Author: Callum Salfield

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LUCU Covid Bulletin: 25th January

LUCU Covid Bulletin: 25th January

In light of the more transmissible variants of Covid-19 (including B117 plus at the time of writing, others) and the upsurge in infections, UCU advised branches to consult with employers on revised workplace risk assessments and control measures and to confirm implementation of recommended safety measures for any workers undertaking onsite or in-person work.  The information below is intended to illustrate for members what UCU has called for and how Loughborough University is responding. 

While the university relies on government guidance in determining what measures to put into place, other sources of information also inform decision making. We have provided links to information that has informed our discussions with management on Covid-secure measures, and in the interest of transparency and clarity, we are providing links to relevant documents. Not all materials are available online. If you would like to read any of the documentation cited here, please contact the branch and we will provide a copy.

Given how quickly the Covid landscape can change, committee members are continuing to meet regularly with senior management to review and monitor health and safety measures related to Covid. We will regularly update members as and when UCU health and safety guidance changes and/or the lockdown period ends. We would like to thank Neil Budworth (Director of Health Safety and Wellbeing) and Anne Lamb (Deputy Director of Human Resources and Organisational Development) for the generous amount of time they spend with the campus unions discussing health and safety and providing responses to our written requests for information.

If members have further queries, please don’t hesitate to ask. If you are currently working on campus and feel that sufficient health and safety measures are not in place or see evidence of poor compliance, please alert your line manager/local health and safety officer, and let us know.  Remember that you have the right to work in a safe environment: if you feel that there is a serious and imminent danger which you cannot avert yourself, and that you have brought to the attention of your line manager and/or local health and safety officer, then under the Employment Act 1996 section 44, you have the right to remove yourself from that situation until that danger is resolved. While staff can remove themselves from immediate danger, this is not an action that should be taken in isolation. Please continue to report any deviation from safety protocols as soon as you become aware of them.

The address for committee correspondence is: UCU@lboro.ac.uk

What UCU asks for…

What Loughborough University is doing…

Reduce the number of people required on site to the lowest level possible so that only essential and unavoidable work activities take place during lockdown.

Only essential and unavoidable work activities are currently taking place.

Reduce the number and duration of in person interactions to the lowest level possible.

Number and duration of in person interactions have been brought to the lowest level possible (currently this affects mainly grounds crew, security personnel, etc.).

Reduce the number of people permitted in a space at any one time to the lowest level possible.

The number of people permitted in one space is being kept to the lowest level possible (e.g. by staggering clocking in).

Set a safety threshold for ventilation of 12-17 litres per second per person for typical offices and educational settings. SAGE suggests employers adopt a precautionary approach. 

The university has/will take a precautionary approach by increasing ventilation rates to reflect the increased risk of transmissibility of the new variants) of COVID-19, as recommended the HSE, DfE and CIBSE (professional engineering association authority for ventilation).

 

Ensure a minimum of 2m social distancing as standard.

 

Measures are in place so that staff should be able to maintain a 2m distance in working environments. The guidance that Loughborough has been given directly by HSE and PHE is that they are not planning to change the guidance and that the main thing (as emphasised by the SAGE report) is compliance with the precautions in place.

Ensure all essential workers undertaking in-person work have the highest possible level of respiratory protection. This should be FFP3 face masks (providing 99% particle filtration) where available and with priority for workers who could have interactions that fall below 2 metres social distancing and FFP2 face masks as a minimum standard for all (providing 94% particle filtration). 

*Please see below for further details.

Where colleagues have to work within 2 metres of others, FFP2/3 masks will be recommended, and face fit testing provided.  These masks are not suitable for in person work where individuals do not come within 2m of others as they require careful fitting to the face and make breathing harder (due to the resistance from the filtration).  There is also a national/international supply shortage of these masks; hence, the university is reserving them for the circumstances where the protection is needed.

 

Ensure any use of face coverings in the workplace meets the WHO standard of three protective layers (Type IIR surgical masks). 

The university recommends the use of multi-layer coverings.  When campus re-opens, LUCU will continue to advocate for the most appropriate level of PPE to minimise risks for staff and students.

Ensure effective cleaning and hygiene measures are in place.

 

In light of the new Covid variant, all health and safety risk assessments are being reviewed, in consultation with campus unions, and effective cleaning and hygiene measures are in place. Additional ventilation has been provided in teaching spaces where needed. Fallow periods have been implemented/increased in rooms where needed to ensure pre/post-use clearing of the air. 

Ensure all workers and anyone they interact with during the working day receive adequate instruction, information, and training on any new safety measures that need to be followed.

 

Information and training instructions are being/will be regularly updated as and when new safety measures are put in place. This guidance will be disseminated to staff at school/unit level.

Ensure lateral flow testing is undertaken by highly trained volunteers.

 

 

Ensure access to regular testing for all who are not able to work or study remotely. Where lateral flow tests are used to identify asymptomatic cases, ensure a minimum of two negative tests prior to any attendance on site.

 

Lateral Flow Testing is being offered to staff and students, with a view to building up to between 16,000 to 20,000 per week, with further consideration being given to twice weekly testing. Students are encouraged to book a second test when booking their first one but not all students are attending for their second test.  Consideration is being given to how this can be improved on.  A positive LFT will result in the individual being asked to isolate and referred for a confirmatory PCR test (either internally or through the NHS depending on the circumstances).

Ensure workers and students are given support to quarantine, self-isolate and undertake testing as required. Testing should not be used to reduce isolation periods for close contacts of infected people.

Support for testing, quarantine and isolation is in place for students and testing is not used to reduce isolation periods after a positive PCR test (testing may be used to reduce the quarantine time for international travellers etc. where all prior testing has been negative). To arrange testing see here.

Any workers at increased risk from COVID should not be required to undertake in person work at this time and alternatives should be offered to ensure exposure risks are avoided or minimised.  

Clinically extremely vulnerable staff are not expected to undertake in person work. At present, in person teaching is limited to specific permitted courses and/or year groups for activities which cannot be delivered online, i.e. requiring access to specialist facilities. The situation will remain under review.

*Ventilation

Documents from the Health and safety Executive (HSE), Chartered Institute of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE) and the Federation of European Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning Associations (REHVA) have been issued during the COVID-19 Shutdown. These documents have been updated several times to reflect new knowledge. We have used these documents to aid our response to the Covid-19 situation.

CIBSE COVID-19 Ventilation Guide (Version 4, Published 23rd October 2020)

HSE – Air conditioning and ventilation during the coronavirus outbreak

REHVA COVID-19 Guidance (Version 4, Issued November 17th 2020)

REHVA COVID-19 Limiting Internal air leakage across the Rotary Heat Exchanger

REHVA COVID-19 Use of Fan Coils and avoiding Recirculation

CIBSE – Coronavirus COVID 19

LUCU Committee

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LUCU Covid Bulletin: Critical Workers and Schooling Guidance

LUCU Covid Bulletin: Critical Workers and Schooling Guidance

While we will continue to update members on Covid-related matters in our regular newsletter, we will also update you through e-bulletins as new information emerges about how the university is responding to the pandemic.

We are writing in response to members’ 1) requests for clarification about the government’s categorisation of university employees as critical workers and what arrangements this allows them to access for their children’s schooling, 2) to clarify the position for staff with children in nursery/day-care and, 3) to clarify the position for casual staff.

Full Government guidance for critical workers may be found here: Critical workers and vulnerable children who can access schools or educational settings – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

The University’s FAQs relevant to critical workers and caring responsibilities may be found here: https://www.lboro.ac.uk/internal/coronavirus/staff/faqs/ 

UCU Guidance on Critical Care Worker Status in HE is available here for your convenience.

Confirmation of Critical Worker Status

  • To request a letter confirming your critical worker status, please ask your line manager to email: iTrentAdmin@lboro.ac.uk.

Primary and Secondary Schoolchildren

  • Only one person needs to qualify as a critical worker for children to attend a primary or secondary school. However, depending on capacity, schools have the power to restrict attendance; for example, they might require that both parents be critical workers.
  • If you are working remotely and prefer not to send a child to school while government guidance states that only vulnerable pupils and pupils of key workers should attend in person, the university has committed to supporting staff as much as possible to balance home-schooling requirements with workload.
  • If you are working remotely and prefer not to send a child to school while government guidance states that only vulnerable pupils and pupils of key workers should attend in person, members can request a period of unpaid leave or that their hours of work are reduced on a temporary basis.
  • Members should contact their line manager to discuss how best to manage workload while carrying out home-schooling or to discuss the options of unpaid leave or reduced hours.
  • Staff are under no obligation and will not be compelled to take unpaid leave or to reduce their hours of work if they cannot send their children to school, or if they decide they would prefer not to send their children to school, while government guidance remains in place for prioritizing vulnerable pupils/pupils of key workers.

Children in Nursery/Day-Care

Government guidance does not currently apply to children who attend nursery/day-care because such facilities can remain open. However, we can report that management is committed to being as supportive as possible to all staff who have childcare and/or other caring responsibilities and may be experiencing difficulties due to the pandemic.  Members may contact their line manager for support. Your personal circumstances will be considered, and an effort made to agree the best way forward to balance work and childcare.

Casual Staff

The University has agreed to pay hourly paid workers for agreed and scheduled work that cannot take place due to COVID-19.  Therefore, the same arrangements as described above apply also to casual staff with caring responsibilities arising from Covid-19 – but only for work that has been agreed.

If you experience any difficulties in making suitable arrangements with your manager related to home-schooling, childcare and workload, please contact your area Rep or the branch at UCU@lboro.ac.uk. You may find your Rep’s contact details here:  Department Reps – Loughborough UCU (lboro.ac.uk).  You may also contact your HR Partner for further guidance.

LUCU Committee

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Loughborough UCU: Position Statement on Race Equality

Loughborough UCU: Position Statement on Race Equality

LUCU recommends that the University:

  • Be open and transparent regarding race inequality statistics at the university with the intention to improve outcomes and achieve parity over time
  • Be pro-active in taking positive action to improve outcomes for staff and students from Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic (BAME) backgrounds, with a focus on increasing BAME leadership for staff and closing the degree awarding gap for BAME students
  • Refrain from considering ‘BAME’ and/or ‘international’ as static, homogenous categories, and instead seek to take account of the specific forms of oppression and exploitation which different groups face
  • Draw upon and utilise expertise from within its academic community and beyond to inform its definitions, processes and procedures around race equality and ensure they are fit for purpose.
  • Challenge racist legislation from the Home Office surrounding the surveillance of international students and staff, and comply to only the legally minimal extent
  • Increase financial and legal support to international staff struggling with time-consuming and costly procedures regarding their citizenship, settled status and/or right to work in the UK (and similar)
  • Reduce reliance on casual contracts (including zero hours contracts), as they disproportionately affect BAME colleagues
  • Become an accredited Living Wage employer on both campuses, considering the fact that low pay disproportionately affects BAME colleagues
  • Be willing to engage with and take on board constructive critique regarding race-related matters at the university
  • Recognise how intersectionality can result in particular groups of staff and students’ facing specific problems or disadvantages which remain unaddressed by initiatives focussing only on one aspect of their identity, demographic characteristics and/or social positionality.
  • Ensure BAME staff are recognised and compensated for their efforts and contributions to the race equality and EDI strategies of the university through accurate citation and agreed workload hours, secondment time or additional payments. Additional payments should also be available to casual staff, who should be encouraged to contribute and rewarded where they do so.
  • Create and promote accessible pathways for students, especially BAME students, to contribute to and demonstrate leadership within the university’s race equality efforts. This may involve creating paid positions for students and pay for these roles should be at a level which acknowledges the importance of the work and the emotional labour it requires.
  • Systematise and share knowledge about best practice in race equality throughout the university through staff and student development.

LUCU are pleased to share this Race Equality statement which has been co-developed with LU BAME staff network.

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LUCU Statement on Anti-Racism

LUCU Statement on Anti-Racism

12.06.2020

Black Lives Matter protests in the past week across the United States and worldwide have demonstrated international resistance to, and outrage against, police and white supremacist murders of Black people, most lately George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and Tony McDade, as well as David McAtee and Jamel Floyd who were killed by police during the protests. Many people who want to condemn racism and show support for the Black Lives Matter cause have been asking “What can I do?”

First, it is important that we do not tell ourselves that this problem exists only in the USA.  As a colonising nation Britain has a deeply problematic track record with race relations, which is far from over, as evidenced by the recent Windrush scandal, ongoing police brutality and racism, racialised unequal COVID19 health outcomes, including the condemnable deaths of Belly Mujinga and Trevor Belle, Black British essential workers, both of whom were assaulted at work and later died of COVID19. We should recognise that the legacy of colonialism, including structural and interpersonal racism (overt and covert), anti-Blackness, shadeism and colourism, lives on across Europe and worldwide.

Second, we can call attention to the issue. In particular, we believe it is the role of white people, and those whose racial backgrounds put them in closer proximity to whiteness, to use their relative privilege and safety to amplify Black voices and advocate for change. The ability to ignore this issue and believe it does not concern you is one way that structural racism is perpetuated. In response to this moment, it is not enough to be “not racist”.  We must be “anti-racist”.

Third, we can acknowledge and understand the history that has made it necessary to demand in this moment that Black lives do matter. Racial inequality in the world today is the outcome of historical processes, producing structural racism benefiting white people, while othering and discriminating against those who are not white. 

Finally, we can recognise that many Black colleagues and students, and those of mixed Black heritage are currently experiencing trauma, anger and exhaustion, as a result of the combination of everyday racism, the disproportionate health impacts of COVID19 on communities of colour, and the heightened racialised violence, pressure and anxiety of this moment. The LUCU committee extends to them our care and concern, and we urge supervisors and peers to please be mindful of and compassionate to these circumstances.

We welcome the articulate response from Loughborough University and its commitment to recognise its part in the problem and dedication to being part of the solution, as well as the Vice-Chancellor’s recent statement in which he centres the importance of challenging racism, and positioning the university as anti-racist. LUCU are also committed to (1) working closely with the BME staff network to address issues of racism within the union, and (2) continuing to engage with university management to improve staff experiences in a way that is cognizant of the specific issues faced by Black staff, staff of colour and minority backgrounds. In addition to anti-Black racism, we also wish to speak out against the everyday Sinophobic and Islamophobic racism against Asian and Muslim colleagues and students on campus and in Loughborough, which has increased due to COVID19, and the ongoing challenges of the hostile environment for immigration that affects our international colleagues.

We invite all members of our University community, but particularly those who are white, to respond to this opportunity to listen, learn and take action.  Below we provide a range of suggestions, some which can be done for free in seconds, others which ask you to invest some money or time. While some of the resources were developed in the US, this does not mean they are irrelevant to us in the UK.

More recommended books available here.

Resources for teaching staff

Educators have a special role to play in tackling racism in the curriculum, in the classroom, and in the student experience as a whole.  These resources will support you in doing this.

Resources for Black/BME Colleagues

Acknowledgements

Thank you to the individual members of the BME, International, and LGBT staff networks, many of whom are UCU members, who co-developed this statement on our behalf. Thank you also to all the Black, Indigenous, people of colour, and white ally thinkers, activists and content creators whose excellent work we draw upon here.  

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LUCU Statement regarding the Strike

LUCU Statement regarding the Strike

We are writing about the email sent by the Vice Chancellor on Wednesday 13 November regarding the strike.

The VC is quite right that he engaged with staff, and that he has made a public call for limiting employee contributions to 9.1%. Most Vice Chancellors have not done this and we appreciate the VC has made himself unpopular with some of them. Further, we acknowledge the frustration for our VC that some of the universities where the ballot turnout did not exceed the 50% threshold have less proactive, less sympathetic Vice Chancellors. Moreover we take his expressed concerns about the financial implications of increased contributions by the university seriously and in good faith.

However UCU’s position is that no one, not employees and not employers, need have their contributions increased. Rather at the root of the dispute is the valuation method. The debate is not “who should fund the increases” but whether or not increases are necessary.

The resolution to the 2018 strikes came from the establishment of a UUK/UCU Joint Expert Panel, which was tasked with reviewing the valuation method and proposing a way forward. If the methodology recommended by the Joint Expert Panel in their first report had been implemented, then neither employer nor employee contributions would be going up.

A couple of other points. The VC’s email mentioned that “employees currently contribute 9.6% of salary” but we highlight that this is only true since 1st October 2019. It was 8% before last year’s strike, then went to 8.8% and now has gone up to 9.6%. The email also noted that the USS Trustee includes UCU representatives but two clarifications are in order. First, UCU has nominees not representatives: these nominees are legally independent of UCU, and their actions are not controlled by UCU. Second, in recent weeks one of the UCU nominees, Professor Jane Hutton, was dismissed by USS after raising concerns about their valuation method.

Finally, we note that our VC is in engaging in meaningful discussion with LUCU committee and is making constructive proposals about how we might resolve the situation. We are grateful to have such a proactive and sympathetic Vice Chancellor at Loughborough who engages meaningfully with the branch and we do not take this for granted. We will be in touch again to canvas members’ views on the options as we see them.

LUCU Committee

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LUCU Committee Advice to Striking Members

LUCU Committee Advice to Striking Members

The branch think it important that staff who are considering strike action understand what is legally required and understand the guidance being issued in relation to both the proposed strike action between Nov 25th and Dec 4th and action short of a strike that will continue thereafter.

We believe some managers are making suggestions which are not in keeping with current guidance.

You are not required to give of strike action to management, or to students – although when asked afterwards if you did take strike action, you are required to provide this information.

It is recommended that colleagues give notice on the morning of the strike that they will be absent, as they would if they were going to be absent due to sickness. This is the case whether it involves lectures, seminars, or project supervision. This gives managers the same time frame to notify students of changes. Even though, again, there is no need to do so.

The branch is concerned that some of recommendations from some managers are asking to ensure the ‘smooth running of the programmes’ after December 4th is a request to ignore the action short of strike, thus to act to minimise disruption lessens and undermines the impact of the strike itself.

For more information please see the FAQ’s on UCU’s website.

LUCU Committee

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International Women’s Day 2019

International Women’s Day 2019

Loughborough University UCU and Unison branches are teaming up to celebrate International Women’s Day on March 8th.

Each year International Women’s Day is celebrated across the globe. It is widely celebrated as an opportunity to draw attention to the struggle for women’s rights, to link these up with women’s struggles worldwide and to demonstrate international sisterly solidarity with working women everywhere.

To celebrate International Women’s Day we will be screening a UCU produced film titled ‘A Woman’s Place is in the Union’ to raise awareness and to encourage all women to play an active role within their union at local as well as national level.

This will be followed by a discussion on the issues facing women at work today, led by women officers from both union branches.

Please come along to Martin Hall room MHL.1.17 at 12:30pm on Friday 8th March and encourage your colleagues to do the same.

Doors open at 12:15pm.

All staff and students welcome.

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LUCU News – February 2019

LUCU News – February 2019

In this month’s newsletter we update you on our Anti-Casualisation Campaign, inform you of the process for submitting motions to UCU Congress, ask for your views on wellbeing support and student feedback, and finally we let you know about upcoming events and campaigns.

Anti-Casualisation Campaign

LUCU is stepping up its campaign relating to staff on casual contracts. We want to address pay, preparation, marking and admin time, and any other issues important to you.

We hosted an initial planning meeting Wednesday 27th Feb to work out the details of the campaign, we invited everyone, especially those on a casual contract, to attend. It was a productive session.

We are keen to involve as many casual staff as possible in this campaign, in small ways or large. If this sounds like you, or might appeal to someone you know, please get in touch with the branch anti-casualisation officer, Steven Parfitt, at s.j.s.parfitt@lboro.ac.uk, or with the UCU rep in your Department or School.

UCU Congress Motions

If anyone has a motion that they would like the branch to submit to congress, the branch must approve and submit that by the 15th March. The branch may submit one motion to congress and two motions to the sector conference. Motions from branches must meet the following criteria:

• Be properly approved by a quorate branch general meeting
• Be given a title of not more than 10 words
• Be not more than 150 words in length (excluding the 10-word title)
• Be clearly submitted to Congress or to a Sector Conference

If you wish to submit a motion to congress, please let us know ASAP, as we will have to call an emergency general meeting due to the deadline date. More detailed information on submitting motions can be found here.

Wellbeing Support

You should have received an email from us asking your views of the wellbeing support offered by the University to staff. We are still open to further information, so if you haven’t already, please can you feedback via email to Mary Brewer, LUCU Vice-Chair, or contact Mary if you prefer to set a time to chat – m.f.brewer@lboro.ac.uk. Your feedback will be kept confidential, and all evidence presented to the University will be anonymised.

We would be interested to hear about your experience across the following:

  • Employee Assistance Programme
  • The Counselling Service
  • The Mental Health First Aider scheme (as a user or a First Aider)
  • Courses offered by Staff Development:
    o The Mindfulness 8-week course to Increase Resilience and Effectiveness, Understanding the Impact of Stress
    o Becoming More Resilient at Work

We would also welcome feedback on any resources you may have accessed through the Loughborough Development Hub, such as articles on wellbeing and stress.

Student Feedback

As we reported last month, some members have noticed an anomalous spike in negative feedback from students. For example, questioning the content of an exam or piece of coursework – even before the results are known. Members are concerned that many of these are groundless and reflect a worrying trend which threatens to degrade academic rigour. We are still gathering information on this, so if you have observed similar, but not responded yet, please contact ucu@lboro.ac.uk with anonymised examples.

#BlackStaffMatter

On Wednesday 27th Feb, UCU held a day of action against workplace racism. This annual campaign event has grown from strength to strength as it involves and includes a whole union approach to tackling the issues of workplace racism and its impact on careers, mental health and well-being and relationships with peers/students. The theme of this year’s Day of Action is #BlackStaffMatter. Look out for our social media campaign using the #BlackStaffMatter. Please share and retweet to help get the message out. Also, please contribute by making your own posts on Social Media using the hashtag. If you experience any racism in the workplace, please get in touch with the branch so we can better shape our efforts to fight against this deplorable behaviour.

International Women’s Day

International Women’s Day is on March the 8th, we are organising an event to commemorate and celebrate our female colleagues. Further details to follow.

Leicester May Day and International Workers Memorial Day

Leicester and District Trades Council (LDTUC), of which we are a part, has organised these two events and we encourage our members to attend:

Leicester’s International Workers Memorial Day service will be on Sunday, April 28th, in the Town Hall Square, Leicester, from 12pm onwards. The names of those who have died in the East Midlands will be read out to be followed by a minute’s silence. All the dead will be commemorated with the display of a red Rose.

LDTUC will be celebrating Mayday (International Workers Day) in Leicester with a march & rally on Saturday 4th May. For six years they have joined together with fellow trade unionists, interested groups and individuals to help demonstrate their solidarity on International Workers Day. If you are attending the rally and would like to take along our branch banner, please get in touch.

Our Reps Working for You

We are here for you, if you have any issues you wish to discuss with a case worker, please email ucu@lboro.ac.uk or call the branch office on 228299.

To Be Continued…

Our next newsletter is scheduled to appear in late March. In the meantime, continue to contact us with your views and suggestions about LUCU activities on campus. The Committee’s contact details can be found here; we hope you will also follow us on both Facebook and Twitter.

LUCU Committee, 1st March 2019

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LUCU News: January 2019

LUCU News: January 2019

In this month’s newsletter we give you advance notice of our next General Meeting and Annual General Meeting, update you on our latest negotiations with the University, invite you to consider becoming our LUCU pensions lead, let you know about the Education Support Partnership and remind you about UCU-supported Stand up to Racism events.

General Meeting and AGM Dates

Our first General Meeting of the academic year was held recently, and we want to give even more of you an opportunity to attend our second General Meeting and, later in the year, our AGM, by getting the dates out to you early:

Spring General Meeting:

Wednesday 27th March from 4pm-5pm in Room SCH001 in the Schofield Building.
Guest Speaker: Vicky Knight, UCU President.
Followed by branch social at the Swan In The Rushes.

Annual General Meeting:

Wednesday 5th June from 4pm-5pm in Room J002 in the Edward Herbert Building.
Followed by a branch social barbeque outside the branch office on campus.

Our Negotiations with the University

People Strategy

We have recently been working closely with HR Director Adèle MacKinlay on the development of the University’s new People Strategy, to put forward our priorities such as workload sustainability, work-home balance, support for international staff and ensuring that senior managers set a positive and collegiate tone. We’re grateful to Adèle for her constructive engagement.

Student Complaints

Some members have reported an anomalous spike in complaints from students. For example, questioning the content of an exam or piece of coursework – even before the results are known. Members are concerned that many of these are groundless and reflect a worrying trend which threatens to degrade academic rigour. If you have observed the same, please contact ucu@lboro.ac.uk with anonymised examples.

TurnItIn

We are concerned about whether sufficient training and guidance is given to staff on how to properly interpret similarity scores generated by TurnItIn, and to translate these into student feedback. For instance, where poor citation crosses into academic misconduct. Getting these calls wrong can lead to complaints from students and parents. Let us know your thoughts on whether more help is needed at ucu@lboro.ac.uk

Pensions Lead Training

UCU are encouraging all branches to have a named Pensions Lead. With the ongoing dispute over USS there has never been a more important time to have someone focussed on this topic.  The pension lead could become a committee member or could be involved only when pensions are being discussed. UCU are running training for this role. The courses are 5-6 March 2019 at the head office in London and 3-4 July 2019 at the regional office in Birmingham.

Please get in touch at ucu@lboro.ac.uk if you are able to fill this vital role.

Educational Support Partnership

The Educational Support Partnership is a charity providing mental health and wellbeing support services to all education staff and organisations.

Stress and anxiety levels across the sector are reaching alarming levels and calls to their helpline are increasing year on year.  For education staff they provide two main services; a free and confidential helpline and grants to cover short-term financial issues or training costs.

There are many stresses on those who work in education – a challenging student, stress & depression, personal financial worries and so many more. That’s why they offer free, confidential help and support, no matter what the problem. Their trained counsellors listen without judgement. No issue is too big or too small. The free and confidential helpline is available 24/7 to everyone working in education and is available UK wide on 08000 562 561.

Their grants service helps working in or retired education staff experiencing short-term financial issues. Use their online form to apply for a grant. They can also support with training costs if you’re wishing to change career or re-join the education sector.

UCU-Supported Stand up to Racism Events

UCU is affiliated to Stand up to Racism nationally and we as a branch committee support their work. If members are interested in getting involved please consider attending one or more of these events:

“Decolonisation: Confronting racism on campus” This conference will bring together students, staff and education workers to discuss how we can decolonise our campuses and make them free from racism. Saturday 16 February 2019: 10:30am – 5pm, NEU, Hamilton House, Mabledon Place, London WC1H 9BD.

“Stand Up To Racism Trade Union Conference” A day for trade unionists to discuss, debate and organise challenging the far right in our communities and to oppose institutional racism in the workplace. Saturday 23 February 2019: 10am – 4:30pm, NEU, Hamilton House, Mabledon Place, London WC1H 9BD.

UN Anti-Racism Day, this event is to demonstrate confidence in our values of respect and equality for all.  It will demonstrate our solidarity in action against the politics of hate, against bigotry, racism and discrimination of all kinds, and against the politics of fascism. Saturday 16 March 2019, Central London, Glasgow, Cardiff.

For more information on any of the above events please get in touch with the branch office at ucu@lboro.ac.uk

Our Reps Working for You

We are here for you, if you have any issues you wish to discuss with a case worker, please email ucu@lboro.ac.uk or call the branch office on 228299.

Please continue to contact us with your suggestions for future newsletter items. The Committee’s contact details can be found here; we hope you will also follow us on both Facebook and Twitter.

LUCU Committee, 5th February 2019.

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LUCU News: November 2018

LUCU News: November 2018

In this month’s newsletter, we remind you of our first General Meeting and social of the academic year, alert you of the opportunity to become a Union Learning Rep, advise you of the University’s proposal to stop automatic increments for people on final warnings, update you on the latest news from our negotiations with the University and more.

General Meeting

All LUCU members are invited to our first General Meeting of the academic year, 4pm Wednesday 5th December in J001 EHB.

Nita Sanghera, Vice President of UCU, will be speaking on the topic of “Defending Education & Academic Freedom: resisting privatisation and marketisation”.

We will also be discussing and voting on our response to the University’s proposal to withhold automatic increments from staff on final written warnings, a motion on solidarity with International Staff in the face of the government’s “hostile environment” and a motion calling for support of a counter demonstration against Tommy Robinson on December 9th. 

Branch Social

Following the general meeting, from 5pm onwards, there will be a branch social which will take place in the “Swan in The Rushes” (21 The Rushes, Loughborough LE11 5BE). Join us for a chat and a drink and get to know your fellow Union members.

Caseworker Training Success

This month the branch hosted a case worker training session run by Regional Support Official, Joe Rooney. Case workers help UCU members across Loughborough’s campuses with issues that arise, from redundancy to bullying to workload. It is therefore vital that we maintain a large and substantial team of case workers. Twelve committee members and departmental reps attended the session which was very well received.

Our Negotiations with the University

Withholding of Increments

The University has, for some time now, been pursuing a policy change which would see pay increments withheld from staff on final written warnings.  Perversely this would introduce a significant financial penalty – but only for staff who are not already at the top of their pay grade. Further as this would currently affect only 2 members of staff, the unions have long argued that this should not be prioritised and that the time and effort should be spent tackling real problems such as workload and bullying. After lengthy discussions management have agreed to change the proposal so that it would only apply during the first year of the written warning.  As a matter of discipline this change can only be implemented in consultation with the unions which means it will be voted on at our December General Meeting.

PDR

In more positive news you will be aware that LUCU have,since the re-launch of PDR, advocated for a system of no more than 3 ratings.  This would reflect the real-world situation where the vast majority of staff are performing their role as required, while recognising those who either need more help and support, or those who warrant a reward.  This would help keep PDR focused on the constructive communication rather than the distraction of a rating.  Many of you contacted us to support this position after our recent email on the subject.  You will have seen in the email from the Vice Chancellor last week that the University have moved significantly closer to our proposed position for the forthcoming round of PDR. This is a good demonstration of what can be achieved through our constructive local industrial relations.

People Strategy

The University will soon be launching a new “People Strategy”.  We believe this will be a real opportunity to work with the University on some of the biggest problems facing our members.  Based on the issues you raise with us we have so far highlighted workload sustainability, immigration and aggressive management as issues we feel should be prioritised.  Get in touch if there are other topics you would like to see included.

What are Union Learning Reps and should I become one?

Union Learning Representatives (ULRs) are like health and safety representatives; but while health and safety representatives focus on health and safety issues, learning reps focus on members’ personal and professional learning interests.

Every UCU branch should have at least one Union Learning Rep. They offer assistance and expertise on training and development in local collective bargaining agreements and can offer members individual advice and guidance on development issues. Learning Reps may take statutory time off to undertake their duties if they are trained. Find more information about the role here. If you are interested,please get in touch.

School Drop-ins

Members of the LUCU committee are undertaking a series of recruitment and drop-in sessions. We recently had our first, in the AAE Atrium, and it was a great opportunity to discuss experiences of working at Loughborough University with members and non-members alike.

Our next session is planned for the Design School on the 4th December from 12:30pm to 1:30pm. Lookout for us visiting your department soon.

Our next newsletter is scheduled to appear in January, so we want to take this opportunity to wish all our members an enjoyable winter break. In the meantime,please continue to contact us with your views and suggestions about LUCU activities on campus. The Committee’s contact details can be found here; we hope you will also follow us on both Facebook and Twitter.

LUCU Committee, 28th November 2018.