulting from Phase 1 Future Nottingham and our branch’s strategy
- Current status of the “Get the Vote Out” (GTVO) campaign
This meeting is used 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 this role interests you, particularly if your department has no rep, please email uonucubranch@gmail.com. New Reps are well supported by the Branch Committee and the rest of the Reps network.
Congress 2025: Share your views
UCU Congress, the supreme policy-making body of our union, will take place Saturday 24 May – Monday 26 May. Our branch will be represented by Alan Barker, Lisa Rull and Gertjan Lucas. Congress decides the policy of our union for the forthcoming year and often beyond. It is a fundamental element of our democracy. For more details, see our guide to Congress. We encourage all members to convey their views on the most impactful proposals under discussion at Congress.
Transgender solidarity events
In the last newsletter, we communicated that we would inform members of local events in solidarity with the transgender community. Here we highlight two, both taking place tomorrow Wednesday 7th May.
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- Trans solidarity picnic: 1pm-2pm on the grass next to Trent Building Great Hall, University Park. Organised by members of UCU and UNISON University of Nottingham.
- Print Club for Trans Rights, 7pm-9pm at Carousel Community Building. Bring t-shirts to print on. Suggested donation £5.
Local and national campaigning
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 this Friday 9th May from 12:30-1:30pm. 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.
Protect Education Now! National Rally – 10th May
Post-16 education in crisis. It is our duty to bring together the whole of UCU’s membership to fight back against cuts, attacks in the media, financial mismanagement, and the erosion of professional pride. This Saturday 10th May, UCU has called a huge rally in central London for UCU members and supporters to come together like never before.
Please register your attendance here. Coaches will be leaving for London from Nottingham Train Station at 8am and will subsequently pick up from Derby Bus Station. Return coach will leave from 5pm from Millbank to drop off at initial pickup points. If you would like to take the coach please contact Chris Pritchard (Branch Secretary, Nottingham Trent University UCU) at REDACTED.
Call on Nottinghamshire County Council to divest from apartheid
Nottingham Palestine Solidarity Campaign is leading a movement to demand Nottinghamshire County Council (NCC) divests its Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) 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.
We encourage all members resident in Nottingham City and Nottinghamshire County to sign the petition here.
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.
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/