Category Archives: Committee

Dispute continues but the remaining strike action for this week is stood down

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At today’s meeting our members voted to stand down the remaining strike days on Wednesday and Thursday of this week, and also to take no further strike action before 31 July as an interim agreement after a proposal for Scholar, LINCS, and research time was received from the university.

For the avoidance of doubt, the dispute remains active and members are asked to continue to observe Action Short of Strike until such time as it is resolved. Members will begin to receive ballot papers for a re-ballot from this weekend. This enable us to extend our mandate. Please use your vote and give the branch the leverage it needs to translate this interim agreement into a firm and binding offer which is sufficient to end the dispute.

Thank-you to all members who were able to attend the meeting today and vote at such short notice, thank-you to all those whose commitment to strike action and attending the picket lines have got us here, and thank-you to the branch negotiators and committee for all the time and effort they have put in.

There will be more to share as we move into the next phase and negotiations continue. Please keep and eye and your emails and don’t forget to return your re-ballot papers when they arrive so that we can extend the mandate for further industrial action if necessary.

Members’ Meeting: Rightsizing and Scholar

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Over the last 2 weeks there have been meetings with departments and schools where the university has shared its proposals for ‘Rightsizing’. The branch committee have been supporting members at these meetings when sufficient advance notice of the discussions has been given.

The university has also continued to move forward with proposed changes to Scholar and colleagues in that team have been advised of a voluntary severance scheme with a very short window of opportunity which will close before the outcome of ongoing discussions with the various stakeholders are known.

These meetings have caused considerable distress among our members and colleagues. Please contact the branch if you would like to raise any concerns with us. Members can also access counselling via UCU at https://www.ucu.org.uk/educationsupport .

Voluntary severance scheme

Members in some of these areas may be considering the university’s voluntary severance scheme. If you are in that position, we advise that you make use of the financial advice service provided by https://www.ucu.org.uk/quilterfinancialadvice as part of your UCU membership benefits. If you have questions relating to the impact on pensions, these can also be directed to the branch at ucu@hw.ac.uk .

Move to dispute

At our last members’ meeting there was overwhelming support to move to dispute if the employer was not willing to rule out compulsory redundancies or significant changes to research time.

Unfortunately, we have not been able to secure these commitments during consultations and, as a consequence, have issued a ‘Failure to Agree’ letter to the Principal, requesting that such commitments be provided by the end of next week.

Members’ meeting

We are holding a follow-up member’s meeting at 2.30pm on Wednesday 3 December. At this meeting we will discuss the situation and what our options are. Please attend if you can so that we can have a strong turnout for decision making.

The meeting will be via Zoom and members should have received an email with the link. Please let the branch know if you need BSL interpreting. 

Join UCU today

We have many new members – welcome!

Please do encourage your colleagues to join the union at https://www.ucu.org.uk/join

 

Emergency Members’ Meeting 19 September 2023

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We will be holding and online Emergency Members’ Meeting via Zoom at 4.00pm on Tuesday 19 September 2023 to consult branch members about next week’s strike action over pay and working conditions as requested by UCU national.

Please check your inbox for the link to the meeting.

We will try to keep it short with a brief introduction from the branch committee that sets out the current position with all the relevant information. Make no mistake, our employers and UCEA are continuing to try and sit this out with little regard for staff and student welfare, or academic standards. After this there will be an opportunity for questions, clarification, and debate. We will move to voting as close to 4.30pm as possible.

After any votes there will be some time for a more general discussion on how to progress the dispute both locally and nationally, and what we might want to feed back to UCU national.

There will be an opportunity to raise and discuss other issues relating to working at HWU under AOB at the end of the meeting.

It is very short notice but it is very important that you attend and have your say at a quorate meeting. Please attend if at all possible.

Annual General Meeting 2023

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The AGM will be held 31 May from 1-3pm via Zoom. Invitations with links have been sent via email, and BSL interpreting will be provided.

We will be hearing motions for local strike days and subscription changes, and if you are interested in standing for any of the remaining vacant positions please come forward during the meeting.

It is important that this meeting is quorate, so please attend. Joining the discussion and voting is the best way to ensure that your voice is heard.

If you are unable to attend you can vote by proxy. First, please read all of the motions which have been sent to you and decide how you want to vote. You can then ask a member who is attending, or your school or service rep, to vote on your behalf. Please confirm the request in writing by email to your colleague or to the branch secretary.

Agenda

  1. Welcome
  2. Attendance and apologies
  3. Minutes of the AGM 2022
  4. Report from the committee
  5. Treasurer’s report
  6. Appointment of auditor
  7. Election of Officers and Representatives of the Committee
  8. Election of Congress / Conference Delegates
  9. Subscription Increase
  10. Disputes
  11. AOB

Members’ Meeting to discuss Marking and Assessment Boycott

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Following the recent electronic consultation on the employers’ proposals it has been confirmed that there were majority votes in favour of noting the proposal in the pensions dispute and rejecting the proposal in the pay and conditions dispute.

This means that the marking and assessment boycott (MAB) will start on 20 April 2023 as planned. If you haven’t had a chance to attend one of assessment and marking boycott training sessions you can watch the recording on YouTube and download the accompanying presentation and delivery notes. For further information please see the marking and assessment boycott FAQs and the UCU MAB Guide for 2023.

Branch reps met with HR earlier today to discuss the MAB. The early indications are that management are planning to deduct 50% of salary for participation in the MAB. This still needs to be confirmed by the University Executive but it would be a punitive measure, and significantly more than the 30% that was deducted in summer 2022.

We will be discussing all of this in an online branch member’s meeting on Tuesday 18 April at 3.30. Zoom links for the meeting have been sent by email. Please join the meeting to have your say and help us plan for another effective MAB at Heriot-Watt. On Thursday branch representatives will attend a national special sector conference.

 

The ballot is open, vote YES/YES

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The ballot packs from Civica (CEC) went into the post yesterday and some will already have been delivered. You should also be receiving your #ucuRising campaign material, including a poster in the post.

You will receive two ballot papers in one envelope and with one return envelope for both ballots. Please complete and return your ballots at the earliest opportunity.

Our key demands are

  • a fair pay rise
  • meaningful commitment to tackle casualisation
  • meaningful agreement on workloads
  • action on equality pay gaps
  • restoration of pension benefits
  • moderately prudent evidence based USS pension fund valuations in future

The full Higher Education Joint Unions’ Claim for 2022/23 can be found at https://www.ucu.org.uk/media/12528/HE-unions-claim-2022-23/pdf/TUJNCHESclaim202223FINAL.pdf

Deliveries may be delayed by industrial action being undertaken by CWU on Thursday and Friday. If your ballot has not arrived yet, please be patient. We need supportive of our posties #StandByYourPost.

Can we ask that that you take a selfie when posting your ballot, with your poster in shot if possible, and post online with the hashtag of #UCUrising and tag/mention HWUCU branch on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/UCUHWU/ or Twitter at https://twitter.com/UCU_HWUBranch. If you don’t have social media email your photos to John at the local branch committee.

No problem if your paws are camera shy, please just post your ballot and let our GTVO team know that you have voted when they get in touch. This is a big national aggregated ballot this time so there may be communications from both the local branch and UCU HQ but we will do our best to avoid asking you again once you have already notified that you have voted.

This is a great time to get involved with union activity at branch level. If you would like to help spread the word please contact Joss at the local branch committee.

We are looking for Professional Services reps

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As this year’s HWUCU AGM approaches we have 5 vacancies for Professional Services reps and we are looking for members to take up these roles. If you are thinking of getting a bit more involved in the Branch, becoming a School or Professional Services Rep is a great introduction. Full training for all roles is provided through UCU Training.

The AGM will be held on Zoom at 12noon on Wednesday, 25th of May 2022.  The official AGM Convening Notice (including agenda items) will be circulated nearer the time along with details on how to join the meeting.

We also have another 9 roles which are up for confirmation (i.e. marked as ‘acting’) or election/re-election. The current incumbents listed below have confirmed that they wish to be re-elected or confirmed into these roles, however, any HWUCU member is free to stand for any of these roles.

If you wish to stand for any of these positions or wish to be re-elected or confirmed, please contact Juergen Munz at the local branch office for an nomination form. The form should be signed by two nominators and returned by 13 May. Emails of support are also acceptable.

Position Current Incumbent
Secretary Jürgen Munz
Green Rep Ruth Humphreys
Green Rep Daniel Pacey
MACS school rep Hans-Wolfgang Loidl
Health & Safety Officer John Spinks (acting)
Postdoctoral Researchers & Casualised Members Kristina Peterson (acting)
Professional Services rep Anna Clark (acting)
EGIS school rep Sandhya Patidar (acting)
SoSS school rep Colin Garvie (acting)
Professional Services rep vacant
EGIS school rep vacant
EPS school rep vacant
MACS school rep vacant
TEX school rep vacant

We are always looking for additional helpers, too. So, if you don’t want to stand for an official position on the committee you can volunteer to help out with specific tasks e.g., recruitment, strike organising or work on a sub-committee.

If you are interested and wish to help, please get in touch!

Our UCU branch is its members

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We rely on members and non-members to let us know what is going on within their school or service and flag anything that may be of concern.

Please do get in touch with a member of local branch committee if you have anything you think we need to know about.

It is never to late to join and being part of a recognised collective bargaining group comes with benefits and protections. If you would like to join the UCU you can do so at How to Join. It only takes a few minutes, it doesn’t cost much, and your subscription will be eligible for tax relief.

We also have free membership options for postgraduate research students.

Heriot-Watt UCU Solidarity Hardship fund

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We are engaged in industrial action – a.k.a. on strike – over  national legal disputes relating to equality and the gender pay gap (27.7% at HWU), excessive workloads, decreasing pay, casualisation of the work force (short and zero hours contracts) and pensions. The outcome of this dispute will affect, (we hope benefit), all staff at Heriot-Watt University and throughout the HE Sector. Making HE a fairer place to work.We have the support of our students Union in taking strike action. Striking is a last resort when your employer will not listen to staff concerns leaving them with no other option than to withdraw their labour. Striking staff are not paid and many of our members will suffer financial hardship as a result of taking action.

We are asking you to donate to the HWUCU Strike Hardship Fund to help our striking branch members who are most in need.

Any donation – big or small – to support striking workers in struggle is greatly appreciated. For any queries please contact ucu@hw.ac.uk

What will the money be used for?
The Hardship Fund will be used to support striking members of Heriot-Watt UCU who require additional financial support (alongside the national UCU Fighting Fund).  Taking part in industrial action and forgoing pay is difficult for everyone, yet can be particularly financially challenging for those on casualised, precarious and fractional contracts (e.g. part-time, temporary contracts, post-graduate students who do teaching, marking and research).
How can you donate?
i) You can donate directly to our bank account
The Bank: Unity Trust Bank
Account name: UCU – Heriot-Watt University LA 023 Hardship Fund
Sort Code: 60-83-01
Account No. 20391168
ii) You can donate by cheque to our Branch office
Heriot-Watt UCU office
Heriot-Watt University
Edinburgh
EH14 4AS

Thank you for your support!