Loughborough UCU

Tag: equality

  • Message of Solidarity with Transgender Women

    In recent weeks, several major organisations have decided to exclude transgender women from accessing their spaces and attending their events (including The Women’s Institute, The Girl Guides and Labour’s Women’s conference). This marks a radical reversal of previously established inclusive practices in these organisations and constitutes worrying precedents.

    The Women’s Institute began welcoming trans women in the 1970s and made their inclusion official in 2015.  Melissa Green, chief executive of the National Federation of Women’s Institutes commented that the organisation made it with the “utmost regret and sadness,” adding it had “no choice” but to exclude trans women from its membership.  It is alleged that legal challenges funded by J.K. Rowling’s “Women’s Fund”, from a small minority of members, forced the change.

    We are aware of how disconcerting this is for all the transgender members of our community, and their allies, as it is disconcerting to us as well. UCU has condemned the trans-exclusionary moves by the Supreme Court and EHRC.

    We stand in solidarity with transgender women and the transgender community generally. We are committed to working with university management to mitigate the impact of legislative changes to ensure our work and learning community remain inclusive for trans people. Please feel free to contact LUCU Equality Officer Angela Martinez Dy with any specific queries. She is committed to prioritising member engagement and raising concerns about forthcoming changes either individually or collectively. 

  • 2025 UCU Equality Groups Conferences

    The six UCU equality groups will each have a one-day hybrid conference this year. The broad conference theme will be ‘Organising against division: building inclusive workplaces, resisting reactionary politics‘.

    To register (deadline 31 Oct) please use this link, which will take you to the main equality groups conference page.

    The days of the conferences are (all from 11:00-16:00):

    The in-person venue will be UCU head office, and the online platform will be Zoom. Those joining remotely will be able to participate fully in the conference, including voting on motions and attending workshops. When registering for the event, you can select if you will attend either in-person or remotely. UCU normally reimburses the travel expenses of delegates attending in person following the conference.

    For more information, contact LUCU Equality Officer Angela Dy.

    *UCU uses the term ‘Black’ in a political sense to refer to people who are descended, through one or both parents, from Africa, the Caribbean, Asia (the middle-East to China) and Latin America. It refers to those from a visible minority who have a shared experience of oppression. The word is used to foster a sense of solidarity and empowerment.

  • LUCU Opposes the Far Right  

    The racist nationalism on display in London over the past weekend is deeply worrying and unacceptable. The LUCU Equality Officer and Committee extend our concern and solidarity to members who have been negatively affected by the far-right demonstration, and who fear or are experiencing racist abuse on the streets.  

    We recognise these actions, alongside the nationwide St George’s and Union flag display campaign, as part of an international backlash against the progressive, inclusive politics of race that has gained ground in recent years. Anti-migrant, Islamophobic, and anti-Semitic sentiment is now brazenly espoused by racist leaders globally, creating an extremely hostile and threatening climate for racialised and immigrant communities.  

    We are here to help and support members in navigating these difficult times, which are particularly challenging when the police, to whom crimes are normally reported, may not be trusted by some, due to a history of institutional racism. We must therefore rely more heavily on community support and alternative reporting mechanisms for safety.  

    We encourage everyone to look out for one another, urge white British allies to actively speak up against racist behaviour, and suggest racially minoritised people take extra care in public spaces and maintain regular check-ins with trusted contacts. The Bay Area Transformative Justice pod mapping technique may be a useful tool for helping think through who you can trust and rely on in your community. 

    If you need immediate mental health support, the Education Support Partnership runs a 24/7 helpline. Do not hesitate to report any hate crimes that you may witness or experience on StopHateUK and/or the LU reporting portal. Our casework team, as well as the REACH Network and International Staff Group are additional possible sources of solidarity and support.  

    We urge everyone affected by these issues to stay engaged with anti-racist advocacy organisations such as Stand Up To Racism, the Runnymede Trust, and StopHateUK. You can also join public conversations about how to combat the rising tide of racism, such as this upcoming webinar,‘How to Turn the Tide on the Racial Backlash Against EDI (DEI)’ (25 Sept, free). 

    The LUCU Equality Officer and Committee will continue monitoring the situation and are available to meet with members who would like to discuss collective ways to address the current moment.  

  • LUCU Response to University Comms regarding Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act and Supreme Court Ruling

    In light of this week’s communications from Sam McGinty (Director of Legal Services) and Veronica Moore (EDI Executive Director), the LUCU Equality Officer and Branch Committee would like to express their appreciation of the tandem statements being shared. We especially value the expressed commitment to humility, learning, consultation and inclusion, alongside upholding legal obligations. While the LUCU Committee was not consulted on the content of these statements in advance, the University has subsequently engaged in helpful discussion with us around them.

    Further, our Equality Officer, along with representatives from the other two campus Unions, Unite and UNISON, will contribute to this ongoing dialogue at the EDI Board (the main governance structure for EDI) from September 2025; in recent years only one Union rep was permitted per meeting. 

    We will use both formal and informal processes to understand these policy developments and anticipate how they will affect our members. We have also requested to be more closely included in decision-making on these issues going forward, including in the preparation of communications and guidance documents.

    While we understand the difficult legal position HEIs now face, we are nevertheless disappointed that the University finds itself no longer able to take a position on important matters, such as the genocide currently being carried out against Palestinians in Gaza and recent trans-exclusionary moves by the Supreme Court and EHRC – both of which UCU condemns.

    Please feel free to contact LUCU Equality Officer Angela Martinez Dy with any specific queries. She is committed to prioritising member engagement and raising concerns about forthcoming changes either individually or collectively.

  • When the State Defines Womanhood, We All Lose: LUCU Responds To UK Supreme Court Ruling

    The LUCU Committee is deeply concerned about the impact of the recent UK Supreme Court ruling that the protected characteristic of Sex within the Equality Act 2010 refers to ‘biological’ sex as recorded at birth, and not lived gender. The ruling stipulates that this even applies to individuals who have obtained a Gender Recognition Certificate, which effectively excludes transgender individuals from protection against sexism they might suffer in their lived gender.   

    As a small and vulnerable community, trans people are being used as an easy first target in a wider backlash against progressive ground gained internationally for women and LGBTQIA+ people. Ironically, although the campaign was led by women, the outcome problematically pits cis women against trans women, and lesbian, gay and bisexual people against trans people, who should, we believe, be natural allies in the fights against sexism, misogyny and homophobia. 

    The legal challenge which led to this ruling did not arise in a vacuum, but was the result of a series of  

    legal challenges brought by the campaign group For Women Scotland (FWS) and funded by author JK Rowling. By insisting ‘biology is destiny’, these arguments not only deny the legitimacy of trans experiences, and trans women in particular, but also hold the potential to be used to reverse the hard-won gains of all women for gender equality and push narrow, outdated and gender-stereotypes on both men and women. It is clear to us that both misogynist and transmisogynist cultural forces and campaign groups are connected and growing in strength and confidence, and we must work together to resist them.   

    Returning to the detail of the Supreme Court ruling, this interpretation generates several further problems in and of itself, not least because it over-simplifies the concept of sex, which in reality exists on a spectrum, and further erases the existence of people who are intersex, a community already severely marginalised in law and cultural awareness. Moreover, the gender policing of trans women simultaneously further marginalises trans men while harming, rather than protecting, lesbians and masculine-presenting women. 

    ‘Nothing about us without us’ is a familiar refrain and key principle of meaningful equalities work, yet this judgement included no testimony from trans people. The Good Law Project believe that the ruling violates the UK’s obligations under the Human Rights Act and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), and is asking the High Court for a declaration of incompatibility.1 

    Compounding the problems of this judgement, the Equality and Human Rights Commission, which has seen a wave of resignations and criticism over its increasingly transphobic positions in recent years, has released interim guidance which seeks to dramatically expand the implications of the judgement.  In documents released and interviews given by EHRC Chair Kishwer Falkner, proclamations have been made about excluding trans people from facilities such as toilets and changing rooms: not only those aligning with their lived gender, on the basis that they are a different sex from those for whom the facility is intended, but also those aligned with their ‘birth sex’, because their transition likely means that they do not present as the sex for which the facility is intended either.  

    This risks locking transgender people out of all available facilities. Falkner has claimed that trans people should instead use their ‘power of advocacy’ to ask for facilities including a ‘third space’ for toilets – ironically a move which, even if it were feasible, would force all trans people to use mixed sex facilities. She has also suggested that the judgement excludes trans athletes from participating in sports in alignment with their lived gender, a view echoed and welcomed by Loughborough University Chancellor Seb Coe in his role as President of World Athletics.   

    It is critically important to emphasise that many of these, and other, supposed implications of the Supreme Court judgement circulating online and in the media are highly speculative at best. The Good Law Project has produced its own response, giving clarity over what the judgement in fact does and does not mean, and urging organisations not to make hasty policy changes that further marginalise people who are trans and potentially violate their rights.   

    Loughborough UCU maintains unwavering support for the rights of women to safety and security in a world which is still deeply misogynistic and where violence against women and girls remains endemic.  We do not believe, however, that the long list of dangers to women includes trans rights.  It is cis male violence against women that is and has always been the biggest threat to women’s safety, most commonly within intimate partner relationships.  

    Contending that trans women regularly and systematically gain access into women’s spaces by deception is a strawman argument used to drum up fear that we wholly reject. There are certainly complexities raised by the very real need to provide safe spaces and charitable services for all women, but again, these small logistical challenges are given much greater prominence than the real threat which is the drastic underfunding and under-provision of these services. And we categorically disagree that this complexity gives anyone the right or the rationale to invalidate trans people’s experiences of gender, and importantly, to police their access to public spaces, such as toilets.  

    We see the targeting of the trans community, under the guise of defending women, as a cynically deployed, racially charged, divide-and-rule tactic which allows the real issues, such as partner violence, rape culture, sexual assault, and structural misogyny, including in institutions such as the police, to go unchallenged. The claim that this issue is about women’s safety is therefore disingenuous; if campaigners and legislators honestly cared about women, they would be tackling the myriad root causes of violence against them, rather than throwing trans women under the bus.  

    In collaboration with the LGBT+ Staff Network, LUCU are in conversation with University management as we seek to assure trans members of our community that their access to the broad range of facilities and services within the university will not be affected. 

    National UCU is prepared to challenge any legal interpretations or implementations that infringe upon the rights of our trans and non-binary colleagues. Reaffirming our dedication to equality, inclusion and respect for all, UCU stands firmly with trans and non-binary members, and all women, in the continued fight for civil rights, equality, and an end to gender-based violence.

    LUCU Committee

  • LUCU Response to the Supreme Court Judgement on Sex in the Equality Act

    The UK Supreme Court recently ruled that the protected characteristic of Sex within the Equality Act 2010 refers to “biological” sex as recorded at birth, and not lived gender, even for individuals who have obtained a Gender Recognition Certificate.  This effectively excludes transgender individuals from protection against sexism they might suffer in their lived gender.  This interpretation generates several further problems in and of itself, not least because it over-simplifies the concept of sex, which in reality exists on a spectrum, and further erases the existence of people who are intersex, a community that is already severely marginalised in law.  The Good Law Project believe that the judgement, which included no testimony from trans people, violates the UK’s obligations under the Human Rights Act and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), and is asking the High Court for a declaration of incompatibility.  A similar legal campaign is what forced the UK government to implement the Gender Recognition Act 2004 and give legal recognition to the lived gender of trans individuals.  You can donate to the Good Law Project case here.

    Compounding the problems of this judgement, the Equality and Human Rights Commission, which has seen a wave of resignations and criticism over its increasingly transphobic positions in recent years, has released interim guidance which seeks to dramatically expand the implications of the judgement.  In documents released and interviews given by EHRC Chair Kishwer Falkner, proclamations have been made about excluding trans people from facilities such as toilets and changing rooms: not only those aligning with their lived gender, on the basis that they are a different sex from those the facility is for, but also those aligned with their “birth sex”, because their transition likely means that they do not present as the sex the facility is for. This risks locking transgender people out of all available facilities. Falkner has claimed that trans people should instead use their “power of advocacy” to ask for facilities including a “third space” for toilets – ironically a move which, even if it were feasible, would force all trans people to share facilities with people of a different sex.  She has also suggested that the judgement excludes trans athletes from participating in sports in alignment with their lived gender, a view echoed and welcomed by Loughborough University Chancellor Seb Coe. 

    It is critically important to emphasise that many of these, and other, supposed implications of the Supreme Court judgement circulating online and in the media are highly speculative at best.  The Good Law Project has produced its own response, giving clarity over what the judgement in fact does and does not mean, and urging organisations not to make hasty policy changes that further marginalise people who are trans and potentially violate their rights. 

    Loughborough UCU maintains unwavering support for the rights of women to safety and security in a world which is still deeply misogynistic and where violence against women and girls remain endemic.  We do not believe, however, that the long list of dangers to women includes trans rights.  Rather, the targeting of the trans community, under the guise of defending women, is a cynically-deployed divide and rule tactic which allows the real issues, such as partner violence, rape culture, sexual assault in public spaces, and structural misogyny, including in institutions such as the police, to go un-challenged.

    We are pleased that Loughborough University has issued guidance to staff and students offering reassurance that, at least for the time being, access to facilities has not changed. This is stark contrast to some other organisations which are unnecessarily implementing trans-exclusionary policy changes.

    We stand in solidarity with all women and with the trans community, natural allies in the fight for civil rights, equality, and an end to gender-based violence.

    LUCU Committee

  • LUCU Equality Report: 2024 UCU Equality Conference and Local Developments 

    LUCU Equality Officer (EO), Dr Angela Martinez Dy, recently attended the 2024 UCU Equality Groups Conference at Aston University in Birmingham. This annual event comprises five conferences over three days, serving disabled members, Black members, migrant members, women members, and LGBTQ+ members.  

    Angela participated in the migrant and women’s conferences in person, whilst attending some of the Black members’ and LGBTQ+ conference online. All were offered in hybrid format. She did not attend the disabled members’ conference as she does not identify as a member of the group. 

    Overall, this valuable space enables members from these groups to openly raise and discuss important issues relevant to them and thus to the Union as a whole. We encourage LUCU members from any of these groups to consider attending. UCU National reimburses reasonable expenses for attendance. 

    Migrant Members’ Conference 

    The Migrant Members’ committee is the most recently established of the equality groups. At this conference, several crucial issues were discussed, including:  

    • the challenges of transitioning from biometric residence permits (BRP) to e-visas 
    • inviting speakers from the Global South to UCU Congress 2025 
    • UCU’s ongoing lobbying against the immigration health surcharge, which the union argues constitutes double taxation alongside National Insurance contributions 
    • HMRC’s classification of university-reimbursed visa fees as workplace benefits. 

    A panel featuring solicitor Kemi Obayelu, Dr Kamran Khan, and Dr Paul John Alegado provided valuable insights into migrant perception and contributions to UK society, challenging narratives that frame migrants as security threats and societal burdens. 

    Women’s Conference 

    Intersectionality formed the central theme of the women’s conference, featuring keynote speakers including UCU President Maxine Looby, Dr Jenny Douglas, Dr Amelia Baldwin, and Dr Victoria Showunmi. Vibrant discussion and debate following these presentations, exploring both the importance of intersectionality (and avoiding its dilution and depoliticisation) and ways to continue to address women’s marginality within interlocking structures of oppression. 

    Black Members’ Conference 

    The conference opened with a focused discussion on the ongoing review of racism within UCU itself, with President Maxine Looby sharing her experiences and initiatives as a Black woman resisting racism within the Executive. This was followed by an impactful workshop on challenging workplace racism, led by Nitin Rajyaguru and Saleem Rashid. 

    LGBTQ+ Members’ Conference 

    Angela attended portions of this conference remotely, noting particularly engaging presentations from Muwonge Gerald, Lexi Breen, and Harun Tulunay, who highlighted the continued risks to LGBTQ+ safety and the need to better incorporate international LGBTQ+ experiences into our understandings of inequality. 

    Local Developments 

    Following a handover from Kerry Featherstone in October 2024, Angela has stepped into her role as EO with great enthusiasm. A former leader of the BAME (now REACH) staff network, EDI Advisory Forum initiator and co-chair, and Strategic Architect of the LU Race Equity Strategy, as LUCU EO Angela is now part of the University’s EDI Board and contributing to the implementation of the newly approved EDI Core Plan. Key developments from the latest Board meeting include: 

    • Recruitment planning for new associate directors’ EDI roles 
    • Collaborating with Organisational Development to enhance reasonable adjustments processes 
    • Promoting the uptake and use of equality impact assessments (EIAs) across the University 

    Angela has also conducted a thorough demographic analysis (descriptive statistics only) of LUCU’s membership as of Oct 2024, looking at age, race, gender, disability, sexual orientation, and contract type/status data, as well as some relevant intersections. Although numbers are very small in places, patterns locally mirror expectations based on national trends. For example, local membership data suggest that higher percentages of women and BAME people hold fixed-term contracts (50% women, 11.3% BAME) as compared to permanent contracts (42% women, 5.8% BAME), and that a large majority of our members on part-time contracts are women (78%).  

    Following her analysis of these data and her attendance at the Equality Groups Conference, Angela will work with LUCU Branch Organiser Callum Salfield to conduct a series of online focus groups with LUCU Members to better understand their needs and priorities. The proposed groups include: Migrant, Black/BAME, Women and Gender Non-Conforming, LGBTQ+, Disabled, and Early Career members. If you have feedback on these plans or are interested in participating, please message Callum with the groups you wish to be included in, and/or keep an eye out in emails and future newsletters for upcoming polls for dates and times. Members are welcome to attend more than one if multiple categories apply.  

    Finally, we would like members to note that last year, our committee raised a motion calling for UCU to change the “Equality Officer” title to “Equity Officer” in line with changing terminology at Loughborough. It became clear that that the process to amend the terminology was too complex and time-consuming to be worthwhile, so we decided instead to focus on progressing work directly addressing the many equity and equality related issues instead. 

    Please message Angela to discuss this update or any equality or equity related issues. 

  • UCU Equality Groups Conference 2024

    UCU’s annual equality conference is an opportunity to discuss and agree strategies to progress equality issues at work.

    The conference will hold five separate half-day conferences for Black, disabled, LGBT+, migrant and women members, with a joint plenary session for all equality strands. To attend any of the five equality groups, delegates must self-identify as a member of that particular group.

    This year’s joint plenary session will be focused on setting an agenda now that there is a Labour government, with particular focus on how to oppose the emboldened far right.

    The 2024 conference will be held from Thursday 28th November to Saturday 30th November 2024. The conference will be held in a hybrid format using Zoom or in-person at Conference Aston: Conference Centre Hotel, Aston Street, Aston University Campus, Birmingham B4 7ET.

    For more information, please consult the branch circular UCU2142 with various deadlines. 

    To register, please use this link. Delegates must register before the deadline of 6pm on Monday 28th October.

  • A Fond Farewell and a Warm Welcome

    Since the make-up of our 2023/24 committee was confirmed at our AGM, we have found ourselves bidding a fond farewell to a remarkable advocate while simultaneously welcoming two new faces to the team.

    Firstly, we would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude and appreciation to Ellen Nicholls, our tireless Equality Officer. Ellen’s unwavering dedication, passion and hard work have been instrumental in advancing the cause of equality within our university. As Ellen embarks on new adventures at Nottingham Trent, we wish her all success and happiness.

    But while sad to lose Ellen, we are delighted to welcome Kerry Featherstone, our new Equality Officer, and Anthony Kevins, our newest committee member. Kerry brings fresh perspectives and a wealth of experience to his role, and we are pleased to see him leading this important work for us. Kerry will be sitting on the EDI Ops Committee (on behalf of all campus unions) for this academic year. Likewise, we are delighted to have Anthony with us.

    Kerry and Anthony have written brief introductions below:

    Kerry Featherstone, School of Social Sciences and Humanities, LUCU Equality Officer

    I am a lecturer in Creative Writing. I’ve been teaching at Loughborough since the early 2000s, and full time since 2009.  My teaching involves giving students creative skills as well as industry knowledge: I am the Programme Lead for the MA in Creative Writing and Writing Industries.  My research ranges from representations of Afghanistan to creative responses to English landscapes.  I have also translated texts from English to French.  I’m on the EDI committee for SSH and served for fifteen years on the board of Apples and Snakes, a poetry organisation that aims to amplify unheard voices. I have ADHD, so am writing this at the last minute.

    Anthony Kevins, School of Social Sciences and Humanities, LUCU Committee Member

    I’ve been at Loughborough University since September 2019, when I took up a lectureship in Politics and International Studies, and I’ve also worked in Canada, Denmark, and the Netherlands. I’m a political scientist by training, and most of my research relies on statistical analysis of survey data, often with a focus on social policy, inequality, and democratic influence. As a co-opted ordinary committee member, I’m looking forward to helping the branch committee get things done and work toward improving the working conditions of all Loughborough employees, members and non-members alike.

  • LUCU News: June 2023

    Please read below for updates on LU General Assembly, MAB Support, Dispute Issues (Four Fights), our new Branch Equality Officer, our Congress Motion, Social Sciences Senate Elections & a BAME Staff Research Study.

    General Assembly

    Following our members’ requests for a General Assembly, we submitted a formal request to the Vice-Chancellor. A special meeting of General Assembly will take place at 3.30pm on Friday 16 June in the Edward Herbert Building 110A. The meeting is in-person only for staff based at Lboro campus. Only colleagues from London will be able to access the meeting online. Room LDN.3.23 has been booked by the University for colleagues in London.

    This General Assembly was called for by our members and we urge you to attend. This is your opportunity to voice your views on the university’s response to the Marking and Assessment Boycott.

    General Assembly is a collective staff forum established under the University’s Royal Charter. Its role is set out in Statute XV. All University staff are members of the General Assembly, so please encourage non-UCU members to attend as well.  Link to announcement on LU website.

    Reminders: MAB support

    We remind members that we have a weekly drop-in meeting every Wednesday – 2-3 pm – to support those who are participating in MAB and to answer any questions you may have. Please email the branch if you need the link to join.

    The LUCU branch WhatsApp group is also a good source of support. If you haven’t already joined and would like to, you can do so by emailing the branch for a link. You can also speak to your department rep or email ucu@lboro.ac.uk should you need support.

    To help the LUCU Committee build a picture of marking activity across campus, we would be grateful if you would email us with any information you have of unqualified markers appointed to cover marking at UG and PGT levels not completed as a result of the MAB, any instances where marks have not been properly moderated by a person qualified to do so, and any mitigations put in place that in your academic opinion are inappropriate.  Please email ucu@lboro.ac.uk providing details of: School, module, and reasons for believing either that the marker is unqualified, the moderation is lacking or undertaken by an unqualified marker, or the mitigation is inappropriate.   

    Update on dispute issues: Workload; Casualisation; Equality

    Workload: We now have a place on both the Project Enable and Project Expectation steering groups, enabling us to be at the centre of discussions on working practices in the interests of improving our members’ workloads.

    Casualisation: We raised the need for revision of the LU Casual Staff Charter, created by the Task & Finish working group following our 2018 action.  Concerns over inconsistent implementation across Schools and sections was also raised with senior management, and agreement for a revision of the principles and a review of existing contracts across campus was reached.  Work on this is already well under way and we will provide an update on the outcomes in our next newsletter.

    Equality: Agreement has been reached for union representation on the new EDI Operations board.  Our place on this board will rotate with Unite and Unison and we will work collaboratively towards equity for our members. We are also delighted to have appointed Ellen Nicholls as our Equality Rep – welcome Ellen!

    Introducing our new branch Equality Officer

    Ellen Nicholls was recently appointed by the Committee to serve out the rest of the 22/23 term as our branch Equality Officer. 

    Ellen Nicholls, Careers Network. I am the Academic Success Co-Ordinator for the Student Success Academy (Careers Network) and I have worked at the University since 2021. Following the completion of my PhD research in 2019, I began working in widening participation, harnessing my passion for social justice by working to ensure all students have equal opportunities to succeed while studying at university. My work here at Loughborough centres on providing 1:1 academic success coaching and designing learning initiatives that help to reduce awarding gaps for Black, Asian, and low-household income students, in accordance with access and participation plan targets. As the equality officer for LUCU, it is my ambition to extend this EDI work to our staff, working towards gender and ethnicity pay equity for our members at the University.

    2023 Glasgow Congress: LUCU Motion ‘UCU to move from Equality to Equity’

    Our branch submitted and spoke to a motion to urge UCU to move toward the principles of Equity and implement use of the term Equity over Equality.  As you can see here, an amendment to the motion was put forward, and following debate Congress voted to remit the motion with an agreement to take it to the LGBTQ+ Conference in Birmingham in November this year. Two members of the LUCU Committee will attend the conference and any other members who wish to join them are very welcome. To register your interest, please email ucu@lboro.ac.uk and we will inform you when registration is live.

    You can find the full results of voting on motions here.

    Social Sciences Senate Elections

    There are currently two vacancies on Senate, from 1st August 2023, for members of academic staff in the School of Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH). Voting is open to all academic staff in SSH and you should have received an email with a link to vote: we encourage you to use this.

    The LUCU Committee is promoting the candidacy of three of our members who are in the running for these positions. Please consider voting for Dr Giulia Piccolino, Dr Sarah Parker and Dr Paul Maddrell (in any order you choose) for your first three preference votes. Their candidate statements are available on the link to vote. If you have not yet voted, please check your email and look for “Subject: Ballot Notice: Senate Election for Academic Members of Staff in SSH”. The ballot is now open and will close on Thursday 22 June.

    Call for Participants: Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic Staff Research Study

    Are you a BAME (Black, Asian, or Minority Ethnic) staff member who would like to get involved in a research study?

    One of our PhD researchers here at Loughborough University is conducting a study which seeks to examine BAME employees’ lived experiences of racial diversity management policies and practices. This research will seek to understand the impact diversity management practices have on BAME employees as well as the contexts that account for employees’ experiences of such policies/practices.

    To find out more about how to get involved, please click here.

    LUCU Committee

  • April News

    We hope that you’re reading this having returned from an enjoyable Easter break.

    IMPORTANT: remember to vote in the formal consultation on the dispute proposals.

    We appreciate that if you’re returning from time away from work over Easter, you’re likely to be wading through a big backlog of emails.  However, please make it a priority to act on the email which you should have received late on Tuesday 4 April from Jo Grady. Your vote must be cast by 10 am on 17 April.  Allow yourself enough time for this task as UCU has supplied a considerable amount of material to enable you to make an informed decision.

    Marking and Assessment Boycott (MAB)

    Should the consultation results take us into a MAB, a branch General Meeting will be called to discuss our approach and to answer members’ questions. You can read UCU’s MAB FAQs here and specific advice for academic-related and professional services staff here.

    In the meantime, we urge you to register for UCU MAB training on 17 April, beginning at 5pm. For more information and details of how to register, please click here.

    Joint statement with management and LSU

    Building a strong relationship with Loughborough Students’ Union (LSU) has been high on our agenda for some time, and we are delighted that a recent innovation has been the scheduling of tripartite meetings between ourselves, student leaders and members of the University’s senior management. Though our perspectives on the disputes sometimes differ, the meetings have been highly constructive and have allowed us to stake out some common ground. Please see here for our first joint statement. We will continue to meet while the industrial action lasts – though our aim is for this positive collaboration to extend beyond the current moment and engage other of our priorities as a branch.

    Hardship fund donation by Leicester Workers Support Group

    The branch is very grateful to Leicester Workers Support Group for its generous donation of £100 to our hardship fund.

    WhatsApp groups

    We would like to remind members that we have two WhatsApp groups available for your use. The first group is for all members, regardless of which campus you work on. The second group is specifically for London campus members. These groups were set up to allow members to communicate during strike action when the use of work email is discouraged. The WhatsApp groups have developed into a fantastic branch building forum, enabling members to stay informed and up to date on the latest dispute news and – more broadly – to connect with each other and engage in discussions on union issues.

    Our branch is committed to extending engagement with our membership, so that we can more effectively represent your interests. We encourage all members (both those in Loughborough and in London) to join and participate in our main WhatsApp group. We believe that, together, we can create positive change and better working conditions for all.

    We should emphasise that, while we welcome questions and feedback via WhatsApp, it is essential to email the branch directly if you have a message for the committee. This ensures that nothing is missed and we can address any concerns as quickly and effectively as possible.

    In summary: stay connected, stay informed and let your voice be heard. Join the Lboro UCU WhatsApp and, if a London member, the LUCU London WhatsApp using the links in the email of this newsletter that has been sent to members, or email the branch for the link to join.

    Branch Equality roles

    During our recent general meeting, a motion was presented to create new Equality Officer roles for various areas of equality work, including BAME, LGBTQ+, Women, and Disability. After considering the feedback received, the committee has decided it is currently most practical to maintain the arrangement of one branch Equality Officer. However, with an important modification: we hope that the Equality Officer will be supported by several Equality Reps who will work on their chosen area(s) of equality interest. The Equality Rep roles will be created as volunteers come forward. 

    Equality Reps will be encouraged to join the committee in non-officer positions and will be welcome to attend all committee meetings.

    If you are interested in becoming an Equality Rep for the branch, we encourage you to get in touch with us. Your involvement will help us to better address the needs of our members and ensure that we are effectively promoting equality in all areas.

    Advance notice of AGM and branch elections

    We are pleased to announce that this year’s LUCU AGM is scheduled for 28 June. Official notice of this meeting will be sent out in May, and, with it, a call for nominations for branch officers and committee members. We encourage all members who are interested in joining the committee to put your names forward.

    It is important that we increase our numbers on the committee, in order both to better represent our membership and to share the load of union work. All committee members have time assigned to them in their workload allocation so that they can undertake this role during normal working hours. By joining the committee, you will play a vital role in shaping the union and supporting our members.

    If you are interested in joining the committee and would like to find out more about our work before the nominations open in May, please do not hesitate to get in touch with us. We would love to see some new faces on the committee for the upcoming year, and we hope that you will consider taking an active role in our union. Let us work together to strengthen our collective voice and achieve positive change for our members.

    Motions sent to Congress and SHESC

    The branch has recently approved two motions to be forwarded to national bodies. The first of these, regarding student engagement in our campaigning and disputes, has been sent to the Special Higher Education Sector Conference scheduled for later in April. This motion urges national UCU to form a working group to extend student engagement during industrial disputes, so as to increase pressure on university managements.

    In addition, the branch has passed a motion for UCU Congress in May. This calls on UCU to move away from using the term and principles of Equality, and instead adopt the concept of Equity. The reason for this change is that Equity, as a concept, recognises that not all individuals start from the same place, and some may require greater support to reach fair outcomes. We believe that adopting the term Equity will both serve our members better and contribute to a more just society.

    Both motions are available to read here.

    University of Leeds petition

    We express our condemnation of the recent decision by management at the University of Leeds to implement 100% pay deductions for staff who did not deliver teaching missed on strike days. This approach goes beyond the usual deductions applied across the sector for strike action and is punitive and provocative.

    We urge our members to join us in signing the petition to revoke the 100% pay deduction threat for action short of a strike (ASOS) at Leeds. It is crucial that we stand together in solidarity with other branches and push back against this unjust treatment of our colleagues. Let us send a clear message that such actions will not be tolerated and that we demand fair and respectful treatment of all staff.

    LUCU Committee

  • LUCU News: October 2022

    In this newsletter, we report on local negotiations, UCU Rising, and upcoming training/conference opportunities. 

    Local Negotiations

    Cost of Living Support

    We are continuing discussions with management, including our Vice Chancellor, regarding support for staff during the cost-of-living crisis. We are pleased to report that senior leaders recognise the need to act on this important matter. We are discussing a range of measures to support members in this difficult financial climate – e.g. one-off payments, supermarket discount cards, discounted gym memberships.  Further information on this is expected shortly.   

    Project Expectation

    This project is related to the new University strategy and aims to ensure the accountability of managers at all levels.  LUCU has long argued that there are areas in the University where management practice could be better. Branch officers will be participating in the development and furtherance of this project: our aim is to improve members’ conditions through working with management to devise leadership development processes and best management practice recommendations.   

    Living Wage

    We have been working closely with the local Unison and Unite committees on a living wage campaign, and we can report that management has reiterated its commitment to paying staff the living wage and to becoming an accredited living wage employer. The Vice-Chancellor indicated his support for this in our October quarterly meeting with him, and so we expect further information on this in the coming months.  

    UCU Rising

    Just in case you haven’t voted yet, we again encourage you to return your ballots asap.  Also, a reminder that we have another GM on Wednesday, October 12 at 12 noon (you should have received a Teams invite). This meeting will offer another opportunity to discuss the issues on the ballot: USS, pay, workload, casualisation. 

    Conferences/Training Opportunities

    Annual Equality Groups Conference, 8-10 December 2022

    This year the equality groups conference will be focused on building a shared intersectional equality agenda that pushes back against far-right narratives looking to divide workers, with the aim of building solidarity among members. There will be the five separate conferences for black, disabled, LGBT+, migrant and women members to discuss issues relevant to their group, move motions and elect members to the national standing committees. It will take place at Conference Centre Hotel, Aston Street, Aston University Campus, Birmingham, B4 7ET.  

    Participants to the Black, Disabled, LGBT+, Migrant and Women’s conferences are self-nominating and delegates must self-identify with the relevant equality group. All members of UCU who self-identify with a relevant equality group(s) are invited to attend.   

    Registration deadline is Tuesday 8 November. This is set so UCU can accommodate all accommodation requests. For more information about this conference and for registration details please click here:  

     Climate and Ecological Emergency Annual Meeting, Thursday 10 November 2022

    The UCU Annual Meeting for Climate and Ecological Emergency will be held on Thursday 10 November 2022 online via Zoom from 11.00 am to 4.00pm. The annual meeting will advise and make recommendations to the climate and ecological emergency committee and National Executive Committee on matters relating to climate and ecological emergency and environmental sustainability.  The meeting will hear reports on the work of UCU in relation to the climate and ecological emergency, discuss motions submitted by branches and local associations. There will also be plenty of opportunity to network with colleagues.   

    Members with an interest in furthering the union’s work on climate and ecological emergency may register to attend the meeting. Registration deadline is Friday 4 November, 12 noon.  For more information about this conference and for registration details please click here.  

    LUCU Committee