Please visit us today at our stall outside the Student Advice Hub.  UCU are raising awareness of the consultation on a proposed higher education governance bill.

The consultation invites comments and views on proposals to legislate on the role of the Privy Council; define academic freedom; the selection of chairs of governing bodies including that they be elected; more representative governing bodies, and that academic boards be fully representative and effective.

Information on the consultation is at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2014/11/2389

National petition to the Universities UK board at the USS institutions meeting on Thursday 4 December in London.

Over 10,000 of you have now signed our mass petition re USS. Thank you! Can you help us reach 15,000? PLEASE ENCOURAGE OTHERS TO SIGN: https://www.ucu.org.uk/demandafairuss

All the best,

Sally Hunt,

General Secretary

The union’s higher education committee (HEC) met yesterday (Wednesday 19 November) to discuss the USS pension dispute including the agreement to a programme of negotiations between now and 15 January 2015. HEC also considered the following statement on pay docking arising from last week’s negotiations:

“The University and College Union (UCU) and Universities UK (UUK) have confirmed, following discussions yesterday (Wednesday), an agreement to suspend the industrial action in relation to the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) pensions dispute from today (Thursday 20 November) until after the joint negotiating committee (JNC) meeting scheduled for Thursday 15 January 2015.

UCU and UUK have agreed to a series of negotiating meetings between now and the scheduled January JNC. It is hoped that this period can be used to close the differences between the negotiating positions, with a view to reaching agreement on reforms to the USS scheme.

Both parties are committed to seeking a joint proposal for reform that offers an affordable, sustainable and attractive pension scheme, for both current and future members. Both parties are pleased that the agreement to suspend industrial action at this early stage will mean that students will not have been adversely affected and members of staff will not have had pay deducted.”

HEC agreed on the above basis that the current boycott of assessment and any planned strike action related to punitive pay docking should be suspended with immediate effect until 16 January 2015. HEC also agreed that should any subsequent action by UCU next year attract punitive pay docking then national strike action would follow.

On behalf of HEC I would like to thank you for your continuing support of UCU in this dispute. The modest progress achieved so far has been as a result of your action in support of our negotiating strategy. The employers should be in no doubt that if agreement is not possible, UCU will call upon you to resume the action again in January.

Best wishes

Sally Hunt
UCU general secretary

The following letter appears in The Independent (scroll to bottom of linked page)

Students support academic boycott

From today, academic staff at 69 UK higher education institutions are set to begin a marking boycott; the next step in ongoing industrial action by the University and College Union. The proposed changes to pensions that have led to this action will cost university staff thousands of pounds a year in lost benefits and create inequality between institutions.

Since 2009, average academic pay has fallen by 14.5 per cent, while vice-chancellor salaries increased by 5.1 per cent in the past year alone. The average gender pay gap in higher education is 17 per cent, and 53 per cent of universities employ staff on zero-hours contracts.

Students are angry that this boycott is happening. But our anger is aimed squarely at university managements and Universities UK, who oversee lucrative salary increases for vice-chancellors while leaving staff out in the cold.

Any draconian response from universities – such as the legally dubious threat of withdrawing the full salary for those partaking in a boycott – will be met with discontent from students and staff, who are united on this issue.

Piers Telemacque
Vice President Society and Citizenship, NUS UK

Gordon Maloney
President, NUS Scotland

Malia Bouattia
National Black Students’ Officer, NUS UK

Shelly Asquith
President, SU Arts

Michael Segalov
Communications Officer, University of Sussex Students’ Union

Areeb Ullah
Vice President Education (Arts & Sciences) Kings College London Students’ Union

Susuana Antubam
National Women’s Officer, NUS UK

Fran Cowling
NUS LGBT National Officer

Harriet Pugh
Education Officer, University of Manchester Students’ Union

Bruce Galliver
President, Bath Spa Students’ Union

Lyndsay Burtonshaw
Activities Officer, University of Sussex Students’ Union

Yael Shafritz
President, University of Sheffield Students’ Union

Rosie Dammers
Wellbeing Officer, Manchester Students Union

Luke Jones
Group President, University of Wales Trinity Saint David Students’ Union

Joe O’Neill
Lancaster University Students’ Union, Vice President (Education)

Alice Phillips
Equality, Liberation & Access Officer, University of Bristol Students’ Union

Tom Phipps
Student Living Officer, University of Bristol Students’ Union

Alyx Murray-Jackman
Sport & Student Development Officer, University of Bristol Students’ Union

Holly Staynor
Welfare Officer, Union of UEA Students

Alex Bradbrook
Undergraduate Academic Experience Officer, University of Bristol Students’ Union

Sidonie Bertrand-Shelton
Co-President, Welfare & Diversity, Royal Holloway Students’ Union

Emma Peagam
President Education & Campaigns, Royal Holloway Students’ Union

Hannah Roberts
Education Officer, SUArts

Conor McGurran
Campaigns and Citizenship Officer, University of Manchester Students’ Union

Abraham Baldry
Presient, University of Sussex Students’ Union

Candic Armah
President, Brighton University Students’ Union

Howard Littler
President, Goldsmiths Students’ Union

Mostafa Rajaai
Culture and Diversity Officer, SUArts

Chris Jarvis
Union of UEA Students Campaigns and Democracy Officer

Rianna Gargiulo
Welfare Officer, University of Sussex Students’ Union

Bethan Hunt
Education Officer, University of Sussex Students’ Union

Dash Sekhar
Vice President Academic Affairs, Edinburgh University Students’ Association

Malaka Mohammed
Education Officer, University of Sheffield Students’ Union

Sebastian Bruhn
Community & Welfare Officer, LSE Students’ Union

Dario Celaschi
NUS London Trans* Officer & NUS NEC

Rianne Gordon
University of Westminster Students’ Union Vice President of Harrow

Sorana Vieru
Postgraduate Officer (Education & Welfare), University of Bristol Students’ Union

Emma Cook, President
Leeds College of Art Students’ Union

Dan Goss
Environment & Ethics Officer, University of Warwick Students’ Union

Alasdair Clark
Vice President Education and Representation, Fife College Students’ Association

Hannah Sketchley
Democracy & Communications Officer, UCL Students’ Union

Georgie Robertson
SOAS Students’ Union Co-President Welfare & Campaigns

Sayed Alkadiri
NUS London Black Students Officer

Hajera Begum
Black and Minority Ethnic Students Officer, UCL Students’ Union

Omar Raii
External Affairs & Campaigns Officer, UCL Students’ Union

Saffron Rose
Vice President Education at Leeds Beckett University Students’ Union

Rob Henthorn
President for Education, Aberdeen University Students’ Association

Annie Tidbury
Women’s Officer, UCL Students’ Union

Marianna Ceccotti
Postgraduate Student’s Officer, UCL Students’ Union

David Suber
SOAS Students’ Union Co-President, Democracy & Education

Rachel O’Brien
Community Action Officer, University of Birmingham Guild of Students

Christopher Jarrold
Ethical and Environmental Officer, University of Birmingham Guild of Students

Tom King
LGBTQ Officer, SOAS Students’ Union

Dan Greenberg
Operations Officer, University of Sussex Students’ Union

Kabir Joshi
SOAS Students’ Union Co-President, Activities & Events

Major concerns about a range of ethical issues have been raised with USS members in recent years – many of which may also put at risk the long term financial returns of our pension investments. As with the future of our pension scheme, the Trustee Board is not acting in our interests.

ShareAction have launched a petition, calling on our pension fund to properly listen to our views. They will submit the petition at USS’s annual Institutions’ Meeting on 4th December, so we have just six weeks to gather as many signatures as possible.

Please follow this link to find out more information, or to add your name to the petition.

http://listentouss.org/

Thank you.

Dear Colleagues,

From Thursday 6 November 2014, UCU members will be asked to participate in a comprehensive boycott of student assessment and examinations activity. UCU Press Statement.

All HW UCU members should receive an email today from UCU general secretary Sally Hunt, explaining the need to observe the assessment and marking boycott. Please contact the branch office if you have not received this.

Guidance and FAQs for branch officers and members – please have a look at this as soon as possible, UCU will produce additional FAQs as the dispute progresses. If you still have questions, please contact the branch office.

USS materials to support the boycott are available from the branch office, or can be downloaded at  http://defenduss.web.ucu.org.uk/resources/. These include:

• A briefing note for students (members should fee free to adapt this). The National Union of Students supports the union’s attempts to achieve a fair and sustainable settlement on behalf of members. They respectfully ask UCU members to take the time to explain to their students why you are taking action on this important issue. The NUS has also produced a Pensions Dispute Briefing for students.
• A campaign poster
• A campaign leaflet

Please contact the branch office or Catherine Ure Branch Secretary, if you require any further information.

Thank you for your support.

Thanks to all members who posted messages of support on the UCU wall of action yesterday.

Casualisation has a high political profile at the moment due to the issue of zero hours contracts, which are widely used in the HE sector. Please help UCU to keep the pressure on the government and political parties by writing to your MP.

All the political parties have policy on zero-hours contracts, but UCU doesn’t think it goes far enough, focusing on ‘exclusivity clauses’ and so-called ‘exploitative’ zero-hours contracts.

We want to keep the pressure on to toughen up these policies. Labour MP Ian Mearns is drafting a private members’ bill on properly controlling the use of zero-hours contracts. While this is unlikely to become legislation, the more support there is for the bill, the more party policy across the spectrum is likely to move in the right direction.

You can send a quick letter to your MP on this issue now, using, or adapting the model text below.

Please copy any replies you get to Murdo Mathison, Policy & Communications Officer, UCU Scotland.

Thank you.