Report on last week’s meetings.
Another busy week, last week…. There was a rep’s meeting on Friday, a first meeting about a campaign on university governance, a first meeting in years in the computing department, we met with the Students’ Union about common issues of concern. We continue to seek members’ view and challenge the university about the adverse effects upon staff of the cuts.
Today at 2pm, we will be challenging the equality aspects of the cuts at the ‘Reward Joint Negotiating Committee’ which deals with local issues relating to pay such as grading and the equality pay gaps. The university has not undertaken an equality impact assessment on the cuts with the excuse that the impacts are temporary. We are also being fobbed off with raw sickness absence days when we ask for meaningful data to identify the relationship between ill health and workload, that is likely to get worse with the cut and be significantly uneven in its effects as the Workload and Wellbeing Survey highlighted.
The Students Union are amenable to joining us to campaign over the crisis of funding in HE and we hope to organise a joint staff-student meeting. We are seeking other means to ensure that students do not drink the UEB kool aid that this will not affect them. The VCs are proposing increased tuition fees, perpetuating the failed experiment of a funding model no other country would dream of adopting.
Sign our open letter that casualised staff should not bear the brunt of the cuts here. https://tinyurl.com/5b6m9kt5
We have taken the initiative to organise a wider meeting to pull together other branches that are facing cuts like us and to link the national campaign over this year’s pay award. Here is the calling notice:
Open meeting for all UCU branches over Cuts, HE Crisis and Pay, Thursday 14 November, 6pm. Hosted by Newcastle University UCU.
Higher Education funding across the UK is broken. The pay offer does nothing to address pay restoration and behind other public sector deals, let alone the private sector.
Newcastle University UCU members face £35m of cuts, facing attacks on working conditions, career progression and livelihoods. We know we are not alone in this, and there is an employers’ offensive across the country.
We believe that national action over pay is crucial to getting HE to the top of the political agenda. The consultative ballot over pay opens on Tuesday 12 November.
Speakers include Maria Chondrogianni, UCU President Elect; and national pay negotiators. Plus there will be an open discussion about the way forward.
Please attend this meeting as a chance to discuss, what we can do to address both the local attacks and increase pressure nationally to address the crisis in Higher Education.
On behalf of Newcastle University UCU, Matt Perry, Branch Chair Newcastle University UCU, is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: Cuts, HE Crisis and Pay Meeting
Time: Nov 14, 2024 06:00 PM London
Join Zoom Meeting
https://newcastleuniversity.zoom.us/j/86213298758
Meeting ID: 862 1329 8758
Passcode: 467715
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