Loughborough UCU

Tag: Open Meeting

  • Talk: When The World Looked Away – Palestine

    Lboro UCU will host a talk, open to all staff and students, by Ali Bilgic – Professor of International Relations and Middle East Politics at Loughborough University. The talk will take place on Tuesday 3rd March at 12-1pm on the Loughborough campus in JB021 in the Sir John Beckwith Centre for Sport (map) and online. Please contact ucu@lboro.ac.uk to register your interest in attending in person or online.

    This talk offers a concise examination of the historical, political, and legal dynamics shaping the conflict in Palestine, with particular focus on Gaza. Beginning with the ideological origins of Zionism and the waves of settler migration under British rule, it traces how settler‑colonial practices, racialisation, and land dispossession laid the foundations for ongoing structural violence Palestinians have to endure everyday. The talk also unpacks Israel’s legal framework highlighting systemic inequalities entrenched in state policy. Contemporary developments such as ICC arrest warrant applications, UN findings about the genocide in Gaza, and escalating settler violence in the West Bank illuminate the severity of present‑day conditions. The presentation also foregrounds Gaza’s environmental devastation, described as ecocide, and the humanitarian catastrophe persisting even after the ceasefire. Concluding with avenues for solidarity and cultural engagement, it challenges audiences to recognise moral responsibilities and to amplify Palestinian voices wherever they can.

  • Contextualising the Conflict: A Brief History of the Middle East

    Loughborough University UCU will be hosting an open meeting on 8th July (12:30 – 13:30) focussed on contextualising the ongoing Israeli–Palestinian conflict.

    In his talk entitled “Contextualising the Conflict: A Brief History of the Middle East”, Ali Bilgic, Professor in International Relations and Middle East Politics at Loughborough University, presents a potted history of the Middle East to help attendees contextualise the horrors we have witnessed for many years, but in particular since the 7th of October 2023.

    The session is open to all staff and students and will include a Q&A and discussion. Please feel free to share this invitation within the Loughborough University community.

    When: 8th July, 12:30 – 13:30

    Where: Schofield 0.01 and on Teams: Join the meeting now

  • Voluntary Exit Scheme Open Meeting Follow Up

    LUCU has raised with management the concerns shared by members and non-members during our recent open meeting regarding the negative impacts of the Voluntary Exit Scheme (VES). These included: 

    • insufficient communication about and preparation for the significant localised impact of exits;  
    • a lack of meaningful review, redistribution or deletion of tasks associated following exits 
    • leadership vacuums following the departure of line managers; 
    • School-wide workload allocation percentages being arbitrarily adjusted in WAMS, but not corresponding to actual changes; 
    • individuals taking reduced hours but with no commensurate reduction in workload; 
    • insufficient capacity to handle upcoming strategic change projects. 

    Through our formal negotiation meetings and follow-up discussions, we have highlighted that the scheme had a disproportionate impact on certain areas, and that some individuals are still being negatively affected. In response, management has acknowledged that rapid exits can require additional support. The OD team have confirmed that the newly revised Management Programme has the management of change running through it and going forward can include messaging about how to support in such a scenario. 

    We are grateful to those who came forward to share their experiences. We remain concerned about the wellbeing of staff still experiencing negative effects of the scheme and will continue to advocate for them. If you are experiencing any difficulties related to the VES scheme – either directly, or indirectly – please do speak with your LUCU representative or email the branch directly. 

  • Open Meeting with Jeevun Sandher, MP for Loughborough

    When: May 9th, 1-2pm.
    Where: U005 (Brockington Extension) & Online via MS Teams.

    Loughborough UCU will be hosting an open meeting with the MP for Loughborough, Shepshed, and the Villages, Dr. Jeevun Sandher, on May 9th from 1-2pm in U005 (Brockington Extension).

    The event will focus on “The Future of Higher Education Policy in the UK”. Dr. Sandher will speak for a few minutes on the topic, before we then open up the discussion to questions from the audience.

    Prior to his election to Parliament last year, Dr. Sandher previously worked as an economist researching inequality and poverty at King’s College London, and he has also served as a UCU trade union rep.

    As this is an open meeting, please do forward this invitation along to any colleagues you think may be interested in attending.

    Note that while online attendance will be possible, we would encourage in-person attendance where possible – and there should also be time to ask questions to Dr. Sandher informally before and after the event.   

    Please click here to download an appointment for your calendar or, if joining online, use this link to join the meeting via Teams: Join online

  • Spread the resistance to the job losses in Higher Education

    The Grassroots Counter-Playbook: How to Fight the Employers’ Offensive

    Thursday 20th March at 12:30pm on Zoom.

    With 1000 jobs losses a month and unprecedented crisis in higher education in the UK, a growing number of branches are resisting.

    Newcastle, Brunel and Dundee Universities are taking industrial action. Other branches such as Durham, Sheffield, Cardiff have balloted for industrial action.

    The employers have a playbook to push through the cuts, we need a counter-playbook.

    Come to the meeting to hear how you can support branches taking industrial action and the lessons of moving into action.

    They cannot win on their own, we need to get the crisis of our universities onto the government’s agenda.

    Link to join the Zoom meeting: https://newcastleuniversity.zoom.us/j/81485600063

    Meeting ID: 814 8560 0063
    Passcode: 322405

    Please also sign the open letter, here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vTY20tsLYA7JVe6X354VD_e8oS4FGHmm6DEyBBPYj8i6aOO7S5_vyzqpxle8nWYaShxT0NMQ3yU5vfw/pub

  • At What Cost? The Impact of the Voluntary Exit and Hours Reduction Scheme

    Across the University, there has been a substantial uptake of the Voluntary Exit and Hours Reduction offerings as part of the wider Cost Reduction Scheme. The University has now ‘saved’ in the region of £4m by encouraging people to leave or to reduce their contracts. Following the success of this scheme, Loughborough UCU are concerned about the impact on those left behind. 

    We are hosting an open meeting on Friday, February 28 from 2:00 PM to 2:50 PM on Teams to discuss the impact on workload for remaining Loughborough staff and doctoral researchers. All Loughborough staff and DRs are invited, whether you are a UCU member or not. 

    Are you an academic whose teaching has increased? Are you a DR who has taken on more research or marking without additional compensation? Is your Professional Services team now trying to cover the same amount of work with fewer staff? We want to hear from you!

    Come and share your thoughts and experiences, hear from other people about what is happening in their areas, and discuss how people are managing increases in workload across the University. Please feel free to invite others in your area to attend as we are keen to include as wide a view as possible.

    You can download an invite for your calendar here, or use this link to join the meeting.