Newsletter – September 2019

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Four Fights One Voice ballot

UCU members are being balloted now on whether to take industrial action on inequality, casualisation, workload and pay. In our sector there are significant disability, gender and ethnicity pay gaps, over 170 000 colleagues on casualised contracts, and increasing workloads, despite the value of university salaries having fallen against inflation by over 20% since 2009. A successful vote for action would further strengthen UCU’s mandate to negotiate nationally with our employers and demand they commit to tackle these issues. See: ucu.org.uk/he2019

As Jo Grady, our new UCU General Secretary, said: “By standing up for pensions, pay, equality and job security, we are defending not just ourselves but our profession. The sector’s income has increased by a third since the beginning of the financial crisis, and that is thanks to our hard work in an incredibly difficult environment. How have employers rewarded us? With intensifying casualisation, wage suppression, and pension cuts. Some of us may not feel the effects of cuts and inequalities directly, but we can all appreciate what they do to our colleagues. Securing national agreements on these things is the most efficient way to make the sector fairer, more inclusive, and more appealing to future generations of university staff.” Remember, the law requires that votes on industrial disputes have to be done by post, not online, and reach a 50% turnout. We owe it to each other to express our democratic voices through voting as otherwise anti-union laws silence us all as a collective. The other campus trade unions, Unite and Unison, will also be balloting around the same time.

USS Pensions ballot

USS pension justice. We demand it. Image of two raised fists, blue and white, pink background.

In the same envelope as the Four Fights One Voice ballot is a ballot for action on USS pensions. We called off our strike last year on the promise of a Joint Expert Panel (JEP) being established to look at how the pension scheme operated. Now employers are forcing USS members to pay towards contribution increases arising from USS’s refusal to implement key proposals of the Joint Expert Panel (JEP). Employers have done little to challenge USS’s rejection of those proposals, preserving their comfortable relationship with USS at the expense of their relationship with staff. Our contributions will rise to 9.6% of salary from October 2019, and 11% of salary from October 2021. UCU commissioned an analysis of the changes from independent experts First Actuarial. They showed that, compared with the situation members would be in if the Scheme had continued in its pre-2011 state, the typical USS member stands to lose £240,000 in retirement, and for many members, losses will climb as high as £730,000. Latest news, including a link to the 2 Aug letter from UCU to all USS members, is here: ucu.org.uk/strikeforuss. For local news on the dispute, see leedsucu.org.uk/pensions

International staff can now strike without visa consequences              

The Home Office has now updated its guidelines to specify that striking doesn’t count as unauthorised absence for visa (Tier 2) purposes, via an exception to the rule on absences from employment without pay. Details at gov.uk/guidance/immigration-rules/immigration-rules-part-9-grounds-for-refusal#pt9variation

General Secretary open meeting

UCU general secretary Jo Grady is coming to University of Leeds on Wednesday 2 October. An open meeting is scheduled for 1pm-2pm in Mechanical Engineering Lecture Theatre B, and she will also meet with our anti-casualisation working group. Please put this in your diary and register (so we can keep an eye on numbers): leedsucu.org.uk/jo-grady-visit/. This is an exciting opportunity to engage with, influence and take inspiration from our new leader.

UCU seeks guarantees on EU citizens’ rights in event of no-deal Brexit                                    

Contradictory statements from the Home Office about freedom of movement in a no-deal scenario have caused unacceptable levels of confusion and uncertainty for EU citizens living in the UK including many university staff. On August 29th, UCU General Secretary Jo Grady wrote to the Prime Minister asking for urgent assurances about the rights of EU citizens in the event of a no-deal Brexit.  The full letter can be read here: ucu.org.uk/article/10267/UCU-seeks-guarantees-on-EU-citizens-rights-in-event-of-no-deal-Brexit

For research students & supervisors

After much campaigning by UCU and others, it has been confirmed that all UKRI funded PhD students (AHRC, ESRC, NERC, EPSRC, STFC etc.) are now entitled to have their funded period extended, if they become ill, for up to 13 weeks per year (medical certificate needed).  See ukri.org/funding/information-for-award-holders/grant-terms-and-conditions/

Climate emergency stoppage

On the 20th September, school children will strike once again for Government action in the face of our climate emergency. UCU calls for trade unions to support school students with a 30 minute solidarity work stoppage on 20th September. Following requests from campus trade unions, the University has agreed that staff can stop work for 30 minutes (in addition to the normal lunch break) in order to participate.

We will be marching, with students and the other campus unions, to Millennium Square to support the Leeds Youth Strike for Climate group. Meet at Parkinson steps at 12 noon sharp. Bring an alarm clock, and if possible make your own placard! Leeds UCU have a new Climate and Ecological Emergency Working Group and welcome new members. Email ucu@leeds.ac.uk to join.

Welcome to new officers and committee members

Our 2019/2020 officers and committee were elected in May and took office on the 1st August. Details here: www.leedsucu.org.uk/about-us/committee-members-2019-2020/

Our new Vice President, Chloe Wallace, is a brand new officer and tells us about herself here: leedsucu.org.uk/introducing-chloe-wallace/

First General Meeting of 2019-2020

Our first Leeds UCU General Meeting will be on Thursday 24th October at 1 pm. Members, please keep an eye on your emails for full details.  

Check your details / Join UCU                             

Please make sure UCU holds the right details about you, so you can have your say in union decisions and so we can support you if you have problems at work. 

  • Log into MyUCU at http://ucu.org.uk using the pink button in the top right
  • Check your postal address  
  • Check your employer 
  • Check your membership type.     

If you are not yet a member, join today! ucu.org.uk/join

Download the PDF version of this September 2019 newsletter (179kb)

Introducing new branch officer, Vice President Chloe Wallace

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Tell us a bit about yourself:

I’m an Associate Professor in the Law School, on a teaching and scholarship contract, specialising in legal education. This year, I am also a project leader in LITE (Leeds Institute of Teaching Excellence), working on study abroad.  I live in Leeds, walk everywhere (this summer I finished off the Offa’s Dyke Path Walk, along the English/Welsh border), and use all my annual leave to travel!

Why did you decide to take an officer role in the union?

2018-19 was my 20th year in post in the University. I’m incredibly proud of working at Leeds and very committed to seeing the university, and the higher education sector, thrive. The amazing solidarity and connections we made during the 2018 USS strike made me realise that UCU has a huge role to play in this, by bringing us together and making our voices and our experience and expertise heard, so I decided to join the committee, and realised that I had skills which might be of use as Vice-President.

What does it involve?

I’ve only just started, so we’ll see! At the moment, there are a lot of meetings: with each other, with other unions and with university management, so I’m enjoying getting to know new people and visiting other parts of campus. Basically, my role is to support Ben, our President, in discussion and negotiation with the University, and in planning, organising and leading the different campaigns and working groups of the union. And, of course, organising and leading strike action when and if it comes.

How can other people get involved?

Read your UCU emails! That way you’ll find out what we are doing and how you can help. In particular, our working groups are open to all members, not just committee members or officers. Come to General Meetings, to meet others and hear from us – and introduce yourself if you’re new!

Supporting Youth Strike for Climate on 20th September: 30-minute solidarity stoppage and march

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The three campus trade unions at this university wrote to the Vice Chancellor asking for staff to be given an additional 30 minutes paid leave to take part in activities supporting the Youth Strike for Climate on Friday 20th September. We are pleased that this has been agreed, and staff can add the 30 minutes on to their normal lunch break, so we can visibly support the local Leeds group. See details about the University’s support for this stoppage.

This is an emergency! The Amazon is going up in smoke and could soon reach breaking point, with large parts of this incredible ecosystem collapsing before our eyes. Greenland is melting faster than ever before, and Central Africa is up in flames. Climate change isn’t a distant threat – it is here already. And yet our governments are supporting ever more fossil fuel extraction and doing far too little. That’s why, just before a crucial UN climate summit, children all over the world are taking to the streets, and calling on everyone to join them. With right wing climate change deniers presiding over so many powerful world states our participation on the streets to force change is more important than ever.

Youth Strike for Climate are calling on adults to do everything they can to support their big global action on Friday 20th September. In Leeds, they will be meeting in Millennium Square and marching round the city, followed by speeches and music back in Millennium Square. We (UCU, Unison and Unite) are meeting at the Parkinson steps with placards and banners, and marching down to Millennium Square, leaving at 12 noon sharp so we can join the youth march at 12:15. We’ve been asked to bring alarm clocks, to set them off at 1pm, to sound the alarm about the climate emergency. Leeds University Union have agreed to publicise the march to students. So all together, we hope to get a great crowd. Please spread the word!

We’re having a placard making session for this at lunchtime (1-2 pm) on Tuesday 17th September in 7.52 EC Stoner building – paints and blank placards provided.

There may also be an Extinction Rebellion Leeds event later in the day – keep an eye on their Facebook page if you’d like to get involved.

If you can’t join the march, you can chat with Sustainability about ideas for improving the university’s carbon footprint, or you could spend the 30 minutes on some online activism.

UCU nationally has strong policies on climate, divestment and just transition (see for example the motions passed at this year’s Congress) and is committed to campaigning and lobbying on these issues. Our General Secretary, Jo Grady, is speaking about this at the TUC Congress this week. You’ll remember that at our Leeds General Meeting in May we passed motions calling on the University to declare a climate emergency and to divest from fossil fuels, and we’re hoping that the calls from staff and students about this will be heeded soon. We’ve set up a new ‘Climate and ecological emergency’ working group to do more at branch level. If you’d like to get involved with this work please contact ucu@leeds.ac.uk.

We’d also encourage members to attend the Leeds TUC Regional Conference on Climate change on 19th October, to look at how trade unions can meet the challenge of the climate emergency. See full details and and registration (which is free).

2019/20 pay offer to be implemented in September

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Text from branch president Ben Plumpton’s email to members

You’ll have seen today’s email to [Allstaff] about the pay offer. In case the mention of 3.65% rises had you feeling hopeful, note that this was only for scale points 2 and 3. From Grade 5 upwards it’ll be just 1.8%. Suggesting that increments are a form of wage rise is also misleading – this is an entirely different matter.  Many people are stuck at the top of their scales anyway and so won’t get any increment.

A 1.8% rise is a pretty poor in comparison to average wage rise growth in the UK, currently at 3.9% (see for example https://www.theguardian.com/money/2019/aug/13/uk-wages-rise-at-fastest-rate-for-a-decade-despite-brexit-risks) The value of our salaries has fallen by over 20% since 2009 as a consequence of below inflation increases for many years, and whilst this is just one concern among many that we have about our working conditions, it is a critical indication of the worth that universities like ours place on their staff.  You will also have realised that the extra pension contributions from October (see my email yesterday) will instantly eat up almost all of this pay “rise”.

Vitally important parts of our annual pay and conditions claim concerned pay inequality, casualisation, and excessive workloads.  All of these are significant problems at Leeds. We had hoped that this year, the employers’ side (represented by UCEA) would negotiate sensible national agreements on these issues which matter so much to staff, often more so than pay.  This has not happened – they were unwilling to discuss these issues meaningfully.

UCU has made every possible effort to negotiate both on pay & equality and on pensions, but employers have been intransigent.  So your union is preparing to ballot for industrial action on both issues. As Jo Grady, our new UCU General Secretary, said:

“By standing up for pensions, pay, equality and job security, we are defending not just ourselves but our profession. The sector’s income has increased by a third since the beginning of the financial crisis, and that is thanks to our hard work in an incredibly difficult environment. How have employers rewarded us? With intensifying casualisation, wage suppression, and pension cuts. Some of us may not feel the effects of cuts and inequalities directly, but we can all appreciate what they do to our colleagues. Securing national agreements on these things is the most efficient way to make the sector fairer, more inclusive, and more appealing to future generations of university staff.”

So, when your ballot papers arrive in early September, please be ready to vote Yes for industrial action on pay & equality as well as on pensions.

Latest updates on the national negotiations about pay and equality are here: https://ucu.org.uk/he2019

Protests against proroguing Parliament

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If you’re angry about the prorogation of Parliament, you can join the upcoming protests in Leeds:

  1. This evening, from 5:30pm at City Square organised by Leeds for Europe
    https://www.facebook.com/events/2371865616404873/
  2. Saturday at 11am, Leeds Town Hall, organised by Alex Sobel MP, Leeds TUC and Another Europe is Possible, at which Vicky Blake will be speaking for UCU
    https://www.facebook.com/events/431073174172423/