UCU members at the University of Leeds are taking industrial action as part of a dispute with senior management about changes to the university statutes, in effect an imposed change to their contracts. We took strike action on 22 June and we are continuing to take action short of a strike by working to contract. More strikes are expected in the autumn if the university won’t return to the negotiating table and take the concerns of staff seriously. Leeds University management want to be able to dismiss staff for undefined reasons. This could potentially include: ‘Third party’ pressure from corporations or government if they don’t like research findings Sacking employees where there is a personality difference Would students want to be taught by people who are afraid to lose their jobs if they step out of line? Our trade union, UCU, aims to stop this and other worrying changes to staff terms and conditions. We have tried to resolve this dispute by negotiation, including through ACAS (the independent conciliation service), but management remain intransigent. Some background University statutes set out grounds for dismissing staff – currently redundancy, capability, ill health, or conduct. Our management want to add an undefined catch-all … continue reading

We’re suggesting members contact their Members of Parliament, either by email, letter or by going along to a one of the MP’s surgeries (which will be advertised on their websites). It can be daunting to start from scratch with such a letter, so here’s a template letter you can use if you wish or use as a starting point: Dear [your MP] I am writing as your constituent to raise concerns about proposed new terms and conditions for staff at the University of Leeds, where I work. My trade union, the University and College Union, is in dispute with the university over this, yet the university management is seeking to push through changes at Privy Council imminently, so I am asking you to make some representations on my behalf. Terms and conditions for academic and related staff at the university are governed by the university’s statutes. The management wants to ‘modernise’ these statutes – as I see it, to make it easier for staff to be dismissed. I am concerned about three changes in particular: Removal of a medically qualified chair for panels deciding ill health dismissals Removal of an independent legally qualified chair for most dismissal appeals Addition of ‘some … continue reading

Today we are on strike in dispute with the University of Leeds management over changes to the university statute on dismissing academic and academic-related (professional and managerial) staff. We call on all members to respect the democratic decision of the membership and to strike today. Don’t go into work. Don’t cross a picket line. Don’t work from home. We are calling on university senior management to come back to the negotiating table and try to find a resolution. We can’t accept a catch-all dismissal rule but we have made clear throughout that we are prepared to work with them to draw up fair procedures for dealing with any areas they believe aren’t covered by the current dismissal rules.