Members please check your address!

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Leeds UCU members, please check that UCU has your correct postal address. This is a bit boring but very important. As you’ll have seen from recent UCU emails about pensions and about pay, equality, workload, and job security, we will be balloting for industrial action in September/October. Before then, we need to make sure that our membership records are absolutely correct, so that the union can send the ballot papers to members at the right addresses. Make sure your vote is included!

MyUCU

Log on to MyUCU (www.ucu.org.uk/myucu) and check that it shows the postal address that you want ballots sent to. It’s up to you whether you prefer that to be your home or work address. Whilst you are on MyUCU, it’s a good idea to check that your other details are correct. Thank you!

Motions for Wednesday’s extraordinary general meeting + other news

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Text of email sent to all members 5 July. (Agenda not published on the website; if you’re a member and haven’t received the agenda please email ucu@leeds.ac.uk)

Extraordinary general meeting 12pm Wednesday 10 July

The committee called this ‘EGM’ for all members because of a load of urgent issues going on now which they think members should have the opportunity to take a collective position on.

It’s 12pm – 1pm on Wednesday 10 July in Michael Sadler seminar room LG15

The attached agenda includes all motions on those subjects for members to decide if they agree these should be branch policies/strategies. The meeting was called to discuss:

  • USS pensions dispute
  • Pay and Equality dispute
  • Head of School appointments
  • Misuse of lecture capture by the university
  • UniForum (another round of collecting benchmarking data on “the efficiency and effectiveness of administration and support services”)
  • Discussion boards for in-course feedback
  • Timetabling (which includes a motion on workloads negotiating principles)
  • Centralisation of admissions

Please update your details before the strike ballots

If you’re moving institution or changing jobs, or if you’re a postgraduate student who will start doing paid teaching so be eligible for full (free) voting membership, or you want to get your post or your emails to a different address, please log in to ‘My UCU’*, top of the front page at ucu.org.uk.

(*If you can’t do it online you can phone the membership team on 0333 207 0719.)

If you wouldn’t be able to strike if strikes are called in the period November to April because, for example, you’re on long term leave for that whole period, please let us know (because by law we can’t ballot people who are unable to strike).

Leeds Trades Unions Council conference on climate change

Members may be interested in ‘How can trade unions meet the challenge of climate emergency?’ a conference on 19 October organised by Leeds Trades Union Council.

Council of Europe LGBTI survey

The UCU equality and participation unit is encouraging LGBT+ UCU members to participate in the Council of Europe LGBTI survey / Enquête de l’EU sur les LGBTI to help the survey reach as many people as possible.

Support: sexual harassment, stress, debt, migration issues

UCU sexual harassment support helpline 0800 138 8724

Counselling, support, advice on stress and debt is available for UCU members through the Education Support Partnership (day or night) 08000 562 561

Migration legal advice is available on the UCU website in ‘Working in the UK – a guide for EEA and non-EEA nationals’ and if that doesn’t answer your question there is a form in the guide to submit to get specialist legal advice.

Casework drop-in, Bradford College strikes, Environment Working group and more

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Text from all-members email sent 3 July 2019

Casework drop-in Weds 2 July, 12.30 – 2:30, 7.52 EC Stoner

If there’s something you think you might need UCU support for, but aren’t sure, drop in for a chat with a caseworker. Our casework drop-ins are usually on the first Wednesday of each month. For serious matters where you will definitely need your own caseworker, don’t wait for a drop-in session, email ucu@leeds.ac.uk.  More about UCU support at  http://www.leedsucu.org.uk/support-and-benefits/ 

Supporting Bradford College UCU strikes Weds 3 – Fri 5 July

Bradford College UCU are striking over job cuts and pay. The college intends to cut 131 jobs, and staff have had only one 1% pay rise in the last 11 years, which means their pay has declined by 25% in real terms. If you can support their picket line on your way to work that would be fantastic solidarity – look out for the Leeds UCU banner.  See  https://ucu.org.uk/article/10189/Three-day-walkout-at-Bradford-College-from-Wednesday?list=1676 

Extraordinary General Meeting  Weds 10 July, 12 noon, Michael Sadler LG15

Concerned about any or all of: pensions, pay and equality, Head of School appointments, lecture capture, UniForum, discussion boards for in-course feedback, timetabling, or centralisation of admissions? Come and have your say at this EGM!  A full agenda including the motions that have been submitted for decision will be emailed to you soon. Hope to see you there.

New Environment Working Group

The inaugural meeting of the Leeds UCU Environment Working Group will be held Friday 26 July 1-2 pm.  If you are interested in being part of this new venture please email me. Enthusiasm or expertise will be equally welcome. A room will be booked to accommodate us. 

Andrea Rylands, UCU Environmental Rep, a.j.rylands@leeds.ac.uk

Industrial action ballots September/October

The recent email from our new General Secretary, Jo Grady, explains what’s happening and why. You will get two ballot papers to vote on industrial action, one on USS pensions and one on pay, equality, workload, and job security. It’s really important you use your vote in these ballots. Now would be an excellent time to check that the union has the correct postal address for you – please log on to MyUCU to check this at  http://www.ucu.org.uk/myucu  

Leeds UCU summer newsletter

We’ve put together a quick summary of everything that’s going on and it would be great if you could share this with colleagues, including those who aren’t (yet!) union members.  Can you put a printout on a local noticeboard, kitchen or on your door? The newsletter is online here  http://www.leedsucu.org.uk/newsletter-summer-2019/ (and there’s a printable PDF you can download). Thanks.

In solidarity,

Ben

Council of Europe LGBTI survey / Enquête de l’EU sur les LGBTI

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From UCU’s nation Equality and Participation Unit:

The EU Fundamental Rights Agency is undertaking a survey to look at experiences of LGBT+ people across Europe.

The survey takes around 20 minutes to complete and you cannot skip questions.

Some of the questions that are asked vary from UCU practice / policy for expressing LGBT+ identities and experiences. There is a free text box at the end of the survey should you want to leave any comment about your experience that may not have been fully reflected in the survey.

One thing to be aware of is that in the drop down boxes the United Kingdom does not appear under U and is located somewhere near the middle of European countries.

The survey is looking for responses from anyone who considers themselves to be LGBTI, who is aged 15 years and above and lives in the European Union, Serbia or North Macedonia as candidate countries. 

The survey can be found on www.lgbtisurvey.eu

The survey asks respondents about their experiences of discrimination and hate crime or harassment, as well as about their daily lives, problems and challenges they face in having their rights respected, protected and promoted. The results will feed into the 2020 assessment by the European Commission of how its List of Actions is being implemented. In this way, the data can be used to assess the effectiveness of policies and measures to combat discrimination and victimisation. They will also help promote LGBTI participation in society. The results will allow for comparisons and trends between the first and second survey. It should reveal whether the situation for LGBTI people is improving – or not – across the European Union. This constitutes the 2nd wave of the European survey of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, intersex, and also non-binary and other gender non-conforming people.

Your answers are welcomed until 7 July 2019