Report from UCU higher education sector conferences 7 November

UCU University of Leeds Branch Posted on by

Last Wednesday our elected Leeds delegates had a double dose of special Higher Education Sector Conferences (HESCs) which had been called to decide the next steps for UCU in two higher education disputes: Quick summary 1. The Pay and Equality dispute (Wednesday morning) It was decided to have a UK-wide re-ballot in the new year, highlighting the casualisation, equality, and workload aspects of the dispute alongside pay.  See more detailed Pay & Equality report below. 2. The Pensions dispute (specifically what next after the JEP report on USS) (Wednesday afternoon) After the Joint Expert Panel Report and recent revelations about USS valuation methods, the conference advised UCU to negotiate for no increase in our USS contributions and and end to so-called “de-risking”. See more detailed Pensions dispute report below. The Higher Education Committee of UCU and our union negotiators will take forward these decisions and advice. 1. Pay and Equality dispute The first HESC, on the Pay and Equality dispute, was quorate, which means that its decisions complement, confirm, or supersede those taken by the Higher Education Committee (HEC) the previous week.  Decisions taken at the meeting (including amendments) can be downloaded via this link: https://www.ucu.org.uk/media/9939/HESC-1118-pay-decisions/doc/UCU9057Nov18_-_Decisions.doc All the original motion texts can be seen … continue reading

Pay + Equality: what next locally + nationally

UCU University of Leeds Branch Posted on by

Text of email from Branch President Vicky Blake Dear Members, Thank you to everyone who voted in the Pay and Equality Ballot, and all who helped us to get the vote out. As you will see from Matt Waddup’s email that has just gone out to members nationally, our historically high turnout in this postal ballot on pay and equality was not quite enough to break the 50% threshold set by the (anti-)Trade Union Act 2016. In this email: • Our result • What next in the pay and equality dispute • Local campaigning and action on gender pay and casualisation Our result Prior to 2016, we would be celebrating this turnout, and this result. At Leeds, members voted strongly for strike action (69.8%) and action short of a strike (77.7%). This government’s anti-trade union legislation has denied us our right to withdraw our labour despite our turnout of 49.2%. We only needed 15 more votes to break the threshold. (You may wish to note that, while advocating the 50% threshold’s introduction, Boris Johnson was in post as London Mayor having achieved… 31.8% turnout in his election.) What next? We remain in dispute over the joint unions’ pay and equality claim. … continue reading

Why you really do need to vote – from a reluctant striker

UCU University of Leeds Branch Posted on by

A personal post from new UCU committee member Chloe Wallace When I look back over our strike action in February and March, I have a lot of good memories: standing with friends old and new; the support of my colleagues and students; the feeling of empowerment and hope for the future. But all in all, it wasn’t much fun. Quite apart from the snow, the rain, and the pay deduction, there was disruption to the job I love and the students I’m committed to, anxiety in such an uncertain situation, and an ever-present feeling of guilt. When it was over, I breathed a sigh of relief; back to normal at least for a while.  So my heart sank when it became clear that we would have to ballot on striking yet again for a fairer deal on equality, casualization and pay. We, individually and collectively, have too much to do, and university staff and students don’t deserve more disruption after what we dealt with this year. We talked about fairness, equality and casualisation on the pickets and on #striketwitter throughout and beyond the action. We know they matter and that we have to fight for them, but the memory of the difficulties of … continue reading

UCU’s gender pay claim for University of Leeds

UCU University of Leeds Branch Posted on by

UCU has submitted a claim to end the gender pay gap at the university of Leeds. Full text of the gender pay claim as PDF or below: Date 15th August 2018 Dear Vice Chancellor, Submitting a Gender Pay Claim at University of Leeds Our UCU branch has resolved to pursue a local campaign to close the Gender Pay Gap at the University of Leeds. According to UCU research, based on data provided by the Higher Education Statistics Agency, nationally the Gender Pay Gap in Higher Education stood at 12% (mean) for academics in 2015-16. In the same years, for non-academics it was 9.9%, but much higher when considered at senior management level (14.1%). UCU is determined to close the Gender Pay Gap, which at the University of Leeds is currently 22.5% (from the University’s Gender Pay Gap 2017 Report), even higher than the overall Russell Group mean of 21.1%. This divergence in pay is contrary to social justice, can be bad for reputation, bad for staff morale, and could also mean that our university is potentially liable to equal pay and discrimination claims in the courts. Locally, we are pleased to have been involved in initial discussions (through the Equality … continue reading

All three staff unions write to HR to complain about misrepresenting pay offer

UCU University of Leeds Branch Posted on by

Today, all three campus unions (UCU, Unison, Unite) have jointly written to the Director of HR, to complain about attempts contained in HR communications to misdirect staff in about the current pay and equality negotiations. This is a repeated complaint about behaviour we have also raised in previous rounds of national pay negotiations. Please see below this email for the full text. Please remember we have until 12 noon on Wednesday 27 June to vote in our internal, “indicative ballot” over whether to accept UCEA’s pay and equality offer in response to the joint union claim. UCU advises that you vote to REJECT the pay offer and to vote YES to a willingness to take industrial action. See [here] for a reminder of why UCU advises this in light of a derisory pay offer (especially when placed in context of pay erosion) and very little of note offered on the equality and casualisation aspects of the joint claim. It also reminds you how to find the link to make your vote, and what to do if you can’t find the email. Turnout really matters, and will strengthen the hand of our negotiators – please vote asap! See also [here] for analysis of how the latest pay offer compares with pay settlements elsewhere. *** Dear … continue reading