Category Archives: Anticasualisation

Update on anti-casualisation negotiations

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The first anti-casualisation meeting with the university HR team took place yesterday. Our concerns were listened to and we provided information/clarification on questions arising from the official claim we had submitted earlier this year. You can read the claim here: leedsucu.org.uk/ucu-anti-casualisation-claim-submitted-to-university-of-leeds The university has agreed to identify parameters they think they can align with to publish a joint statement on casualisation. We anticipate formal time-limited negotiations to begin shortly but further steps in this regard require active engagement from our casualised members. We are putting together a survey to find out the details and extent of the casualisation problem at Leeds and also planning towards a meeting of all casualised staff that will soon be announced. … continue reading

Job ad highlights need to eradicate culture of casualised work

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In the past few days, a storm of academic Twitter anger was aimed at University of Leeds over a job advertisement for a research assistant. The job description, apparently aimed at postgraduate students ‘interested in developing [their] professional academic skills’, read primarily like a personal administrative assistant with ‘occasional bits of supplementary research.’ What shocked many was the implication that the employee would need to be on campus, in effect ‘on call’, more often than not even when not working. As soon as we were made aware of the ad we contacted University of Leeds Human Resources, who immediately withdrew the vacancy. The university says this was a mistake in the vacancy advertising process, which they will now urgently review and improve. That this job ad saw the light of day is also a symptom of a culture of rampant casualisation in the university sector. Staff working in all roles and at all levels of the university deserve a culture that emphasises dignity and secure work for all. Insecure jobs go hand-in-hand with ludicrously high workloads, fear of being able to take annual leave or be off sick, and, in extremes, bullying. We are standing up for secure jobs and … continue reading

Important UCU updates: Ballot + General Secretary + Leeds general meeting + elections

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Text of email sent to all members 25 February 2019 by branch president Vicky Blake In this email: ·        2 important updates: ballot result and General Secretary resignation ·        Your feedback for future UCU strategy ·        Reminder of very important UCU General Meeting (13 March) + motions deadline (5 March) INCLUDING call for Congress delegates + motions! ·        Thank you Leeds UCU Updates: Ballot:We received [news] on Friday that the UCU UK-wide aggregated ballot of higher education members came out strongly in favour of taking action and action short of strike (ASOS), but that this result has again been stymied by anti-democratic, anti-trade union laws. We are very disappointed that we are unable to take action at the UK-level at this time, but we are also very determined to make progress in our local work over our formal Anti-Casualisation claim for which negotiations will begin in March, over the gender pay gap claim we’re already pursuing, and on joint-unions work to address workload at Leeds. The Trade Union Act 2016 requires all ballots over industrial action to reach 50% turnout, which is a greater restriction than is placed on turnout for the election of politicians who make these decisions. Prior to 2016, we would … continue reading

Strength in numbers: don’t be silenced

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Text from email to all members sent 19 February 2019 Dear Members, The message is very simple. We have even made another song to illustrate it: enjoy! We need you to vote in the current ballot, and we would ideally like you to vote “YES YES” in support of willingness to take strike action and action short of a strike in the pursuit of a decent offer from our employers on (click each heading for a link): Secure work Gender pay gapFair payWorkload If you have already voted, THANK YOU for helping to keep our union strong. Please help us to get the remaining votes out by spending 5-10 minutes talking to colleagues and friends in higher education to make sure they have too! We need all votes to be received by Friday 22 February, meaning Wednesday is the last “safe day to post (but if you find anyone yet to post on Thursday, it’s still worth it! If you have not yet voted, PLEASE dig out that ballot and get it in the post right now. This matters; it is a matter of our collective strength and standing up for one another. Every single vote, in every single branch, in every … continue reading