Category Archives: UCU democracy

Newsletter – summer 2019

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University of Leeds University & College Union USS Pensions There seems to be no comfortable end in sight for the USS dispute. USS have proposed three options as solutions to the ongoing valuation, all of which mean members and employers paying more, and none of which implement the Joint Expert Panel’s recommendations. Employers prefer option 3 which would increase member contributions to 9.6% with possible imposed additional increases after later valuations. It has recently been revealed, after whistleblowing from a USS trustee, that USS misled employers and members about the 2018 valuation, claiming wrongly that The Pensions Regulator had said the JEP recommendations would be too risky. UCU believes we can’t trust these people any longer, has called for the resignation of USS CEO Bill Galvin, and is exploring the possibility of legal action against the USS Trustee Board. We reject any members’ contribution increases, we call on UUK to pick up any imposed extra costs, and we plan to ballot on industrial action in September if they do not agree. See leedsucu.org.uk/pensions What’s happening on pay? 2019 pay negotiations with the employers began in early May and the Universities & Colleges Employers Association (UCEA) offered 1.8% (increased to 3.65% … continue reading

Report on UCU Congress 2019

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UCU’s annual congress is its supreme policy making body and it met this year over the May Bank Holiday in Harrogate. This report is an attempt to summarise three very full days of intense and important debates on the various areas with which UCU is concerned. Motion numbers are included in brackets for reference: a full account of all motions with decisions can be found here: www.ucu.org.uk/Congress2019 Congress business is ordered according to the business of various committees: equality; education; recruitment, organising and campaigning (ROC) and strategy and finance. There was a further section on democracy and rule changes. On the second day of congress, delegates divide into a Higher Education Sector Conference and a Further Education Sector Conference. The agenda was very busy indeed. As a result, some motions could not be debated. Those relating to rule changes will be sent to the special Democracy Conference to be held in November; the rest are remitted to the National Executive Committee (NEC) for decision. Leeds University UCU sent five branch delegates to Congress: Arunima Bhattacharya; Dima Chami, Laura Loyola, Megan Povey and Chloe Wallace. In addition, Lesley McGorrigan attended as delegate from the Yorkshire and Humberside Regional Committee, and Vicky … continue reading

Why UCU needs a migrant members equality strand

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UCU University of Leeds UCU is one of several branches with motions calling for a migrant members equality strand in UCU. We urge branches and delegates to UCU Congress to support our motions. Why is it so important? Three in every ten staff in UK universities aren’t British (29 per cent). Half of research-only staff (mostly postdocs) are from overseas (47 per cent). Migrants constitute a large demography within British academia (both in FE and HE) – and even while we make up a considerable proportion of UCU’s membership, our voice is not always heard. During the strikes, we were on the front lines with our colleagues, but our solidarity came at a price: migrant staff who took ‘unlawful’ absence from work for more than 10 days were eligible for having their contracts ended – in other words, if migrants took strike action for more than 10 days, they were at risk of deportation. It took considerable pressure, and very loudly voiced anxieties, from University of Leeds branch and others to bring this to the attention of UCU national officers who thankfully took this matter seriously. The right to strike is a human right, but the Home Office – until … continue reading

UCU Congress 2019

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UCU Congress 2019 is this weekend, Saturday 25 – Monday 27 May. UCU Congress is a key part in the process of trade union democracy, by which all members are involved in the decision making of the union so our decisions are collective. If any member wants the union to say or do something they can propose it as a motion to the other members in their branch (in University of Leeds branch we usually have at least five general meetings a year). If members in the branch agree (simple majority vote at the general meeting) the motion is submitted to UCU Congress, or to the UCU Higher Education Congress if it’s specifically about higher education (HE Congress in on the Sunday). Once all the motions from all the branches are collated they’re sent round to all members to consider. Branches then have a general meeting before Congress so that members can vote on the branch’s attitude to motions submitted by other branches. Representatives from each branch then go to the Congress and vote on behalf of members of their branch. The delegates members elected to represent us at this year’s Congress are Arunima Bhattacharya, Chloe Wallace, Dima Chami, Laura … continue reading

Our motions to UCU Congress 2019

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These are the motions proposed by members of UCU University of Leeds branch and agreed by all members at our general meetings which are on the agenda to be debated by all branches at UCU Congress 2019. Composite motions are composited by the congress business committee from two or more similar motions proposed by different branch, so these may not reflect the exact wording agreed by members of this branch but ought to reflect the intent. Motion 9 – Composite: Representation of migrants in UCU structures (University of Leeds, The University of Manchester) Congress notes: 1.     migrants, defined as non-U.K citizens, constitute a large demography within UCU’s membership 2.     UCU’s structures currently do not represent migrants, thereby leaving them vulnerable to discrimination, harassment, surveillance and other forms of oppression Congress believes: a.     all workers should be treated equally independent of immigration status b.   racist and anti-migrant sentiments are fuelled by policies such as Hostile Environment and discourses surrounding Brexit c.   there should be no place for targeted racism and legal discrimination within our sector d.   only direct migrant representation can advance UCU policy and organising strategies on matters specific to migrant members such as mobility rights, visa fees, NHS surcharge, social security. Congress resolves to:                    i.       recognise migrant … continue reading