Category Archives: Covid19

Health and safety in libraries

UCU University of Leeds Branch Posted on by

Library staff remain seriously concerned about the health and safety implications of Library study space being open to students. Two motions were overwhelmingly passed at last week’s emergency general meeting supporting Library colleagues, which you can read at leedsucu.org.uk/members-vote-to-call-to-close-library-study-spaces Members at the meeting were keen to ensure that the university provides study space for students with essential needs, and our library reps emphasised the part of the motions which calls for the use of unmanned and remotely monitored study space such as computer clusters rather than libraries. The branch will be calling for a UK-wide campaign by UCU to close library study spaces and return libraries to a click and collect service.

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Members vote to call to close library study spaces

UCU University of Leeds Branch Posted on by

UCU members have voted in an emergency meeting today (9 February 2021) to call on the university to close library study spaces and make alternative, unstaffed study spaces available to students who have that essential need. Members also agreed a motion to the union’s national academic-related and professional staff meeting to highlight the need of UCU to focus more nationally on the needs of academic-related staff working on campus during the pandemic. Full text of the motions agreed: Motion: Libraries and study space This branch notes that: Despite being in the most dangerous point in the entire pandemic, and in a national lockdown, the University libraries remain open with up to 1700 bookable study spaces available per day. Library staff are being asked to work in these spaces and interact with large numbers of library users on a daily basis. Library staff are not allowed to ask for evidence that a library user has had a recent negative lateral flow test. This is extremely stressful and upsetting for many members of front-line Library staff and they feel abandoned and dismissed. Library staff and branch officers have highlighted all these concerns to University senior management, and although some health and safety improvements … continue reading

Library staff receive no reply from VC about safety concerns

UCU University of Leeds Branch Posted on by

On 18 January over 100 library staff at University of Leeds wrote to the vice chancellor about the decision to keep library study spaces open when the risk from covid-19 is so high. Following a weekend which has seen thousands more students return to Leeds, they have still not had a reply, other than: “Thank you for your email.” Email to the vice chancellor Subject: Concerns about keeping study space open in the Libraries Dear Professor Buitendijk, The two unions representing Library staff, UCU and Unison, have jointly written a letter to you setting out our concerns about the use of the Libraries as study space during this national lockdown. We believe Library staff are being put at risk by the decision to keep study spaces in the Libraries open, when there are opportunities to provide safer un-staffed study spaces elsewhere on campus or in halls of residence. The decision to keep the Library study spaces open is putting enormous pressure on Library staff and is taking its toll on staff mental health and wellbeing, due to the stress and worry about being infected with the virus while at work. Over 110 Library staff members have signed this letter, plus … continue reading

Supporting schoolteachers by reducing university workloads

UCU University of Leeds Branch Posted on by

The UCU branch committee sends our thanks and support to schoolteachers in the National Education Union whose refusal to work in dangerous conditions forced the government to move more quickly in moving most school teaching online. Their action has made us all more safe. The government has left continuing confusion about who should be working and who should be able to send their children to school, and what should happen when people who shouldn’t send their children to school are required to work. As a result, school attendance has been much higher than during the first lockdown meaning that teachers are less safe and the curb on the spread of the virus will be less effective, placing all our communities at further risk. It is vital that university staff with school-age children can play our part in keeping school attendance low. Therefore, the UCU committee has written to the vice-chancellor and spoken to senior HR managers about the need to reduce workloads and extend the availability of special leave for staff whose role is not critical for the health or wellbeing of students, staff or society. We have impressed upon HR that it is not enough to say, “Do what … continue reading

New lockdown

UCU University of Leeds Branch Posted on by

Message from branch president Ben Plumpton sent to members Tuesday 5 January 2020 Happy New Year, and here’s hoping it is a better one than 2020… I’m writing to let you know that Leeds UCU is working hard on your behalf related to the current lockdown and with regard to the seriousness of the increasing pandemic. In particular, we have asked the VC to: Move everything possible (most teaching, research, support and administration) online again until Easter, i.e. going beyond the (current) Government guidance.  This would be the safest thing we could do for our students, our staff, and the wider community.  This university can do better than the government guidance, particularly considering how poor the government have been at taking on board scientific advice. And constantly changing arrangements are difficult for both students and staff.  Review the university provision to support parents and carers, to be more radical and generous in what is on offer, not expecting staff to care full time and work full time, and recognising that it should be OK for carers to do fewer hours and fewer things that they would normally do. (Full detail of our email on this copied below the email to members). We know that … continue reading