Category Archives: Workload

Consultations

UCU University of Leeds Branch Posted on by

Senior management are currently consulting the campus unions and staff networks about changes to the university’s disability equality framework and trans equality policy. The UCU negotiating team has strenuously expressed the concerns raised by members about detrimental proposed changes to both of these policies. If you’d like to be involved in the UCU equality working group or disability working group, please contact equality officer Lorraine Youds. Senior management are also consulting unions about potential changes to the university flexible working policy (current version here). We are being consulted at an early stage which is good, because it means we can all input fully rather than reacting to a finished draft. Contact ucu@leeds.ac.uk with any suggestions for what you think a new flexible working policy should include – our next consultation meeting about this is on Friday 19th February. The university will be circulating another staff wellbeing survey soon. Issues identified from these surveys are discussed with the campus unions, and the branch committee would encourage you to fill in the next one, which will include questions about workload, and highlight any concerns you have. The surveys are confidential and reported in an aggregated form.

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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

Branch votes to reject latest ‘four fights’ offer

UCU University of Leeds Branch Posted on by

An emergency meeting of the branch was help today to establish the branch’s position on the employers’ offer on casualisation, equal pay, workloads and pay (the ‘four fights’ dispute) and on the latest developments in the USS pensions dispute. The meeting is to let our delegates know how to vote on our behalf at a meeting of branch delegates on Tuesday (26 May), ahead of the UCU higher education committee meeting on 27 May. (For more details see Your feedback on next-steps in the ‘Four Fights’ and USS disputes) No formal vote was taken on the USS pensions dispute, so our delegate will try to vote with the contributions made in mind. On the ‘four fights’ dispute, members passed the following motion: Motion 1 This branch rejects the latest ‘offer’ in the 4 fights dispute. We don’t believe that sufficient progress has been made on any of the key issues in the dispute in the light of the developing crisis in the sector. Accepting an ‘offer’ that does not give sufficient guarantees to women members on the gender pay gap, BAME members on the race pay gap and to our casualised staff and includes no movement on pay would be … continue reading

Your feedback on next steps in the ‘Four Fights’ and USS disputes

UCU University of Leeds Branch Posted on by

Email sent to branch members 20 May 2020 I’m writing with some further information about the two disputes – the reports from the UCU negotiating teams.  Please read these if you possibly can before our emergency general meeting 1pm Friday where we will discuss the disputes and elect a delegate to take the branch views to a branch delegates meeting next week which will inform the union’s Higher Education Committee (HEC).  The HEC will then take a decision on what the union will do in each dispute, including whether to put the employers’ offer on the Four Fights to a membership ballot, and about balloting for further industrial action.  The current position is that the union will re-ballot on both disputes, starting at the end of June or as soon as practically possible thereafter, and ending in September.  HEC can decide to continue the ballots as planned or to cancel, postpone or otherwise alter them. Four Fights negotiators statement (please also read the Four Fights briefing emailed by Jo Grady) USS negotiators report (please also read the USS briefing emailed by Jo Grady) Our negotiators have worked incredibly hard for many months on both disputes and their statements are crucial to these discussions. Our industrial action … continue reading

Thank you strikers, + coronavirus and more

UCU University of Leeds Branch Posted on by

Strikes and next steps in the disputes First of all, huge thanks for your strike action over the past four weeks. We have shown university managements across the UK that staff are not prepared to put up with precarious contracts, gender and race inequality, excessive workloads, and effective pay cuts through below inflation pay rises and increases to pension contributions. Special thanks to everyone who has joined the pickets, rallies and teachouts, and made them a joyful, determined and supportive experience. We can go back to work on Monday with our heads held high and the knowledge that our actions have moved the negotiations forward.  See the latest negotiators’ update on the Four Fights dispute at https://www.ucu.org.uk/media/10783/Negotiators-update-on-Four-Fights-11-March-2020/pdf/Four_Fights_negotiators_update_11_March.pdf).  On USS there is encouraging progress on underlying issues, and signs of frustration with USS from employers, but we still need an improved offer on contributions.  We really need our VC to put pressure on USS to make a better offer on contributions rather than refusing to tell us what our university’s response has been on this. Negotiations will continue on both disputes, but sadly it looks as if further industrial action will be needed to get a decent resolution to both disputes. A … continue reading