Salaried staff can apply to the UCU fighting fund and branch hardship fund when you’ve received your payslip showing the strike deductions. Our branch hardship process is ready to support those members who need it sooner, such as hourly-paid postgraduates who teach, who would normally be paid before the usual payroll dates. For details and how to apply go to leedsucu.org.uk/hardship-applications-and-surgeries continue reading
Text of members email sent 16 March 2020 at 5.32pm. Dear members, I mentioned in my email on Friday that we were writing to the VC and asking for an urgent meeting about coronavirus. The letter we sent is below, and an equivalent statement is on our website. Along with the other campus trade unions, we met the VC and some of the senior management team at lunchtime today. We argued strongly that the university should close down, as far as possible and as soon as possible (ideally straightaway), both for the safety of staff and students and for public health reasons (the nature of a university means that infected people could spread the virus considerably). This is the national position of UCU also. We recognise of course that some students will need to stay on campus, and some staff will still need to come to work to support them and to run essential services. But the fewer people on campus, the lower the probability of infection, and the more likely the university is to be able to protect those staff. Chloe, Vicky and I represented UCU at this meeting, and were told we were being emotional over the public … continue reading
Strikes and next steps in the disputes First of all, huge thanks for your strike action over the past four weeks. We have shown university managements across the UK that staff are not prepared to put up with precarious contracts, gender and race inequality, excessive workloads, and effective pay cuts through below inflation pay rises and increases to pension contributions. Special thanks to everyone who has joined the pickets, rallies and teachouts, and made them a joyful, determined and supportive experience. We can go back to work on Monday with our heads held high and the knowledge that our actions have moved the negotiations forward. See the latest negotiators’ update on the Four Fights dispute at https://www.ucu.org.uk/media/10783/Negotiators-update-on-Four-Fights-11-March-2020/pdf/Four_Fights_negotiators_update_11_March.pdf). On USS there is encouraging progress on underlying issues, and signs of frustration with USS from employers, but we still need an improved offer on contributions. We really need our VC to put pressure on USS to make a better offer on contributions rather than refusing to tell us what our university’s response has been on this. Negotiations will continue on both disputes, but sadly it looks as if further industrial action will be needed to get a decent resolution to both disputes. A … continue reading
Leeds MPs have written to the vice chancellors of University of Leeds and Leeds Trinity University expressing their full support for the demands of UCU members and asking for universities to act positively to resolve the dispute. Professor Margaret A House Sir Alan Langlands 12 March 2020 Dear all As Members of Parliament in Leeds, we are writing to express our full support for the University and College Union (UCU) in their ongoing disputes over pay, conditions and pensions. In particular, we would like to make it clear that we support the UCU demands for universities to address the 17% decline in the value of pay in real-terms since 2009; the increasing gender pay gap and race pay gap; the rise in unsustainable workloads; and the increase in casualisation and insecure contracts. We also support the UCU campaign to reverse the changes made to the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS), which would leave a typical member of staff around £240,000 worse off in retirement. Our university staff do incredible work, and failing to meet the UCU’s reasonable demands for fair pay, secure contracts and reasonable workloads undermines that work. We believe that universities must always put the interests of hardworking staff … continue reading
This post applies only to members of UCU University of Leeds branch. You will have received earlier this evening an email from Jo Grady, stating that branches have been advised to postpone all strike events and rallies in the light of the ongoing coronavirus crisis. This email is therefore to confirm that, sadly, our march and rally tomorrow (Friday 13 March) will not therefore take place. Branch committee have also taken the decision to call off picketing tomorrow. For the avoidance of doubt, the strike is still on and members are called upon to withdraw their labour and not go onto campus. We will be ramping up our online activity on social media and encourage all members to share their stories/videos/creativity/anything you fancy – let’s try to recreate a digital picket as legendary as our physical ones have been! UCU’s National Executive Committee are meeting tomorrow and it has also been agreed that a special meeting of the Higher Education Committee be held tomorrow as well. Please therefore watch out for further engagement by UCU on COVID-19, the response of universities and its relationship with our dispute. Stay safe and solidarity Chloe WallaceBranch Vice President continue reading