Newsletter – January 2017

  • Editorial message to members

Welcome to the first UCU newsletter of 2017.  It won’t have escaped your notice that 2016 has been a year of great change and some surprises, on the world stage and also within the Higher Education sector.

  • Attack on Statute 24 and Ordinances 19-22 – aka “Review of University Governing Instruments”

Management are proposing to abolish all sixteen pages of Statute 24, except for the first paragraph, together with the four related Ordinances (19-22). Why does this matter?

  • The Prevent Duty and Universities

On 15 October 2016, some staff and students organized a hugely informative one-day conference on the Prevent Duty and universities, prompted by the growing racism and xenophobia that has been unleashed in the wake of June’s EU referendum outcome.

  • Gender pay and anti-casualisation claims

Following the decision to stop industrial action UCU head office have provided branches further guidance on lodging gender pay and anti-casualisation claims – in line with the strategy of exerting pressure at the institutional level.

  • NSS Boycott

As noted in the last newsletter, one of the policies adopted by the Students’ Union, both nationally and at Warwick, is the boycott of the National Student Survey (NSS).  The NSS is one of the quantitative metrics which will be used to generate TEF scores.  UCU also has national policy opposing the TEF and recently issued a joint statement in support of the boycott.

  • Democratic Deficit within the University – opposition to TEF

Our recent newsletter gave an update on the fight against TEF.  To recap, TEF is one element of the Higher Education and Research Bill, which, if passed, will have far reaching and deleterious effects on higher education through the imposition of a market-based consumer model of education.  UCU has national policy opposing the HE bill and the implementation of TEF.

  • University of Warwick Green Ranking:  Improvements but much more to be done

It’s welcome news indeed that Warwick has substantially improved its Green Ranking as issued by the organization People & Planet. The university has made a concerted effort at meeting auditing and reporting requirements since the previous survey, and its commitments regarding carbon management and reduction, as well as the highlighting of staff accountable for sustainability targets, are especially noteworthy

UCU newsletter Jan 2017

Newsletter – November 2016

The latest UCU Warwick newsletter was published on November 18th.

UCU Newsletter November 2016

EU Referendum – Letter to the VC

The UCU committee has sent the outcomes of the Warwick UCU Open Meeting on the EU Referendum result to VC Croft.

Warwick UCU EU Open Meeting Follow Up Letter to VC

National Demo

NUS and UCU joint national demonstration in central London, Saturday 19 November.

When is a victory not a victory?

 In September, the University announced that it was doing away with Spinal Point 3 on the pay scale so that all directly-employed staff received, at least, the £8.25 advocated by the Living Wage Foundation. The casual observer might think this was great achievement which the trade unions should have celebrated. Well, not quite.

NSS Boycott

UCU supports NUS’s right to boycott the National Student Survey.

The National Union of Students has now confirmed that it will be organising an all-out boycott of the National Student Survey (NSS).

Hourly Paid Teachers at Warwick – What’s going on?

Warwick University is one of the HE institutions in the country which perhaps relies most heavily on the work of casualised staff to carry out core teaching – 70% according to recent UCU figures.

Lecture Capture

We have submitted a statement to the task and finish group which includes a demand that if there is to be any change to lecture capture policy.

UCU Caseworkers

UCU relies on volunteers to run the branch and fulfil the various functions. We need to boost our numbers of active caseworkers as a top priority.

Caseworker Training

There will be a caseworker training session on Monday 28 November between 13:00 and 15:00 in room 0.011 Scarman Road.  Lunch will be provided.

Newsletter – May 2016

The latest UCU Warwick newsletter has now been published.

UCU Newsletter May 2016

HE Green Paper & Prevent

The Green Paper and Prevent are two key facets of a general assault on the fundamental principles of public higher education – accessibility, democracy and academic freedom.

This article explains why the Green Paper is so dangerous for members of the UCU and why we must continue to be part of nation-wide struggle to stop it

Trade dispute between UCU and employers concerning the 2016/17 claim regarding pay and terms and conditions

The ballot closed at noon on 4th May 2016. Almost two thirds (65.4%) of members who voted backed strike action and over three quarters (77.3%) voted for action short of a strike.

Pay a Living Wage!

UCU, together with the other campus unions, is putting pressure on University management to pay the Living Wage to all staff.

Angry and Ashamed – Pay Attention to Pay or Pay the Price

Pay of people on the main 51-point salary scale has declined by 14.5% since 2009/10, even though annual surpluses across the sector have increased by 74.7% and reserves are up by 57.4%.

Talking Union – TUC Interactive guide

TUC have published a guide to help you talk ‘Union’ to your colleagues.

Casework support – A note of caution

Each year we get many requests for support from people who have joined with issues in progress and wish to access support.  The Union is a self-help group, not a service which people pay for and we are keen to hold ourselves to that ethos.

Calling for new caseworkers

We are looking for new members to join our existing group of caseworkers.  Full formal training is provided and there are many opportunities to learn informally from members of our dedicated team.

Warwick UCU Website revamp

The Warwick UCU website has been revamped – we would be interested in hearing your views on this.

Newsletter – April 2015

Headlines in this edition include:

·      Big turnout at meeting to counter TeachHigher threat

·      Life’s little ironies

·      Branch action on pensions – what you can do

·      Union victory on DPR

·      Setting the tone

·      Hourly Paid Tutor Group (An hourly-paid tutor speaks)

·      ‘If only’…   Warwick and gender

·      TeachHigher Developments

Download here

Newsletter – Christmas 2014

Headlines in this edition include:

  • Redundancies at Warwick – Who’s next?
  • WMS – Why everyone is under threat!
  • Where’s the merit in merit pay?
  • A sigh is just a sigh……
  • UCU success on performance management guidelines
  • What’s in a name?  (100 citations, as a matter of fact)

UCU Newsletter Christmas 2014