Text of email sent to branch members by branch president Ben Plumpton on 20 August 2020 Dear members, I hope you are coping OK in these difficult times and that you and your families and friends are well.  There’s a lot to update you on  – so read on!  Also look out for a separate email with news about annual leave.   Contents:1. Redundancies and ending of fixed term contracts2. Health and safety update3. New university organisational change and redundancy policies4. Return to campus questionnaire5. Working from home costs6. Could you offer to become a caseworker?7. UCU levy8. Elections to Senate9. Fund the Future10. Next Vice President of UCU11. What next on our Four Fights dispute?12. UCU webinars, and how to get involved 1. Redundancies and ending of fixed term contracts Management told us they were intending to make 28 redundancies of staff employed for more than 4 years by the end of October, and a further 10 by the end of February.  Some of these have now been averted after extensions and redeployments, but we are urgently asking for discussions with management about the individuals remaining under threat in order to avoid redundancies.  In addition large numbers of staff on … continue reading