Support Professor Hakim Adi: Save the MRes in the History of Africa and the African Diaspora at the University of Chichester

UCU University of Leeds Branch Posted on by

The following motion was carried the Emergency General Meeting held on the 12th September 2023.

This branch notes

  • University of Chichester has suspended recruitment for the masters by research (MRes) course on African History and the Diaspora and made its programme leader Professor Hakim Adi redundant.
  • Professor Adi is a world leading expert in the History of Africa and the African Diaspora and the first person of African descent to become Professor of History in the UK.
  • the M. Res and Professor Adi’s mentorship plays a unique role in empowering students of African and Caribbean heritage – many of them mature – to train as historians.

This branch believes

  • the programme closure is an attack on the right of students of colour to study and is a product of the systemic racism of UKHE;
  • the case against Prof Adi’s dismissal is an important case for how Black students and academics are treated and the degree to which they are able to progress in UKHE.

This branch resolves to

  • Join the list of supporters to the Save MRes campaign, which is supporting Prof Adi’s grievance against his dismissal and calling for the reinstatement of the programme;
  • Call on the GS to instruct UCU legal team to provide support to Prof Adi’s case against unfair dismissal on the basis of its significance for racial justice in UKHE

Post edited 2 October 2023 to correct the text to the motion as carried by the meeting.

A letter to students about the September ’23 strike

UCU University of Leeds Branch Posted on by

Dear students,

Welcome to solidarity. From 24th – 29th September 2023, Leeds University UCU members will be on strike. Pay and working conditions negotiations between unions and the employer’s governing body, UCEA, reached an impasse in March,and after a marking and assessment boycott failed to bring employers to the negotiating table, UCU’s Higher Education Committee (HEC) called this action to further pressure our employers into returning to the negotiating table. Our dispute is called Four Fights – more information here – because we want action on:

  • Pay
  • Casualisation
  • Workload
  • Gender, ethnicity and disability pay gaps

At the University of Leeds, we are also keen to use this strike to improve local conditions and to demand management pay staff in full since they are now doing the marking they boycotted in summer – many staff lost 100% of their pay for up to 21 days, despite continuing to work and now making up the marking. The university has offered to return 50% of their wages but this is not enough. Staff morale and trust in senior management is low and the university needs to commit to work closely with unions and return wages in full in order to start to repair the damage and build towards better working conditions in the future. Better paid, more securely employed, healthier staff would mean a better learning environment for you.  

We, your teachers and professional services staff, want to continue to put the interest of students first, as we have tried to do throughout these disputes. It has been extremely hard to decide to strike during welcome week, when relationships with students are built and renewed – but we gave the university every chance to prevent this strike and they did not take it. Although we cannot welcome you into your studies in the usual way, we will be on the picket line and available to talk about collective action and the power of standing together. This is why we are referring to this strike as ‘Welcome to Solidarity’ – we hope our example will be empowering and you can be involved in unions in your own life to improve your own situation and that of others. While a volatile situation, we will continue to communicate with you.

What is in your power

You can raise a Notification with the Office for Students (OfS). The OfS is the regulatory body for UK Higher Education and relies on students raising concerns (as well as regular reporting by university governing bodies) to address issues with the student experience. A formal complaint is a lengthy process, but a ‘Notification’ makes OfS aware that the Leeds Senior Management Team has, whatever their claims, allowed disruption to students’ education.

 

Stay in touch

We will keep you informed via our website. We want to keep you in the loop and continue to work with students to build a university that is supportive of everyone.

During the 24th-25th of September, you are welcome to join us on our picket lines on Parkinson steps at 1130 every day, and/or join us online for some truly free education via our teachout programme, which is currently a work in progress but watch this space.

You can reach out to us to discuss concerns and plans. You can find the Leeds UCU union branch on twitter (@leedsucu) or via ucu@leeds.ac.uk  Leeds Student Staff Solidarity has a helpful overview of student support. You can find them on twitter (​@SSSLeeds).

We hope that with your help, the Senior Management Team will engage in meaningful negotiations so that together with management we can improve your learning conditions and our working conditions.


In solidarity,


Your teachers and professional services staff.

Welcome to solidarity: strike 25th-29th September 2023

UCU University of Leeds Branch Posted on by

Why are we striking?

The strike was notified to further the 4 Fights dispute. As announced late last week, UCU Higher Education Committee did agree to permit branches the ability to apply to stand down the strike. However, at Leeds there has been no movement on locally implementable points of claim where we have dual track (collective sectoral and local) bargaining. The University has merely restated agreement to meet to do what they already agreed to do in 2022. We note that we have already had cause to lodge a Failure To Agree regarding the lack of progress over a pay spine review and aspects of work on precarity including conditions of employment for hourly paid and postgraduate workers. Marking and Assessment Boycott deductions remain at a punitive level, with members required to complete marking for half pay. 

On Friday morning representatives of University senior management finally confirmed that they are willing to set a date for a meeting on locally implementable pay related conditions – something they have delayed for over a year since agreeing to take action on these issues following our local dispute and MAB in 2022. However, they have confirmed that their position on punitive MAB deductions is that “no further concessions are considered necessary or appropriate”.

The branch thus resolves to strike through welcome week – a prospect Leeds management are extremely worried about – or until we have a firm commitment from management to improve the situation of marking and assessment boycott participants and our hourly paid staff. We are regretful to strike as new students arrive, but we look forward to demonstrating the strength of collective action against injustice. We especially look forward to striking with our sister unions on Friday 29th September.

That said, our hope is that management will take this opportunity to commit to pay staff in full for marking and assessment, and take concrete actions to improve the conditions of staff, and therefore students, at the University of Leeds, and avoid the need for a welcome week strike. We encourage members to stand together in solidarity and show our students another way forward – the solidarity of union members standing up for their working conditions and student learning conditions.

Strikes starting Monday: what you need to know

UCU University of Leeds Branch Posted on by

Picketing

  • Please sign up for picket duty here. You can just turn up on the day, but it’s helpful to get an indication of how many people we can expect. There’s a space on the form to let us know if there any adjustments we could make, or support we could provide, that would help enable you to picket.
  • Please come to the pink gazebo, which will be outside the main entrance from 7:30 am every day, to sign in and get placards and leaflets.
  • We’ll suggest where to go with the aim of covering all the entrances, but if you have a preference (e.g. if you’d like to picket near where you work) you can tell us when you sign in.
  • If you haven’t picketed before, we’ll make sure you’re with someone who’s experienced (not that it’s hard, honestly, you’ll be handing out leaflets and stickers and chatting to people).
  • Bring layers with waterproofs/umbrella – the weather forecast at the moment is rainy.
  • We’d love you to bring your own placard or banner.
  • Toilets – you can use the toilets (which include disabled toilets) in the Emmanuel Centre, a neutral location.
  • You don’t have to picket every day, do take some time for yourself.
  • Do take photos and talk about the strike on social media – it helps to create a buzz and keep others informed.  Please tag @leedsucu and use hashtag #ucuRISING.
  • We’d recommend everyone pickets on Monday 25th September as a show of strength
  • On Friday 29th September, the University of Leeds Unison and Unite branches will also be on strike and we look forward to standing together
  • On Friday 29th September we will have a Post your ballot day and encourage member to bring their ballot to campus, if not posted already, to post in the post box at Woodhouse Lane with photos taken for maximum impact and solidarity.

Rallies daily at 11:30

Pickets and supporters will be meeting up on the Parkinson steps at 11:30 each day for a short rally, including speeches, updates, visiting speakers.

Migrant members

We know that it can be hard for migrant members, who face the ‘hostile environment’ and many problems over visas and more, to join industrial action. It helps that the Home Office has 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.  The national UCU FAQs for migrant workers are the best place for up to date information about visas and striking, indefinite leave to remain etc. Your union will support migrant members in every way we can.

Notifying about striking, and strike deductions

You definitely do not need to notify anyone in advance that you are striking.  Please don’t, because it enables management to reduce the effectiveness of our strikes. You just need to notify HR on your first day back each time you come back into work after strike days. Remember you can claim from the national fighting fund and our local hardship fund if required.

Out of office message

Here’s a suggested email auto reply for use during the strikes – feel free to adapt as you see fit.

Thank you for your email – this is an auto-reply.  I am currently taking part in the University and College Union’s (UCU) strike action for fair pay and action on workloads, casualisation and pay gaps. More information here. Please request that our Vice Chancellor (vice-chancellor@leeds.ac.uk) work meaningfully with UCU on local issues and use her influence to urge the employer bodies to negotiate meaningfully with UCU nationally.

‘Striking Insights: Welcome to Solidarity’ Teach Outs

We are developing a programme for this and as.  If you’ve been considering offering a session, please add it asap to this spreadsheet.

Joining UCU

It is never to late to join and we are always glad to have new members even in the middle of industrial action! Individuals can join UCU at any point up to and including on the picket line on the day of strike action and lawfully participate in the strike.

We are currently balloting to maintain our ability to action in our pay and conditions campaign. Friday 27 October 2023 (12:00 noon) is the deadline for new members to join UCU and be automatically included in the ballot – but why delay, join today!

See you on the picket lines! 

Thank you to our wage share pledgers

UCU University of Leeds Branch Posted on by

There are others too – thank you all – but these are the people who agreed to have their names publically displayed. If you would like to pledge 10% of your wage monthly to support colleagues who are experiencing deductions for their participation in the MAB, then please fill in this form for our records.

Please remember to put your pledge into action by donating monthly – unless otherwise pledged – to UCU Leeds LA29 Hardship Fund, Unity Trust Bank, Account Number: 20391511, Sort Code: 60-83-01.

A.C.S Murton

Abbie Winton

Adrian Gallagher

Alaric Hall

Alex Heyam

Alex Wright-Hughes

Alexander James

Alexandra Meakin

Ana Tiganescu

Andew McCaig

Andrea Major

Andrea Rylands

Andrew Mearman

Angharad Beckett

Anja Komatar

Anna Barker

B. J. Silver 

Barbara Koerner

Becca Jiggens

Becky Muradás-Taylor

Carolyn Edwards

Catherine O’Sullivan

Charles Umney

Chris Forde

Chris Wareing

Christian Tiede

Christiana Gregoriou

Claire Gribben

Clara Hiskey

Claudia Coveney

Claudia Rogers

Conor O’Reilly

Dan Morgan

Danat Valizade

Daniel Howdon

Darren Greenwood

David Harvie

David Hesmondhalgh

Denis Neumann

Derek Edyvane

Derek Harland

Ed Cook

Eike Mark Rinke

Emily Wheeler

Felix Schulz

Francesca Giliberto

Franziska Kohlt

Gabriela Lopez-Gonzalez

Gail Day

Geoff Goodwin

Gillian Proctor

Gogo Anyanwu

Hamish Carr

Harry Harrop

Helen Bowman

Helen Norman

Iain Manfield

Jac Billington

James Dickins

Jamie Bartram

Jenny Rivas Perez

Jessica Mitchell

Joanne Armitage

John Mowitt

Julia Martin-Ortega

Karen Throsby

Karin Baur

Karin Baur

Kat Munn

Kate Hardy

Kate Spowage

Katharine Stapleford

Katie McQuaid

Katie Roelich

Katy Parry

Kerri Woods

Kerrie Unsworth

Kevin Matthew Jones

Lata Narayanaswamy

Laura Loyola-Hernández

Lilith Brouwers

Liz Oliver

Lucie Middlemiss

Maki Fukuoka

Marc de Kamps

Margo Hanson

Maria Orchard

Marina Baldissera Pacchetti

Martin Lopez-Garcia

Matt Homer

Meenakshi Sarkar

Megan Povey

Mehmet Dogar

Michelle Schneider

Milena Buchs

Mr Dan Pullinger

Ms Angela Hulme

Muriel Bonjean Stanton

Nancy Thumim

Natalie Kopytko

Nigel Bubb

Olaf Corry

Poppy Leeder

Rachael Carrie

Rachel Proudfoot

Rachel Walls

Rebecca Darley

Romain Crastes dit Sourd

S. Gonzalez

Sally Dalton

Sam Betts-Davies

Sarah Dennis

Scott McLaughlin

Sebastien Nobert

Sharon Connell

Sheridan Few

Simon Green

Simon Joyce

Simon Moore

Stephen Clark

Stuart Hodkinson

Tamora James

Tim Baker

Tim Goodall

Tom Haines-Doran

Vera Trappmann

Vicky Blake

Yoshiharu Kobayashi

Indefinite strike action ended

UCU University of Leeds Branch Posted on by

Members have voted to end the branch’s current indefinite strike action after significant movement from senior management. At a branch emergency general meeting Monday 26 June members voted to end the current indefinite strike action in response to significant movement from university senior management in the handling of deductions for the national marking and assessment boycott.

The marking and assessment boycott continues and is having a significant impact. University senior management have indicated they are currently unwilling to ask their negotiators to try to reach a settlement with UCU nationally, so are contributing to prolonging the marking and assessment boycott.

More details to follow.

Urgent: suspension of indefinite strike action

UCU University of Leeds Branch Posted on by

Post from email sent to branch members from branch president Chloe Wallace around 4pm Friday 23 June 2023

As many of you are aware, we held a further meeting with senior management this lunchtime. The meeting was productive and they have made an offer, the text of which is at the end of this email. It is for members in our General Meeting on Monday at 4pm to decide whether this offer is sufficient. However, because we do not wish to keep you on strike longer than necessary, and as a sign of goodwill after what was a really constructive meeting, Committee has decided to suspend our indefinite strike action with immediate effect in order to consider the offer. At the meeting on Monday we will collectively decide whether we accept this offer.

Offers of this nature are necessarily generally phrased and somewhat formal and there are a lot of details about individuals that will need ironing out. The headline, however, is that (a) there will be a maximum level of deductions of 21 working days and (b) that management have confirmed that deductions will end if the marking is no longer required, either because someone else has done it or because the student has been progressed or classified, meaning that some people may get lower levels of deduction or even no deductions at all. Many, maybe most, of us will have less than 21 days of deduction and it should be clear after exam boards what everyone’s level of deduction will be. Management have a complicated job working out who will be deducted what and, should members agree to this offer, we will seek clarification as to when deductions can be expected to be made given this complexity and the overlap with strike deductions. This may lead to an unevenness of deductions – some losing more pay than others – and, should we agree this offer, we will need to band together through wage sharing to ensure that those who are worst hit will be compensated.

I want to be clear about two things.

Firstly, the national dispute remains live and the marking and assessment boycott continues. Our strike has contributed to the struggle, not only by making it easier for members who are boycotting to stick with it, but also by bringing us together and drawing attention to our wider dispute as well as the crisis we all face in HE. We have emphasised to senior management the vital importance of pressuring UCEA to come back to the negotiating table and our strike has pushed that further. 

Secondly, the strike made a major difference and is a huge achievement for our branch. As I always, I am immensely proud of us all.

Please plan to bring your questions and comments to the meeting on Monday if you can and make your view known. We will circulate more information over the next days as well, as we get it. 

I hope this news is positive and that it takes you into a good weekend!

In solidarity

Chloe

See email sent to members for the text of the offer.

Reporting strike action – and strike!

UCU University of Leeds Branch Posted on by

Post from email sent to members 14 June 2023 by branch president Chloe Wallace

  1. Reporting strike action. We’ve all received an email with information on reporting strike action. Branch advice is as follows. If you are on a sponsored visa, following UCU advice, you should complete the form as soon as possible after you start striking. If you are not on such a visa, you should not complete the form. There is no requirement to declare participation in strike action before you start striking and once the strike begins, you are by definition not following instructions about filling in forms.
  2. We can now confirm that during indefinite strike action pay will only be deducted for working days – pay will not be deducted for weekends. 
  3. We do recommend that you put an automatic email reply on during the strike period.  It is really very important that the strength of support of this strike is visible so that management come to our negotiation meeting on Tuesday with a mandate to compromise on pay deductions for the boycott.

Remember to sign up for picketing. We expect media to attend tomorrow, so come in numbers, with sunscreen, water and hats. And we can all meet at 3pm tomorrow to discuss where we are and what we want to do (see email for meeting link).

Prepare to strike!

UCU University of Leeds Branch Posted on by

Post from email sent to branch members 13 June 2023 by branch president Chloe Wallace

We are now in final preparations for our strike action starting on Thursday. We will be picketing as usual and joining Unison when they have strike dates. The weather is forecast warm, which feels deeply unnatural- so it’s sunscreen, water and hats/parasols, rather than three pairs of socks and handwarmers! We will be rallying at 11:30 at the end of every picket but will keep it short whilst it’s hot! Please sign up to picket, so we know who is coming over the next few days. You will note we are seeking sign-ups for 17th June (as well as 15th and 16th) – Saturday – as it is an open day (as is 16th June)

Following our email yesterday, we can confirm that senior management has complied with our request to schedule an extraordinary meeting of our joint negotiating forum, the joint committee of the university and UCU, to discuss pay deductions for the boycott – a 30-minute meeting has been scheduled for Tuesday 20th. We need to do everything between now and then to pressure them to come to that short meeting with a mandate to change their position on pay deductions, so please come out strong and hold the line. We have a general meeting scheduled on Thursday at 3pm (link in email to members Monday 12 June) which will give you the chance to discuss what you would like to see senior management agree to.
We anticipate calling a further meeting next Wednesday (21st June) to report back to you. Please do plan to attend both meetings if you can- your voice matters and decisions are taken by members.