Published: 8th August, 2022
Welcome to Leicester UCU’s monthly bulletin. Here we share the latest branch news and work that has been going on, and how you can get involved in upcoming events. For news on national UCU campaigns, see here.
Governance
Ongoing is the work being undertaken to redress the issues around governance, which was part of the agreement to end the local dispute last year.
Branch co-chair Joseph Choonara has been leading on this, and we are pleased that our discussions with the Executive Board have led to the opening of nominations to the University Senate. Whilst provision for elected members of staff has been in place since 2019, the University of Leicester remains one of the only universities (if not the only one) with no elected staff currently on either Council or Senate. Although there was provision for one elected member of staff from each College (and professional services) to be elected to Senate, this had never been enacted. Work is currently underway to increase this provision, and to ensure that staff are elected to these roles.
Agile Working Project Group
Communications Officer Cara has taken over UCU’s representation on this working group – thanks to Nick Adkins for his work in bringing the views of members to this group previously. The remit of AWPG focuses on the developments around WorkSmart, particularly for professional services colleagues. This group meets regularly, so any concerns members have about WorkSmart, contact Cara directly and these will be fed back to the AWPG.
Our monthly committee meeting was held on 2nd August, and here are the key areas discussed, and the current work of the committee.
Build the Union
The branch is committed to strengthening and increasing its membership. Led by senior officers, the committee are currently working on activities and ideas that will help us grow the branch, both in numbers and in unity. A number of these have already begun: drop in office hours, physical stalls, and social meet ups. As we enter into the new academic year, more activities, and ways for members to get involved in the union will commence, beginning with regular general meetings with guest speakers, and departmental UCU meetings.
Dignity & Respect Working Group
Reps Rashida and Teresa attended the Dignity & Respect working group meeting. They reported to committee three key areas of discussion:
It was agreed that continued discussion of these issues would be facilitated at committee. If you have concerns about these areas. Please contact us.
New reps & Officers
The Committee recorded its thanks to Nick Adkins (outgoing Co-Secretary), Alex Patel (outgoing Co-Chair) and Tony O’Tierney (outgoing Treasurer) for their service to the Branch. Welcomed into their new roles were Nataly Papadopoulou (Co-chair), Alex Patel (Campaigns & Social Media), Emi Mise (Treasurer), and Arwen Joyce (Anti-casualisation).
If you wish to contact our officers and reps, contact information can be found here.
Become an Officer or Rep
We are always on the lookout for activists and new reps. There are a number of positions within the branch committee that are vacant, as well as a number of departments that are without a rep.
If you’re interested in becoming more involved in the branch, please contact us (ucu@uculeicester.org.uk). For more information about the roles, see our webpages, or feel free to contact us for an informal chat.
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