Category Archives: Dispute

UCU legal briefing for international members

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Legal briefing for international members Friday 25 May, 12pm – 1pm Baines Wing seminar room 2.37 This briefing will be particularly focused on members’ concerns around visa requirements in relation to industrial action (“unauthorised absence” and reductions in pay), but can also cover any other questions regarding our legal working rights (not surpassing the 180 days in a 12 month period, research leave, pensions, etc.). This briefing is also open to international staff who aren’t UCU members. This is a general briefing legal briefing rather than casework representation. If you need individual support through the union please contact ucu@leeds.ac.uk or for individual legal advice on immigration issues see ucu.org.uk/legal Let’s get the law changed The legal briefing will look primarily at the Home Office current rules, but UCU is challenging the Home Office to change it’s rules to ensure staff working on visas don’t have a reduced right to strike. UCU general secretary Sally Hunt and Labour’ shadow chancellor John McDonnell MP have written an article calling for clarity from the Home Office. UCU is calling on members, especially staff working on international visas, to write to their MP and ask them to back UCU’s call. UCU international staff email list There’s … continue reading

UCU members have ACCEPTED the latest offer from Universities UK

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From email sent to all members by branch president Vicky Blake at 3.14pm on Friday 13 April 2018

The result of the UCU members’ ballot over whether to accept the latest UUK proposal closed at 2pm. We have just heard the result from HQ: Accept

This means that our industrial action will be called off.  So no strike on Monday.

This was not the result that the branch EGM agreed to support, however we know that everyone gave the issue considerable thought before voting and we respect each other’s opinions. We need to keep our solidarity strong and carry on working well together. We have uploaded a Dinosaur of Solidarity image created by our very own Honorary Secretary Jonathan Saha for everyone to use on social media [here] – solidarity shared is strength and support increased!

We also need to watch UUK/USS very carefully so we can hold them to account.  There’s an interesting @USSbriefs just out on how to constitute a Joint Expert Panel.  We can discuss next steps at the General Meeting on Monday.

Remember: everyone is invited to come to the Library Pub from 5pm this evening!

Remember the General Meeting on Monday at 1pm, Quaker House

This is a really important meeting! Please do make every effort to attend. The updated agenda was sent out by email on 11/4/18 (23:05), and is also available online [here].

In Solidarity!

Vicky and Committee

PS

The results were as follows:

Yes to accept the UUK offer 21,683 (64%)
No to reject the UUK offer 12,230 (36%)

Total balloted: 53,415
Total votes cast: 33,973
Total number valid votes: 33,913
Turnout: 63.5%

Guidance for members on work visas next strike

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(Text reproduced from email sent to all members by Gabriella Alberti, Equality Officer, 12/4/18) As we have already pointed out in a previous email, the latest USS strike has brought to the fore what the union understands as differential treatment for University staff members on working visas in terms of their participation in industrial action. We believe the experience of unfair treatment by our colleagues on working visas is far from marginal to this important dispute, and that it rather points out to the many contradictions that inhabit our campuses and the HE sector in the UK, where the effects of the Point based system and monitoring of international students and staff have been contested and challenged by our unionsince their introduction. The latest events have shown even more that immigration controls directly hinder our fundamental collective rights. UCU national HQ has released today a message regarding members on working visas’ participation in the strike action, following the lack of response (as of today) by the Home office to Sally Hunt’s letter on this matter on the 15th of March 2018.  Matt Waddup, UCU national head of policy and campaigns writes: “Our parliamentary team have been strongly pressing the minister for a response but despite assurances … continue reading

An important note from Committee (reproduced from email 6/4/18)

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An important note from Committee (Text reproduced from email 6/4/18) At yesterday’s EGM, a number of members raised concerns about the email from UCU General Secretary Sally Hunt (sent on Wednesday 4 April) that accompanies the link to the ballot (text is [here]), because it contains a significant conflation between the “revise and resubmit” position (which is about process) and the “no detriment” position (which is about the possible content of revisions). The two are not synonymous, and many branches who preferred the “revise and re-submit” approach (as ours did) had varying positions on whether they also preferred the “no detriment” position, preferred “no pre-conditions”, or somewhere in between. There were also questions at yesterday’s meeting about why a recommendation has been issued from the General Secretary in the absence of any vote by the Higher Education Committee to include a recommendation (the latter is usual practice). The recommendation in the ballot email has been sent by the General Secretary as an individual. On receipt of today’s latest email from the General Secretary we (committee) agreed to write to everyone again. As we noted at yesterday’s EGM, our committee is a signatory to a joint letter from UCU branches, which raises concerns and questions over the balloting process. I have pasted the text below this email and you can read it online [here] – … continue reading

Vote ‘No’ – this branch recommends members vote to reject the offer

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In a well attended emergency general meeting, members of UCU University of Leeds branch voted today to recommend that members vote ‘no’ in the new UCU ballot on the latest offer from Universities UK in the persions dispute. The branch also noted the valuable new USS Briefs, short articles by a range of academics on different aspects of the strike, and that an independent group of UCU members has devised a survey of members’ voting preferences, motivations, and other views surrounding the ballot. The branch resolved to encourage all USS members to complete the survey. After a thorough and collegial debate, considering a range of perspectives on the ballot and recognising the branch’s enthusiasm for a decisive conclusion to the current industrial action, members voted for the following motion: Leeds University UCU branch notes: the support and energy of our members during the course of the fourteen days of strike action in defence of our pensions. the branch delegates meeting (held on the 28th March at UCU HQ, London) on the USS dispute where last-minute evidence was tabled, on which delegates had no opportunity to consult their members. that, at the conclusion of the branch delegates meeting, no vote was … continue reading