UCU members are encouraged to sign a new Egypt Solidarity statement condemning the recent death sentences that have been announced by the Egyptian authorities. One of those condemned to death is Professor Emad Shahin from the American University in Cairo.
Author Archives: heriotwatt
University of Aberdeen branch backs strike action over job losses
Staff have backed strike action at the University of Aberdeen in protest over the loss of 150 jobs. UCU rep Andrew MacKillop told the BBC that ‘members have made it quite clear that they reject the job losses proposed by the university’, adding in the THE that ‘any move to make staff compulsorily redundant will be strongly opposed’. The National reported that the job losses come at a time when the university has strong reserves, and that some of the planned savings would be used to boost surpluses at the university. Members are due to lobby the university court on 30 June and the branch is currently considering next steps.
Please show your support by signing the petition calling on management to work with the union to find alternatives here.
Report from Dungavel Protest
New UCU Scotland President Douglas Chalmers has written a report from the recent protest at the Dungavel Detention Centre. You can read it on the blog here: https://ucuscotland.wordpress.com/2015/06/04/report-from-dungavel-protest/
End austerity now! People’s Assembly demonstrations in Glasgow and London – 20 June
Trade unions and anti-cuts campaigners across Scotland will be staging a Scotland united against austerity event in Glasgow to coincide with the People’s Assembly demonstration in London on 20 June. Thousands will be joining the protests against austerity. Please advise the branch office branch office if you plan to attend.
Dungavel House Immigration Removal Centre Demonstration, 30 May
UCU is supporting this demonstration. People in Dungavel are being held indefinitely and some have been held for months and even years. Let’s show our opposition to detention and remember the people in the system. Join the demonstration at Dungavel House Immigration Removal Centre on Saturday 30th May at 12.00. Bring your friends, bring your colleagues, bring your banners. Register here to book your place on one of the coaches booked to leave from Glasgow.
http://www.stuc.org.uk/campaigns-and-external-events/dungavel-demonstration
To support the demo the STUC are asking that people tweet or facebook pictures of themselves holding the support picture with the hashtag #ShutDungavel. Further information is available on the Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/events/1411883552465991/
Stamp out casual contracts campaign
A report this week announced that more than two-fifths of university and college staff on casual contracts struggle to pay the bills. Read more on the union’s campaign against casualised employment and on some of the progress we’ve made here.
Fighting for casualised staff – why UCU’s victory over Stirling University matters
UCU recently won a major case in the Supreme Court against Stirling University, and you can read more in a new blog from UCU on the Institute of Employment Rights website here.
Employers’ final pay offer will go to UCU Congress
The university employers have made a final offer of a 1 per cent pay increase for staff next year. Responding to the offer, announced by the Universities and Colleges Employers’ Association after Tuesday’s negotiating meeting, UCU head of bargaining and negotiations, Michael MacNeil, told Times Higher Education it was wrong to bring individual employees’ pay progression increments into the debate about national salary rises. ‘The employers are trying to inflate the worth of the offer but, let’s be clear, for the vast majority of staff it is simply a 1 per cent increase to the pay scales. The offer will be discussed at our annual conference later this month, where delegates will consider the offer and whether to put it to members’, he said.
No compulsory redundancies at Aberdeen University
Dear Colleagues,
You may be interested in signing and sharing this petition to support staff at Aberdeen UCU who are facing the loss of 150 posts.
https://www.ucu.org.uk/no-aberdeen-redundancies
Thank you
HWUCU Committee
Staff focus group: Fixed Term Contracts and their impact on the retention and progression of women and care-givers at HWU
Dear Colleagues,
One of Athena SWAN’s core principles is that ‘The system of short-term contracts has particularly negative consequences for the retention and progression of women in science, which the university recognises.’
As part of the University’s Bronze Athena SWAN action plan, we will be hosting a series of focus groups to better understand whether and how women on short-term contracts at Heriot-Watt are more negatively impacted than their male colleagues and what we might be able to do about that. Whilst we are committed to understanding the elements that particularly affect women, we recognise that part of this issue relates to the traditionally gendered nature of care-giving, and that anyone, regardless of gender, who holds a substantial care-giving role will be exposed to some of the same challenges.
It will be important to understand how we might create a more positive experience for all people on fixed-term contracts regardless of gender. We invite notes of interest from both male and female staff members on fixed-term contracts interested in joining the focus group. We are particularly interested to hear from our post-doctoral community, and from male and female care-givers. Focus groups are likely to be held on 20 May, 4-5pm and 21 May, 10-11am. Please note your interest in the first instance by letting us know your availability on those two dates via the Doodle poll. Please write your email address in the ‘name’ field so that we can contact you.
http://doodle.com/4r34tssgvmmrzf5e
If you wish to participate but are unable to make either of those dates, please note your interest with Tina Donnelly (t.donnelly@hw.ac.uk).
Sincerely
Dr Kate Sang
On behalf of the Athena SWAN Strategy Committee