As you have probably already heard, due to the pressure created through your collective action and presence on picket lines, UCU have announced significant progress in negotiations with the employers in our HE pay and pension disputes. To allow ongoing negotiations to continue in a constructive environment UCU has agreed to pause strike action for the next two weeks. This means our scheduled pickets on the 22nd February and 1st March are suspended, as is all strike action until we recommence the pressure with our picket on the 16th March. For this period, during the pause in strike action, ASOS remains in place and the branch will focus on the re-ballot. We are looking to reschedule teach-outs which were planned for the 22nd Feb and the 1st March, and will update you with more details on these when we have finalised the new plans. The planned Creative Writing Social/Teach-out on the 28th February will still be taking place as it is outside of normal working hours.
Take a look at some of the creative works our members have produced with students in support of the dispute, on our YouTube channel.
Re-ballot
It is now more important than ever that we deliver a massive yes vote in our upcoming re-ballot of members for both our pay and conditions, and USS disputes. This will allow our negotiators to keep the pressure on and will leave the option for a Marking and Assessment Boycott and/or further strike action if the dispute is not resolved. Ballot papers will start arriving from Wednesday 22nd February. Please complete and return your ballot, and encourage others to do the same.
We’d really appreciate help with the get the vote out effort. If you volunteer you will be given a list of names and will be asked to call members on their list encouraging them to vote. Please let the branch know if you can help by responding to this email.
UCU will be hosting our union’s biggest ever UCU Live event on the eve of ballots dropping. Please join our general secretary Jo Grady at 19:30 on Tuesday 21st February on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter.
LUCU Committee
Strike & Hardship Pay Details 2022-23
Updated – July 2023
We encourage you to make use of both the national and local (if appropriate) strike funds. For many of us this is a challenging time, financially, and we want to make sure you know you can claim for strike days where you have lost wages. Please see this video from UCU.
The national officers have authorised payments from the national Fighting Fund in support of members in the HE disputes which started on 24th November 2022. Payments from the national scheme apply from your second strike day and currently up to a maximum of 20 days (maximum of 11 for action up to 1st May). In addition, as a branch, we have passed a motion to use our local strike fund to reimburse hourly-paid staff for the first day they strike and any later days which are not covered by the national fund. Please note the November, February and March dates are all considered a single set of actions meaning your “first day” of action (for which no payment is available from the national fund) is only counted once, not separately for each set of dates.
In order to receive a payment from the Fighting Fund members need to:
be paying subscriptions at the correct rate (if any subscription is payable) (check your registered income band in MyUCU)
have participated in official strike action for which officers have agreed to make funds available; and,
provide evidence of deduction from their salary or loss of earnings for strike action.
Payment is made:
in the sum of £50 for the second and subsequent days of strike action taken by the member earning £30,000 gross or more per annum (this is subject to a cap of 20 days. This will be kept under review); and,
in the sum of up to £75 for the second and subsequent days of strike action taken by the member earning less than £30,000 gross per annum (this is subject to a cap of 20 days. This will be kept under review).
Claiming from the Local Fighting Fund
Extra financial help is available from the local branch fighting fund for members who are either:
Hourly paid
Are facing immediate financial hardship as a direct result of strike action e.g. difficulty paying for essentials for themselves or their dependants.
The local fund will pay out for the first day of strike action, and any later days which are not covered by the national fund, which is currently capped at 11 days for the period up to May the 1st.
We will also consider applications for MAB deductions where these are not covered by the national fund or where the shortfall still leaves you in immediate financial hardship.
To make a claim from the local fund, please send the following to our treasurer David Wilson:
Claims for loss of hourly earnings:
confirmation from your School or Department of the hours not worked due to striking
the number of hours missed and the hourly rate of pay you receive
your normal annual earnings (so that we can verify you are paying the correct subscription level and determine which level of payment you are eligible for)
Claims for financial hardship:
a list of days on which you have taken action
payslips showing total deductions (including those covered by the national fund)
your normal annual earnings (so that we can verify you are paying the correct subscription level and determine which level of payment you are eligible for)
Payments can be made up the normal daily maximum as above.
Note that due to national UCU rules, claims to the local fund must be made within 3 months of the deductions. We are seeking to change this to 12 months to match the national fighting fund rules.
Claiming from the National Strike Fund (all other claims)
Claims to the Fighting Fund in respect of all disputes can only be made once members receive payslips showing deductions for strike action. Please read the appropriate Guidance before making your application. The Higher Education Guidance can be found here.
You can make a donation to the Fighting Fund here or by sending a cheque payable to UCU and marking the back of the cheque ‘donation to UCU fighting fund’. Please send cheques to UCU, Carlow Street, London NW1 7LH.
Donating to the Local Fighting Fund
You can make a donation to the local fighting fund via a bank transfer, please contact our treasurer, David Wilson, for more information.
LUCU Committee
Picket in Loughborough on Thursday – 16th Feb
Thanks again to everyone who was involved in the busy and engaging UCU rising pickets we held on the 1st and 9th of February.
This Week’s Picket
This week the branch has organised a picket on Lboro campus. It will take place on Thursday 16th February. The picket will be at the Shirley Pearce Pedestrian Crossing (on Epinal Way – exact location) from 8:30am to 10:30am. We hope to see as many of you there as possible. The longer the picket line, the shorter the dispute.
Future Picket Dates, Times & Locations
Strike Day
Picket Time
Picket Location
Wed 22nd Feb
11:30-14:00
Holywell Gate
Wed 1st March
11:30-14:00
Holywell Gate
Thurs 16th March
8:30-10:30
Main Gate
Mon 20th March
8:30-10:30
Main Gate
Future London picket details will be communicated as and when they are arranged.
Although we are only picketing on the above dates, please remember that the following dates are also strike days.
We now have three teach outs planned during this period of industrial action. Please advertise these events to your colleagues, students and anyone else who may be interested in joining us. We have linked a poster and would love if you can print out and put up around campus to encourage people to attend these events.
Unions and the Media, an online teach-out: Wednesday February 22nd, 2:30-5pm (Teams link): We will start with a Trade Unions 101 by Anthony Kevins: Is a trade union like a student union? Are strikes just protests? And why are strikes even a thing? In this brief introduction to trade unions, we’ll cover everything you ever wanted to know about collective bargaining but were too afraid to ask. Bring your questions! Then John Downey will present a talk entitled ‘What about the workers? How do news media frame unions and what we can do about it’ discussing unions, inequality, and media representation, including reflections on how UCU does self-mediation and how it is being represented in the current dispute.
Organising and Power, an online teach-out: Wednesday 1st March, 2:30-5pm (Teams link): Ruth Kinna will give a talk (open to all staff and students) about Rose Pesotta (1896–1965), anarchist, feminist and labour organizer in the International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union, then Alexandre Christoyannopoulos will lead a workshop (for LUCU members only) introducing methods from the Organizing for Power workshops that some members attended last year, with time for discussion about how they could work within Loughborough UCU.
Memories of anti-racism, a hybrid teach-out: Thursday 16th March, 11am-12 noon in-person and online (Teams link): Emily Keightley will introduce the Migrant Memory and Postcolonial Imagination exhibition at Charnwood Arts (address: 27 Rectory Pl, Loughborough LE11 1UW), and will talk about histories and memories of anti-racist protest and experiences of racism in Loughborough and East London.
Resources for Staff
Please regularly check our website for updated versions of strike resources for staff such as out of office messages, email templates you can send to students or use on learn and slides for students.
Branch TikTok
With the aim of reaching out to more students the branch has set up a TikTok account and started releasing videos on that platform. Please take a look and give the videos a like and, if you use TikTok, follow our profile. Click the links for videos: TikTok1 and TikTok2. More TikTok videos coming soon. We have also released the same videos on all our existing social media (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube ). Liking and sharing our social media posts helps boost awareness of the ucuRISING dispute and the issues we are facing, so all help with that is very much appreciated.
LUCU Committee
Pickets in Loughborough and London – 9th Feb
Thanks again to everyone who was involved in the busy and engaging UCU rising picket we held on the 1st February, and also to those who came to the planning meeting that followed.
This Week’s Pickets
This week the branch has organised pickets on both Lboro and London campuses. Both will take place on Thursday 9th February. The Loughborough picket will be at the Shirley Pearce Pedestrian Crossing (on Epinal Way – exact location) from 8:30am to 10:30am. The London picket will be at the main entrance of the London campus building from 9am – 11am. We hope to see as many of you there as possible. The longer the picket line, the shorter the dispute.
Future Picket Dates, Times & Locations
Strike Day
Picket Time
Picket Location
Thurs 16th Feb
8:30-10:30
Shirley Pearce Pedestrian Crossing
Wed 22nd Feb
11:30-14:00
Holywell Gate
Wed 1st March
11:30-14:00
Holywell Gate
Thurs 16th March
8:30-10:30
Main Gate
Mon 20th March
8:30-10:30
Main Gate
Future London picket details will be communicated as and when they are arranged.
Although we are only picketing on the above dates, please remember that the following dates are also strike days.
We now have three teach outs planned during this period of industrial action, unfortunately the ones we had hoped to hold in the LSU building will now have to be on-line only due to no rooms being available. Please advertise these events to your colleagues, students and anyone else who may be interested in joining us.
Unions and the Media, an online teach-out: Wednesday February 22nd, 2:30-5pm (Teams link): We will start with a Trade Unions 101 by Anthony Kevins: Is a trade union like a student union? Are strikes just protests? And why are strikes even a thing? In this brief introduction to trade unions, we’ll cover everything you ever wanted to know about collective bargaining but were too afraid to ask. Bring your questions! Then John Downey will present a talk entitled ‘What about the workers? How do news media frame unions and what we can do about it’ discussing unions, inequality, and media representation, including reflections on how UCU does self-mediation and how it is being represented in the current dispute.
Organising and Power, an online teach-out: Wednesday 1st March, 2:30-5pm (Teams link): Ruth Kinna will give a talk (open to all staff and students) about Rose Pesotta (1896–1965), anarchist, feminist and labour organizer in the International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union, then Alexandre Christoyannopoulos will lead a workshop (for LUCU members only) introducing methods from the Organizing for Power workshops that some members attended last year, with time for discussion about how they could work within Loughborough UCU.
Memories of anti-racism, a hybrid teach-out: Thursday 16th March, 11am-12 noon in-person and online (Teams link): Emily Keightley will introduce the Migrant Memory and Postcolonial Imagination exhibition at Charnwood Arts (address: 27 Rectory Pl, Loughborough LE11 1UW), and will talk about histories and memories of anti-racist protest and experiences of racism in Loughborough and East London.
Resources for Staff
Please regularly check our website for updated versions of strike resources for staff such as out of office messages, email templates you can send to students or use on learn and slides for students.
LUCU Committee
UCU Rising Picket Dates and More
Firstly, thanks to all those who attended our picket on the 1st February. It was great to see so many people out in support of the UCU Rising dispute. Following on from the picket we held a productive meeting to plan the rest of our action where many members contributed to an engaging discussion. It was really inspiring to see so many members getting involved and volunteering to take actions. A summary of the outcomes agreed by members at the meeting is below.
Targeted Picketing
It was agreed that we would target picketing to 6 days (one per week of the strike action), please attend as many of these pickets as you can. As always friends, family and supporters are more than welcome on our pickets:
Strike Day
Picket Time
Picket Location
Thurs 9th Feb
8:30-10:30
Shirley Pearce Pedestrian Crossing
Thurs 16th Feb
8:30-10:30
Shirley Pearce Pedestrian Crossing
Wed 22nd Feb
11:30-14:00
Holywell Gate
Wed 1st March
11:30-14:00
Holywell Gate
Thurs 16th March
8:30-10:30
Main Gate
Mon 20th March
8:30-10:30
Main Gate
London picket details will be communicated in due course.
Although we are only picketing on the above dates, please remember that the following dates are also strike days.
We have also had several people volunteer to host Teach Out sessions. We hope these sessions will be hybrid meetings and will confirm details nearer the time. Anyone else interested in hosting a teach out session on any of the strike days please get in touch with the branch. Presently this is our plan:
22nd Feb at 2:30pm at the LSU (tbc) – Two members will host a teach out on the subject of Unions and the Media.
16th March at 11am at Charnwood Arts (tbc) – A member will host a teach out on Colonialism and Anti-racism – followed by a members meeting.
Resources for Staff
Please regularly check our website for updated versions of strike resources for staff such as out of office messages, email templates you can send to students or use on learn and slides for students.
LUCU Committee
LUCU News January 2023
Addressing UCU Rising and local negotiations & campaigns
UCU Rising: Update
At the January BDM, branch delegates fed back members’ views as expressed at our recent GM and via email, where a majority of LUCU members backed escalating strike action in semester two and a marking and assessment boycott (MAB) beginning in April. Feedback from other branches and voting results at the BDM indicated that these views were also held by a majority of members across the union. Accordingly, HEC voted to call for 18 days of strike action, with the first day of action on Wednesday, February 1st (future dates yet to be confirmed), and members will be re-balloted so that action can continue after the current mandate ends in March 2023, that is, should current negotiations not bring about a resolution to the disputes on pay, workload, casualisation and USS pensions.
The branch committee is already mobilising for a re-ballot and planning for a MAB. Branch officers have undertaken training on MAB and will produce guidance that is specific to LUCU members in due course.
Interestingly, new research by Loughborough’s Centre for Research into Social Policy underscores the need to continue the fight for restoration of our benefits, as inflation adds 20% to the cost of retirement, while UUK chooses to cut our pensions by c. 30%:
Our action has already resulted in positive movement on the pay front, with UCEA making an improved offer to UCU negotiators. However, negotiations on pay are ongoing, as the offer of a pay rise between 4-5% was not deemed sufficient considering the insufficient pay rises awarded over the last 10 years and current inflationary pressures. Negotiations on workload and insecure contracts also continue at national level.
At local level, discussions continue with University SMT about workload, pay and pensions. The University remains committed to the position it set out in our joint statement on USS, which we were pleased to hear from the visiting speaker at our recent GM has proved helpful to other branches in moving their SMTs toward a public statement supportive of improved benefits, as well as to UCU’s national negotiators. We are currently exploring with management the idea of another joint statement addressing other issues in the dispute – workload, pay, precarious contracts.
We have had some promising discussions with senior leadership regarding workload. The matter was discussed at the Vice Chancellor’s Reports meeting on Monday 16 Jan, and it will be discussed in more detail at University Executive Board (formerly known as ALT) in early February. We have a meeting scheduled shortly after this and will provide an update in next month’s newsletter.
Tri-partite meetings involving LUCU, SMT and LSU also continue, which offers a valuable space for us to present our perspective on the disputes to student representatives.
Local Negotiations and Campaigns – Re-structures
We can also report that LUCU has been meaningfully consulted on a new restructure in IT Services, where we do not envisage any negative impact to members. However, we remain available to support any member affected by this restructure. Any member who would like a caseworker to attend meetings with them should contact their area Rep in the first instance.
The Enabling Programme:
The Enabling Programme – comprising six projects – has been established to collectively drive positive change in the areas of Loughborough’s reputation, digital capabilities, workplaces, compliance levels, processes/ways of working, and culture. Details of the projects and their aims can be found via the Organisational Development website. All six projects are now live, with Projects Enable, Workplace and Compliance being the most advanced.
LUCU is regularly consulted by management on programme developments as these initiatives impact on our working conditions, and we can raise issues of concern in our monthly meetings with SMT, as well as via JNCC and ARSNC.
We would like to update members on key examples of Project Enable’s success so far:
Changes to the ethics approval process: ethics applications made by UG and PGT students classified as low risk will be signed off by the supervisor without further review. This will remove over 1500 additional checks from the process each year.
Changes to assessing student placements, will save over 800 staff hours (academic and Professional Services), whilst it is estimated that the change to a greater number of online progress meetings will save over 4,500 hours per year.
Project Expectations’ workstreams have been defined, focusing on strategy engagement; leadership development; reward and recognition; internal communications; development and performance. The findings of the recent Staff Engagement Survey will also help to shape the project, and an independent review of the inaugural Vice-Chancellor’s Awards has commenced to inform enhancements for 2023. Projects Reputation and Digital have set up their governance and Programme Boards and have begun scoping the project workstreams.
If you have a question(s) about any of the projects, please feel free to contact the Enabling Programme Manager Meg Stafford, who is taking over from Jenna Townend. We would like to thank Jenna Townend for working so collegially with LUCU committee members on Project Enable.
Casual drop-in meetings; UCU annual meeting of staff on casual contracts
The first two drop-in meetings with our colleagues on casual contracts went really well. Attendees are steadily building a sense of community, and we were able to discuss their concerns at the meeting. We have since progressed some issues through our casework. We are happy to announce a third meeting on Friday 27th January at 2-3pm, which is open to all Lboro staff (UCU members and non-members) on these types of contracts. To get a link to join the meeting please email ucu@lboro.ac.uk and encourage folk to come along!
The annual UCU meeting of staff on casualised contracts takes place on Sat 25 Feb, online. If you are interested in being one of our Lboro UCU branch delegates for this meeting, please email the branch. More details can be found here.
Branch membership
After reaching a low point in October 2022, membership secretary Marc Gibson is very pleased to announce that branch membership has subsequently been rising, while we have also recruited 3 new area reps. As one of LUCU’s priorities this year is to ensure this upward trend continues, we’d like to ask you to consider adding one of the following logos into your email signature. Video instructions for adding signatures with logos to your email can be found here.
LUCU Committee
Updates on Industrial Action & MAB Training
LUCU General Meeting & UCU Branch Delegates Meeting (BDM) Results
The results of the voting at our branch meeting combined with email responses were as follows (abstentions mean the results do not add up to 100%):
Escalating strike action – 67%
MAB Jan 2023 – 35%
Immediate Re-ballot Yes – 76%
Indefinite strike action – 13%
MAB April 2023 – 42%
Immediate Re-ballot No – 6%
At the Branch Delegates Meeting, our branch delegates cast LUCU’s votes as follows: for escalating strike action, for MAB April and for re ballot. The voting at the BDM was in line with LUCU voting and the results have now been released:
Escalating strike action – 57%
MAB Jan 2023 – 26%
Immediate Re-ballot Yes – 91%
Indefinite strike action – 31%
MAB April 2023 – 56%
Immediate Re-ballot No – 4%
Full question/answer text and results of the BDM can be found here.
The next steps are for the results from the BDM to go to the HEC on Thursday for consideration with the aim of a clear outcome from HEC on our next steps in the dispute. We will let you know as soon as we have the outcome.
Marking and Assessment Boycott (MAB) Training
We strongly encourage members to attend one of the two upcoming sessions on Marking and Assessment Boycott training. Please pre-register for one of the following 90 minute online training sessions held later today and Friday:
Session 1 – Wednesday 11 January – 16:00 to 17:30 – Register here
Session 2 – Friday 13 January – 10:00 to 11:30 – Register here
LUCU Committee
Winter Break Office Closure
The LUCU office will be closed for the winter break from 4pm today (21st December). We will re-open (and respond to enquiries) from 10am on Wednesday 4th January 2023.
Have a great winter break!
LUCU will not be monitoring the main branch email inbox during the winter break so if an urgent response is required please email the branch secretary or relevant committee member directly. Please bear in mind they are also on their winter break so won’t be checking email daily. Their contact details can be found here: https://ucu.lboro.ac.uk/contacts/
In the meantime, should you need it, the Education Support Partnership is a free service for our members, active 24/7. They provide counselling, support, financial assistance and more.
This month we report on industrial action, caseworker training, and local negotiations.
UCU Rising Update
We would like to thank members who took part in pickets at the Loughborough Midland and London campuses – the turnout was fantastic! Our branch also made a good showing at the virtual picket, and members helped swell the numbers at the London Rally on 30 Nov.
We would like to remind members that Action Short of Strike – ASOS began on Wednesday 23 November and will continue until further notice. ASOS entails:
working to contract;
not covering for absent colleagues;
removing uploaded materials related to, and/or not sharing materials related to, lectures or classes that will be or have been cancelled as a result of strike action;
not rescheduling lectures or classes cancelled due to strike action;
not undertaking any voluntary activities.
It can be difficult to ascertain the duties that fall under ASOS. If you are unsure whether a task is covered by ASOS, or if you feel that you are being pressured to undertake work that is covered by ASOS, please contact your area Rep – you can find their contact details here: https://tinyurl.com/3hw4h6sb
Casework training
We reported in our last newsletter on the scale of personal casework undertaken in support of our members. Additional volunteers to join the casework team are always very welcome. If anyone is interested in taking on this role, then please come along to an online training session that will be delivered for the branch by UCU’s Regional Office from 2-5 pm on Tuesday 17 January. From past experience, this will be a friendly and supportive occasion; existing members of the casework team will also be attending. Anyone who would like to take part in the session should contact our Personal Casework Coordinator Andrew Dix (A.Dix@lboro.ac.uk) for further details. Andrew will also be happy to meet with anyone to discuss more generally the personal caseworker role.
Local Negotiations
UCEA Consultation on Pay: As you may be aware from Jo Grady’s recent comms, the strikes have brought the employers back to the table to discuss pay and working conditions. Loughborough management recognizes the need to reward staff fairly for the University to retain and recruit staff. We can report that management responded to the consultation carried out by UCEA in November in favour of bringing forward the March pay negotiation round. This has been agreed by UCEA and the unions at a national level and negotiations regarding the 2023/24 pay round will commence in December with the aim of being concluded by the end of January.
Working Group on Pay, Pensions and Workload: The new working group to explore how Loughborough University might address the issues at the heart of the industrial disputes held constructive meetings in November and December. The first meeting refined the group’s objectives and scope, while the second meeting followed up on national developments and preliminary plans to make meaningful changes to local teaching loads and modelling good practice around evenings and weekends. The group will meet monthly, and we will keep members informed on progress via the newsletter.
Review of Promotions Process and Criteria: As part of the consultation regarding the promotions process and criteria, LUCU recommended an additional focus group to capture the experience of colleagues with disabilities. The focus group has met, and the views expressed will inform the final draft documentation that will be submitted to for approval by Senate and Council. We would like to thank Lisanne Gibson (Dean SSH) and Chris Reily Dean (AACME) for working with us to facilitate this additional focus group.
Working with LSU: We are pleased to report that the first meeting between LUCU, Loughborough Students’ Union (LSU) and University senior management will take place in January. We look forward to working collaboratively with student union Reps alongside management to progress matters of common interest.
Health and Safety – Rest Breaks: We raised the issue of back-to-back Teams’ meetings with management following reports from members of difficulties experienced after spending too much time in front of a screen without a break. We would like to thank management for actioning a change to Outlook so that meetings are scheduled by default for 25 or 50 minutes. This cannot be automated across all computers, so staff are advised set up their own Outlook accounts if they wish meetings to follow this pattern.
Instructions below:
Open Outlook and go to the “File” tab at the top of the page and select “Options” at the bottom on the left-hand side
Click on “Calendar”
Put a tick in the box next to “Shorten Meetings and Appointments”.
Select “End Early” in the drop-down list next to this
Next to “Less than one hour” select 5 minutes from the drop-down box
Next to “One hour or more” select 10 minutes from the drop-down box
Click Ok
A communication has also gone out to line managers so that large group meetings are also scheduled to allow staff time away from the screen between Teams meetings.
Have a great break over the holidays and a very happy new year!
LUCU was represented at the Branch Delegates’ Meeting on Monday, Oct. 31st where our delegate used their vote in line with members’ views as expressed at the Oct 26th GM and via the survey.
The GM vote combined with the survey feedback showed a clear majority among LUCU members for: 1) giving the employer a time limited period of negotiation to reach a settlement prior to calling strike action; 2) no action in November; 3) if action were to be called in November, it should be limited; 4) initiating a programme of phases of escalating action to cover the six-month lifetime of the ballot mandate; 5) an assessment and marking boycott beginning in Spring 2022; 6) prioritising action that members feel able to support and that will promote unity.
The BDM voted 72% in favour of offering the employers time to negotiate; 80% in favour of action in November, but with 70% voting for action in November to be limited; 87% in favour of escalating phases of action throughout the ballot period; 54% in favour of a December assessment and marking boycott, and in favour of prioritising action that members feel able to support and that will promote unity.
The HEC met on Thursday, Nov. 3rd and voted in line with the views expressed by the majority of branch delegates. The employers will be served notice for three days of strike action at the end of November, a marking and assessment boycott to begin in December, and to escalate action from February unless the employers enter into good faith negotiations. We expect further details and strike dates to be announced the week of Nov. 7th. Once we know the details, we will invite members to a GM for a discussion about local strategy.
Personalcasework
Compared with other of LUCU’s activities – negotiating local conditions with senior management, say, or planning for industrial action – the personal casework that we do is inconspicuous, even hidden. By its very nature, it takes place behind the scenes. However, it is one of the most vital things we do.
Since the beginning of the last academic year, our personal caseworkers have supported over thirty members. Some of this has been low-key and time-limited – offering advice by email, for instance, or via a brief meeting. The majority of the cases we take on, however, are more complex and demanding; they range from supporting members in preparing grievances through advising them when they are at risk of redundancy to representing them at disciplinary hearings and appeals.
Challenging as it is, however, this personal casework is highly rewarding, as we can make a difference to members in very difficult and stressful circumstances. It also gives caseworkers an opportunity to become familiar with other parts of the University – we don’t take on cases in our own School or section – and to identify issues that may have broader significance and connect to our campaigning and negotiating activities.
Our team of caseworkers is small – we need more. We would ask anyone interested in joining us to contact our Personal Casework Coordinator Andrew Dix (A.Dix@lboro.ac.uk) for an informal conversation about what the role entails. Training will be given, with the next course – delivered by the Union’s Regional Office and lasting only a few hours – to be delivered sometime in January. Do look out, in due course, for the exact date. As you begin your casework, you will also be supported by an experienced colleague. We hope to hear from interested members.
Building LUCU:Your branch needs you to become a rep
There’s never been a greater need for members to step up to becoming a branch rep. The current committee is committed to facilitating a thriving branch reps’ network, empowering you to take an active role in guiding the branch in its negotiations with LU’s senior managers. Reps are our eyes and ears on the ground, the first port of call for members in need of assistance, and crucial to helping us recruit more members across campus.
The role will be what you make of it, though we are positive in encouraging you to help make Loughborough the best place to work that it can be. Though Reps are not eligible for facilities time, in keeping with the positive working relationship we have developed with management, most reps have been granted some remission in their workload by their managers who recognise the value of working with LUCU on matters of common concern (c. 10-15 hours). We can help facilitate a discussion with your manager about this should you wish to serve as a Rep.
Come and join the life of the branch and make a difference! Contact our Membership Secretary, Marc Gibson, for more information: M.A.Gibson1@lboro.ac.uk or via Teams.
