Branch committee meeting, committee members and departmental reps can attend. Currently held online.
LUCU Committee Meeting
LUCU News: October 2022
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
Drop in Meeting for Staff on Casual Contracts
Drop in Meeting for Staff on Casual Contracts
We inviting all Loughborough University staff on Fixed Term, Zero Hours, Hourly Paid or Variable Hours contracts to attend our first drop-in meeting for members of staff who are on casualised contracts.
We are keen to offer you a safe space to discuss any concerns or issues you are having in the workplace and an opportunity to build links between workers with similar employment terms. During the meeting there will be options for discussion as a group or one to one.
The meeting will take place on Wednesday 31st of August at 1-2pm please join at any time during the hour if you can’t make it from the start of the meeting.
Email the branch to get a login for the meeting: ucu@lboro.ac.uk
We plan to hold these meetings regularly going forward and will try to hold them at different times on different days to allow all members of staff to attend. These meetings are open to both UCU members and other members of staff at Loughborough University, so if you have any colleagues who also fit into the above-mentioned categories please invite them to come along.
We hope to see you at the meeting.
LUCU Committee
LUCU Annual General Meeting
LUCU Annual General Meeting (AGM) for all members.
The topic(s) of the meeting and an agenda will be provided to all LUCU members in the weeks running up to the meeting.
This meeting is scheduled to be held online.
Extraordinary General Meeting – USS/FourFights
Extraordinary General Meeting – USS/FourFights
LUCU members are invited to attend an Extraordinary General Meeting to discuss the USS & Four Fights disputes on Friday 6th May at 1pm. The meeting will be held on Microsoft Teams.
The Four Fights sector conference has voted to:
• call a marking and assessment boycott
• call 10 days of strike action
• keep the Four Fights and USS disputes, and action called in them, coupled
We have been asked by the UCU Higher Education committee to consult our members ahead of a branch delegates meeting on the 10th May and the HEC meeting later that week. A key question for consideration is:
When does your branch believe would be the most effective start date for 10 days of strike action in your institution?
A. Monday 6 June (this is the earliest possible date)
B. Monday 13 June
C. Other (please give more information – operational issues may make it impossible to accede to specific requests)
The EGM offers members the opportunity to discuss how our branch can best manage the results of the HEC decisions and best manage the dispute at a local level.
The results of the Four Fights sector conference are available, and we should receive the results of the USS sector conference before our EGM so both can be discussed at the meeting.
An agenda and minutes of our previous GM, a calendar invite and link to join have been emailed to all members.
LUCU Committee
General Assembly: Notice of Postponement
General Assembly: Notice of Postponement
We have received many messages from members about the timing of the meeting on Friday and about the lack of an option to attend online. We raised your concerns with management. Due to staff availability, we were informed that it was not possible to set up a hybrid meeting this week; hence, we have requested a postponement. We are in discussions with management about rescheduling the meeting at a more convenient time and in a hybrid format so that as many members as possible can attend.
However, developments in the USS dispute continue at a fast pace. LUCU will be using the time originally scheduled for the GA on Friday to meet with the Vice-Chancellor and Chief Operating Officer to discuss building consensus following the next valuation, which is likely to be more favourable than the valuation conducted at the height of the pandemic. LUCU will be pushing for the restoration of benefits. We will also ask management to respond to the issues raised in the two motions tabled for the GA. Depending on what arises from the discussion, and the response to the motions, there may not be a need to reschedule the GA.
We will feedback to members about the outcome of the meeting as soon as possible
LUCU Committee
Extraordinary General Assembly
Extraordinary General Assembly
The General Assembly is the University’s representative forum whose purpose is to allow all staff to “discuss and declare an opinion on any matter relating to the University” and “if it so decides, submit resolutions to the Council or Senate” (Statute 15).
In light of recent USS developments, Loughborough UCU has called an extraordinary meeting of the General Assembly to discuss two matters:
- Whether, given the role that the General Assembly has in the University’s democratic structures, it is appropriate to hold General Assemblies when UCU members are unable to attend due to participating in official strike action.
- Whether the Council has adequately fulfilled its obligations in light of recent changes to the USS pension scheme.
The full text of the two motions we have asked to be discussed is given below.
University management has scheduled the Extraordinary General Assembly for 4pm on Friday 29th April.
If you would like your views on USS to be heard, please attend the meeting. We will send a calendar invite in addition to this message.
We are yet to receive details of the location of the meeting or the Teams link enabling online attendance, but will circulate them when they are known.
Motion 1: Organisation of General Assemblies
This Assembly notes:
– That the purpose of the General Assembly is to be a body that “consists of all staff” (Statute 15);
– UCU’s current industrial action over pay, casualisation, workload, equality pay gaps and proposed reductions to benefits in the Universities Superannuation Scheme.
This Assembly believes:
– That the General Assembly cannot fulfil its purpose if its meetings are scheduled during periods of lawful industrial action by recognised trade unions.
This Assembly resolves:
– To re-schedule future meetings that would otherwise occur during periods of industrial action.
Motion 2: Universities Superannuation Scheme
This Assembly notes:
– The changes to the benefits in the USS pension fund from 1st April 2022 which have reduced future benefit accrual by between 15% and 35%;
– That Loughborough University will be spending approximately £5.8m per year on USS “deficit recovery contributions” from 1st April 2022;
– That USS believes that the purported deficit of £14.1bn as of 31st March 2020 has reduced to £2.0bn as of 28th February 2022, a level which would require no deficit recovery contributions;
– That USS’s calculation of this £2.0bn deficit assumes that its assets will grow by only 0% in real terms, an assumption that the University’s management has previously described as “excessively prudent”;
– That USS’s assets have grown by 33% since March 2020.
– That Council has responsibility for the management and administration of the revenue and property of the University.
This Assembly believes:
– That it is not appropriate for the University to spend £5.8m per year on servicing a deficit that, on any reasonable set of financial assumptions, is non-existent;
– That by allowing the University to spend this money in this manner the Council has not adequately fulfilled its duty to properly manage and administer the revenue and property of the University.
This Assembly resolves:
– To instruct Council to properly discharge its duty to manage and administer the revenue and property of the University.
USS & Four Fights Strike Update – 15th March
USS & Four Fights Strike Update
Additional Strike Days Announced
We will be taking an additional 5 days of strike action over USS & Four Fights from Monday 21st to Friday 25th March to put additional pressure on employers. Thank you to all our members who’ve been part of the action.
Picket Details
We will be picketing the gates of Loughborough University again from the 21st to 25th March. Picketing will start at 8am and conclude around 11am. Please let Marc Gibson know if you will be able to join the pickets.
Re-balloting of Members
Our current strike mandate runs out on the 3rd of May and the UCU HEC have decided to re-ballot all members at Loughborough (and the 148 other HEIs) on both Four Fights and USS to extend the strike mandate. The ballot will open on Wednesday 16th March. Please check your postal details are correct on MyUCU now, and please look out for your ballot pack arriving in the post. It should contain 2 ballots, one for USS and one for Four Fights. Please complete both and return as soon as possible. The ballot period will close on Friday 8th April.
USS Legal Action – Crowdfunding Appeal
This is a joint effort from many university branches who believe in fair pensions and a living planet. Its organising group includes Dr Neil Davies, Bristol UCU, and Dr Ewan McGaughey, KCL UCU and the below is taken from their latest update.
We wanted to update you about the legal action against the USS directors over cuts to our pensions and management of the USS. As you may have heard, we won our first oral hearing, and now we need to raise more to cover costs for the next on 28 March.
If you can donate it will make a huge difference. The current pensions cuts leave many of us £100,000’s worse off in retirement (see modeller). If we win, we could get an injunction against the cuts that will happen on 1 April. We have 3 weeks to save the pension, so please donate now, and share with everyone you know!
Legal case progress to now – In August last year, we raised £50,000 to start legal action against the USS directors. Many thanks to the over 1700 people who contributed. These donations paid for our legal team to develop our claim, which we submitted last Autumn. On the 28th of February, our barrister presented the case at an initial hearing at the High Court judge and requested permission to proceed to the next stage – a full contested hearing. We were successful, and the judge recognised the urgency of our claim and granted us a contested hearing on the 28th of March. He ruled that we have a prima facie case and that we were acting in good faith. If we are successful at the next hearing, we will be able to proceed with the legal action against the directors, which may be paid for by USS Limited (the company that runs our pensions). We have four claims:
- That the 2020 valuation was flawed and unnecessary
- USS costs are excessive
- The changes discriminate against women, younger and minority colleagues
- The USS has failed to have a credible plan to divest from fossil fuels, and this causes significant financial detriment
Crowdfunding – However, to proceed with the next hearing, we urgently need to raise more money to cover the legal costs of the full hearing. So we would be very grateful if you could contribute to our crowdfund. Time is short, so if you could donate here asap – we would greatly appreciate it! If there is any money remaining in the crowdfund after the legal action is complete, we will use it for further legal action over the USS, for example, seeking judicial review of The Pensions Regulator. If there are no further legal options, or we get everything we want (a reasonable valuation, a cost-effective pension scheme, a pensions proposal that is not discriminatory, and divestment from fossil fuels), then we will donate any remaining funds to a charity.
LUCU Committee
Teach Out & Picket Details for Week 3
Teach Out & Picket Details for Week 3
Teach-out: Creating Racial Dialogue
You are invited to attend a Teach-out: Creating Racial Dialogue, hosted by Angela Martinez Dy on Monday 28th February from 10:30am – 11:30am, online via MS Teams. The teach out is open to all Loughborough University staff & students and builds on the previous work of “Building the Anti-Racist Classroom” & Collective Anti Racist Efforts (CARE) training. Please register here before Sunday 4pm to receive the link to join: https://lboro.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/event-registration-teach-out.
Please share this invite with other staff/students you think may like to attend.
Picket Details – Week 3
Thanks, again, to everyone for their efforts on the picket line so far. We wanted to remind you of the picket arrangements for next week when we will be striking over Four Fights dispute. Strike days for week three are Monday 28th Feb, Tuesday 1st March & Wednesday 2nd March.
Picket times and locations remain the same 8am – 11am daily at the main gate of the Loughborough Campus (unless you’ve agreed to attend another gate – contact M.A.Gibson@lboro.ac.uk ). London based colleagues, please keep an eye on our social media accounts for details of further London Campus pickets. Well done to all for your solidarity so far, let’s keep the pressure on and force employers back to the table.
LUCU Committee
Notice of General Meeting: USS & Four Fights
Notice of General Meeting: USS & Four Fights
LUCU members are invited to attend our branch General Meeting on Wednesday 12th January 2022 from 1pm. This meeting is open to all members of UCU in the Loughborough University branch and will be held online via Microsoft Teams.
The agenda for this meeting will include USS Pensions and Four Fights. There is a branch delegates’ meeting preceding the HEC on the 18th January where further decisions around industrial action will be made. This meeting will offer members the opportunity to inform how LUCU’s delegates report back to UCU on the action thus far and future strategy.
If you have a motion you wish the branch membership to consider please submit by no later than 1pm on Wednesday 5th January. If you want to raise a motion and need some help or guidance then please contact the branch secretary, Marc Gibson, who can advise or, if appropriate, put you in touch with another committee member to help.
The agenda will be sent out 1 week before the meeting along with any motions received as will a link to join the meeting.
LUCU Committee