Category Archives: Anticasualisation

UCU anti-casualisation claim submitted to University of Leeds

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UCU regional official Julie Kelley has formally submitted our anti-casualisation claim on behalf of the union. The claim sets out clearly what we want the university to do to end job insecurity at the University of Leeds. We have requested formal talks with the university senior management. The text of the claim is available in full below or to download as a PDF Full text of our anti-casualisation claim University and College Union: University of Leeds Casualisation – formal heads of claim 1.             Introduction The issue of the use of insecure contracts in the higher education sector now has a very high public profile. This is an issue of national priority for the University and College Union, and for this branch at the University of Leeds. We believe that we have a common interest in improving the contractual terms of employment of staff in higher education. While a few individuals are likely to find them appropriate to their circumstances, the truth is that for the majority insecure contracts have a seriously detrimental effect on the wellbeing of university staff. In a UCU survey of staff on insecure contracts 42% said that they had struggled to pay the bills. More than … continue reading

Members agree new policies at general meeting

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Members meeting on 10 December passed 8 motions deciding branch strategy, policy and decisions: Motion 3: USS pensions Motion 4: Motion of no confidence in University of Leeds Council USS decisions Motion 5: Supporting Vicky Blake’s Candidacy for UCU Vice President Motion 6: Continuing consequences of the IT reorganisation Motion 7: Responding to the Proposed Centralisation of Timetabling Motion 8: Anti-casualisation claim Motion 1: Re-affiliation and resubscription to Labour Research Department Motion 2: Re-affiliation to Leeds Trades Unions Council Motion 3: USS pensions Leeds University UCU notes that individual employer responses to USS consultations are now in the public domain.We are disappointed that the University of Leeds management has consistently positioned itself amongst the ‘hawks’ in this respect.We are embarrassed that our employer continues to maintain this untenable approach, notably on the critical issue of ‘risk’, in the face of contrary findings published by the Joint Expert Panel (JEP). Motion of no confidence in University of Leeds Council USS decisions University of Leeds UCU branch notes That as the governing body of the University, the Council has a responsibility to act openly, transparently and in the best interests of staff and students and other stakeholders. The University of Leeds Council … continue reading

Report from UCU higher education sector conferences 7 November

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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

New branch anti-casualisation officer

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Arumina Bhattacharya has been elected (unopposed) as the branch anti-casualisation officer. The full list of members elected to the committee this year is at leedsucu.org.uk/about-us/committee-members-2018-2019 The list of department reps, including department anti casualisation, workload, postgraduate and health and safety reps is at leedsucu.org.uk/about-us/departmental-representatives If your department doesn’t yet have a UCU anti-casualisation rep, and you’d like to volunteer or nominate a colleague, contact ucu@leeds.ac.uk … continue reading

UCU committee postgraduate and anti-casualisation vacancies

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We’re seeking another member on a non-permanent contract and another postgraduate member to join the UCU University of Leeds branch committee, to fill two vacancies. Anticasualisation officer This is a branch officer position, so the university will usually allocate funds up to 10% of your time to your department to allow them to back-fill 10% of your time. Postgraduate rep This is a vacancy for an ordinary committee member (i.e. not an branch officer) who will lead on postgraduate issues, working closely with the anticasualisation officer. (There is no back-fill time for ordinary committee members.) If you would like to volunteer for either of these roles please ask two colleagues who are union members to email ucu@leeds.ac.uk by 11am Friday 9 November to nominate you. Nominations for women and black members particularly welcome as white men are currently over-represented on the committee … continue reading