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Disability Equality in Education: day of action Wednesday 21 November

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Disability History Month runs 22 November – 22 December 2018. To launch it this year, UCU is holding a day of action for disability equality in education on Wednesday 21 November. See the short introductory video. Full details of the campaign are on the UCU day of action web page. We’re holding a local meeting open to all members and non-members on Wednesday 21 November, 1-2pm in [Michael Sadler seminar room LG16] to watch a 15 minute UCU film and to discuss what’s working at University of Leeds in disability equality, and where more action is needed. Nationally, UCU is hosting a parliamentary briefing for MPs on Wednesday 21 November in the Palace of Westminster, supported by NEU, NASWUT, TUC, UNISON, Unite the Union, ALLFIE and DPAC. If you’d like to support the campaign but can’t attend the meeting, you can join the social media initiative, if possible on the 21 November day of action. Download and take a photograph with UCU’s range of selfie posters or make your own and tweet your support to @UCUequality using the hashtag #IncludeUs (we’d like to get that hashtag trending on Twitter!).  You could tweet ‘I am supporting UCU’s Day of Action for Disabled People because…‘ with your own comment, … continue reading

October 2018 Leeds UCU newsletter

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Here’s the latest Leeds UCU newsletter for your enjoyment, including (of course!) articles about pay & equality and USS pensions.  Also with news of the upcoming anti-casualisation roadshow kick-off, our concerns about IT, progress with our gender pay claim and an update on the volume of individual casework this branch is doing. Download the October 2018 Leeds UCU newsletter (PDF format, 255kb).  Please share the newsletter with your colleagues, hopefully they will find something of interest whether they are a union member or not. If you have any suggestions for content for the next edition of our newsletter, please email ucu@leeds.ac.uk and we’ll get back to you.  Thanks. … continue reading

Open Meeting on USS pensions 11 October

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Come to this meeting, open to all, to discuss our progress towards saving the USS defined-benefit pension scheme, what the next steps are and how scheme members might respond to the current USS consultation. Thursday 11 October, 2 – 3 pmDental Lecture Theatre (level 6, Worsley building) A key outcome of the historic 14-day strike by UCU members in February and March this year was the creation of a joint expert panel to review the controversial valuation of USS which had led to USS trying to close the defined-benefit scheme. The panel’s report should now totally change the landscape of the pension negotiations and may affect how scheme members want to respond to the current USS consultation. In this meeting we’ll discuss the Joint Expert Panel report and what happens next.  The meeting will be chaired by Mark Taylor-Batty, our resident pensions expert, with an appearance by Sam Marsh, Sheffield mathematician and national UCU pensions negotiator.  Members may remember Sam visiting us in February to give a wonderfully clear explanation of the USS pensions situation – see video of that talk. Bring your questions and comments.All welcome! … continue reading

Leeds UCU summer newsletter

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Our latest branch newsletter is out now.  Printed copies should appear in your school or department, or you can download it in PDF format here. Read about  The pay and equality claim/disputeProgress on pensionsThe anti-casualisation roadshow (coming to Leeds on 26/27 October)Our gender pay claimIssues for international staffReorganisationsWorkloadHardship Fund We hope you find it interesting.  More information on all of these issues is on this website, but hopefully the newsletter is an easily digestible read! Please share this newsletter with friends and colleagues – thanks. … continue reading

Anti-casualisation update

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PGR open meeting Monday 9 April, 9–11am, 28 University Rd, LT G.23 This meeting is for all postgraduates (members and non-members) and is an important step in building the campaign for fair pay, terms and conditions for all postgraduates who teach or who work in paid research and related roles at the university. It will cover three main areas: Focus on postgrad elements of the Uni of Leeds UCU branch anticasualisation claim: what do postgrads want and need? Building on the energy of the recent strikes (and what the strikes tell us about casualisation!) Recruitment and the free postgrad membership (reminder: www.ucu.org.uk/free) There will be vegan cake too! Members are asked to let all postgrads know about this meeting and the free postgraduate membership offer. Please email with suggestions for agenda items/questions about the meeting (k.l.zezulka@leeds.ac.uk) and please share with PGRs in your school. Anticasualisation campaign and roadshow planning As part of the open meeting on 9 April, we will be discussing organising a UCU anticasualisation roadshow. We will be organising a local event to discuss, debate and explore issues related to casualisation and precarity in HE and FE. There is lots of information on the UCU Stamp Out webpages … continue reading