Month: May 2020

Return to work?

There has, inevitably, been much discussion about what a return to work might look like. Some of our members have never been away of course, providing essential services (payroll, security, student support, equipment maintenance and delivery etc.), while many of us have been trying to carry on from home, dealing with multiple problems. As it stands, heads of schools and…

UNISON and post Covid-19

A Post-Covid19 recovery should prioritise people and the environment over profit, tackling the climate crisis at the same time. It will be a complex task encompassing many social, economic and ecological factors. Higher education is part of this large puzzle and the picture we should all be aiming to build is one of a fair and inclusive society, one that…

Campaign for Higher Education, part 3

Our campaign continues with an on-line meeting on Zoom: 5.30pm, Thursday 14th May John McDonnell MP Kath Owen (UNISON NEC, personal capacity) Stefan Simms (NEU National Executive, personal capacity) Zoom meeting code is 899 5733 8736 More details on Facebook.   The meeting will discuss the crisis facing universities and what we can do about it, and also the issues…

Campaign for Higher Education, part 1

Whatever happens over the next six months or so, it’s very likely that the number of new students entering the higher education system will be down. UNISON, alongside other trade unions, students’ unions and industry watchers all recognise that this could become a major problem. Our branch is supporting UNISON’s campaign to defend higher education with a significant financial package…

No allowances for working from home

We’ve asked about whether the University would be willing to make payments to cover the additional costs of working from home. Their response was that whilst people can claim for “legitimate expenses, such as paper and printing”, the cost pressures the University is under mean that there’s no ability to fund general costs, such as utility bills etc. Obviously we’re…

No new money for universities – what does that mean for us?

The government has effectively announced that it will not bail out universities in financial difficulty. Instead, the proposal is to bring forward funds from student loans to aid cash-flow and implement a cap on student numbers, so that the more attractive institutions do no recruit significantly more students at the expense of other universities. If these measures represent the only…

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