I have posted mine. Have you posted yours?

Trade Union laws require us to reballot every 6 months, so we are in ballot again to extend the existing mandate for another 6 months.

When your ballot papers for the USS Pension and 4-Fight disputes arrives, please complete the forms as soon as possible and then return in the pre-paid envelope provided. Not voting deprives your colleagues of a voice because we are required to receive replies from at least 50% of members for the result to count. It is important that you return your ballot whichever way you vote.

We will be in touch by email to ask if members have voted, but not how they have voted.  If you did not receive your ballot papers please let us know.

Replacement voting packs can now be requested via the form at https://yoursay.ucu.org.uk/s3/Four-Fights-and-USS-re-ballots-replacement-request-form-March-April-2022, and you will need a note of your membership number.

This ballot matters to UCU

UCEA and UUK, have lied and spread misinformation throughout this dispute. they have been intractable and have refused to consider UCU proposals. They are giving every indication that they want to break the unions so they can make whatever cuts they like from now on. Only a strong mandate can bring them back to the table and show them we are not allowing them to side-line our concerns and cut our pensions year after year.

This ballot matters to HW UCU

It is less than two years since our own employer tried to make many of us redundant. A strong mandate reminds them that if they come for us we will stand up. It also helps us to negotiate locally on the issues that matter to us, like H&S, workloads, and it also underpins the work we do for individual members in casework. We are a strong branch.

This ballot matters to you

UUK have voted through cuts to USS pensions that means at the very least USS members will lose 1/8th of future pension accrual but you get to pay 0.2% more for it. If inflation rises above 2.5% you will lose more – even a modest average inflation rate of 2.8% can wipe a 6th of the value of your future defined benefit pension out over 20 years- that’s right, you could lose up to 1/6th of your annual income between when you retire at 67 and the age of 87. Even more if inflation is higher. The less time you have spent in HE the more this will affect you. Not fair!

Not only that. An employee coming into HE now at grade 7 is paid the equivalent of grade 6 ten years ago. Once you hit the top of your grade your pay goes down year after year. UCEA themselves in 2019, said we have lost 17% of our pay in real terms. Since then we have had a 0% pay rise and last year’s 1.5%. Inflation is now rising rapidly. Without a strong mandate UCEA will make another paltry offer this year.

The gender pay gap at HWU is 20%. Since many staff have left without being replaced, workloads, that were already high are becoming more and more unmanageable.

New to the branch?

You should still vote.

Not in USS?

You should still vote in both ballots.

Not in the UCU?

It is never too late to join the UCU. You do not have to be a member of a union to take part in industrial action and had have your voice heard, but it is advisable. Being part of a recognised collective bargaining group comes with benefits and protections.

It only takes a few minutes to join the UCU, it doesn’t cost much, and your subscription will be eligible for tax relief.

Please return your ballot. It matters.

Take our senior leadership exam and find out. Answer 2 questions from 5 in 2 hours. Each question is worth 100 marks. Provide evidence where relevant.

1. You are a senior leader within a university, your staff report they are working 60 hours a week, and you pay audit reveals women are earning 19% less than men, and disabled people are earning 34% less than non-disabled colleagues. Critically evaluate the extent to which this supports staff well-being.
2. Critically assess the evidence base for workplace well-being interventions such as work-life balance seminars and visits by alpacas.
3. Your staff survey shows that pay has fallen in real terms by 20% in the last 10 years, while house prices in the last year have increased by 8.8%, and that approximately 60% of key work is delivered by people on precarious contracts. To what extend does this information help to address the ongoing difficulties your organisation has in attracting and retaining world leading scientists
4. To what extent is a projected 35% cut in pension reflective of socially responsible human resource management?
5. The student experience is well-served by a workforce which is exhausted, underpaid, and overworked. Drawing in relevant evidence, critically evaluate this statement.