Next general meeting – speakers from Sheffield and Nottingham 12.45 – 2pm Monday 15 June, online. At our next general meeting we will welcome guest speakers from two branches in dispute: Nottingham, who are currently undertaking a marking and assessment boycott and Sheffield, who are taking action short of a strike. Please come along to show solidarity and learn from their strategies and experiences in the face of redundancies. There…

The results of the elections for the UCU University of Leeds Branch committee for the 2026-2027 academic year were declared at the annual general meeting Thursday 21 May 2026. The results are at https://www.leedsucu.org.uk/results-of-the-committee-elections-at-the-2026-agm/ There are a significant number of roles unfilled for next year’s committee, so the committee has decided to open nominations again for the following roles. President Treasurer Membership officer Equality officer Campaigns officer Anti-casualisation officer Casework…

Nominations are now open for UCU department reps for 2026 to May/June 2028. The deadline for nominations, and to consent to being a candidate, is 12pm midday Tuesday 30 June 2026. This is an ‘all-out’ election: all UCU current department reps and department health and safety reps will need new nominations to be elected again if they are to continue as UCU reps. This is separate from the UCU committee elections. Nominating…

The results of the elections for the UCU University of Leeds Branch committee for the 2026-2027 academic year were declared at the annual general meeting Thursday 21 May 2026. The results are as follows. President No nominations received. Vice-president Dan Howdon elected unopposed. Treasurer No nominations received. Honorary secretary Vicky Blake elected unopposed. Membership officer No nominations received. Equality officer No nominations received. Campaigns officer No nominations received. Health and…

The UCU department representative roles and boundaries for the June 2026 – May/June 2028 term of office have been decided by the branch committee as follows. Roles Members will be elected as a UCU department rep or a UCU department health and safety rep. Members can be elected to two roles, both as a department rep and a department health and safety rep. After election, reps may choose to additionally…

Committee elections The branch’s annual general meeting is coming up fairly soon, Thursday 21 May 12.45pm – 2pm (on Zoom). Nominations are now open for the UCU branch committee for the academic year 2026-2027. All committee roles are elected each year (except the ‘immediate past president’) from all the UCU members at the University of Leeds. Get your nominations in! The deadline for nominations to the committee is the day before the AGM (Wednesday 20 May) but…

This branch notes: Three students were arrested on campus on 21st October following a peaceful protest against the inclusion of arms companies complicit in genocide at a careers fair The police were ‘informed’ by SMT about the protest Such a move is in line with a wider authoritarian approach currently being adopted at the University A recent report on the detrimental impact of the presence of police on campus on…

This branch notes: The HE sector faces a severe national crisis, with over 15,000 jobs lost in the past year. While the University of Leeds has not initiated redundancies, management has introduced an early retirement scheme without union consultation. Colleagues face growing uncertainty due to fluctuating student numbers and a turbulent international context. Persistent issues around workload, casualisation, and insecurity will be worsened by the proposed scheme. Following intense industrial…

This Branch Notes: That the university is planning a technology refresh using HP laptops. That HP-branded corporations provide technology and services to the Israeli military, police, and Population and Immigration Authority, which are used to maintain a system of occupation and discrimination against Palestinians. This Branch Believes: That the university’s procurement processes should be ethically sound and not complicit in human rights violations. That the use of HP products contradicts…

Nominations are needed for a branch campaigns officer, as the post wasn’t filled at the annual general meeting. You can find out more about the role at https://www.leedsucu.org.uk/about-us/standing-for-election-to-the-ucu-committee/. The campaigns officer is also part of the branch’s negotiating team. Please send your nominations by email to ucu@leeds.ac.uk by the close of Thursday 16 October. (Or you can email a.j.u.smith@leeds.ac.uk if you prefer not to alert current officers to your candidacy in…

The UCU branch committee is calling a set of by-elections for where there are department rep vacancies, to ensure there are reps across the university If there is a vacancy in your area (see list below), please think about which of your colleagues might be a good UCU rep. For example, someone that colleagues have confidence in, whose judgement they trust, and who is a good listener. The deadline for…

With the start of the new academic year, we would like to draw attention to the importance of respecting important religious holidays when requested, particularly those of minoritised faiths. We have a few upcoming religious holidays during teaching intensive periods. Please do make note of these and support staff and student requests. Different people have different approaches to practicing faith, so no one is expected to know about the needs…