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Day of action against workplace racism

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Today UCU reps have been talking to members about their experiences of racism in the workplace. To defeat racism everyone needs to understand what it can be like to face racism at work, and that it is still a reality for many of us, so that together we can end it. In the short videos below UCU members discuss different aspects of racism in the workplace and what we can do to oppose it, defeat it, and create equality. If you experience racism at work, a UCU caseworker can support you in tackling the problem. Contact ucu@leeds.ac.uk or phone 35904. Barriers to progression Racist activity on campus Harassment at work Precarious contracts What needs to change … continue reading

Important UCU updates: Ballot + General Secretary + Leeds general meeting + elections

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Text of email sent to all members 25 February 2019 by branch president Vicky Blake In this email: ·        2 important updates: ballot result and General Secretary resignation ·        Your feedback for future UCU strategy ·        Reminder of very important UCU General Meeting (13 March) + motions deadline (5 March) INCLUDING call for Congress delegates + motions! ·        Thank you Leeds UCU Updates: Ballot:We received [news] on Friday that the UCU UK-wide aggregated ballot of higher education members came out strongly in favour of taking action and action short of strike (ASOS), but that this result has again been stymied by anti-democratic, anti-trade union laws. We are very disappointed that we are unable to take action at the UK-level at this time, but we are also very determined to make progress in our local work over our formal Anti-Casualisation claim for which negotiations will begin in March, over the gender pay gap claim we’re already pursuing, and on joint-unions work to address workload at Leeds. The Trade Union Act 2016 requires all ballots over industrial action to reach 50% turnout, which is a greater restriction than is placed on turnout for the election of politicians who make these decisions. Prior to 2016, we would … continue reading

Members reiterate vote to strike but law prevents action

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UCU members in HE have voted strongly to strike again (70% in favour) but the anti trade union laws would make any strike unlawful because the turnout was again below the very high 50% threshold. (The same law which doesn’t allow online voting.) For details see ucu.org.uk/he2018 Thank you to everyone who took part in the ballot – it’s really important that so many members are involved in setting union policy and decisions like this, even if the government prevents those decisions from being enacted. And thank you to all the reps who helped to remind people to vote. While we can’t know the exact turnout here, we believe it was much higher than the overall turnout. The union’s national negotiators will meet next week to discuss the next steps for national work on anti-casualisation, workloads, equal pay and fair pay. Locally, we already negotiating with the University of Leeds to try to bring about improvements in anti-casualisation and equal pay. On workloads it’s more mixed – they’re not yet engaging with us as meaningfully on workloads and we continue to press for serious improvements. If you want to get more involved in our local work on anti-casualisation, workloads or … continue reading

Strength in numbers: don’t be silenced

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Text from email to all members sent 19 February 2019 Dear Members, The message is very simple. We have even made another song to illustrate it: enjoy! We need you to vote in the current ballot, and we would ideally like you to vote “YES YES” in support of willingness to take strike action and action short of a strike in the pursuit of a decent offer from our employers on (click each heading for a link): Secure work Gender pay gapFair payWorkload If you have already voted, THANK YOU for helping to keep our union strong. Please help us to get the remaining votes out by spending 5-10 minutes talking to colleagues and friends in higher education to make sure they have too! We need all votes to be received by Friday 22 February, meaning Wednesday is the last “safe day to post (but if you find anyone yet to post on Thursday, it’s still worth it! If you have not yet voted, PLEASE dig out that ballot and get it in the post right now. This matters; it is a matter of our collective strength and standing up for one another. Every single vote, in every single branch, in every … continue reading

Call for motions for general meeting and UCU Congress

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Do you want to propose a union policy or strategy? UCU is a democratic union, we make our policies together through branch-level general meetings and then nationally at the annual Congress. Our next general meeting on 13 March will be where we decide which motions our branch will propose to the 2019 UCU Congress. Please submit all motions by 12pm Tuesday 5 March Please send motions to ucu@leeds.ac.uk Any member can write a motion. If you want help in phrasing it, it can be good to talk to a union rep, or to have a look at motions from a previous Congress (PDF). The general meeting is Wednesday 13 March, 12pm – 1pm, Roger Stevens lecture theatre 11 (10.11). Directions and room information … continue reading