Four days into a totally different way of working, it’s definitely not “business as usual”. For many people struggling to work at home, trying to juggle multiple issues and problems is massively stressful and for some, the sense of isolation is having a serious effect on wellbeing. We recognise that these circumstances are totally different from anything any of us…
Author: Ivan Bonsell
Coronavirus – update as at Tuesday 24th March
Events are now moving so quickly that what we thought made sense a few days ago is now definitely not something we should be doing. All University workers should now be either working from home, unable to work for a variety of reasons, or carrying out essential work only at the University. If you are still working on site,…
Coronavirus – update at 20th March 2020
Events are moving very quickly, but it’s clear that the University will be moving to remote working from the end of today, Friday 20th March. As it stands, there are still some unanswered questions, such as casual pay, but all University employees with a contract will continued to be paid in full and you will be placed in one of…
Coronavirus (COVID-19)
The situation is changing very quickly, but we’ll use our blog to keep our members updated as much as we can. For starters, and to play catch up, here’s a message which went out on Tuesday morning, with more to follow…. Many members are understandably worried and concerned about the situation and the University’s response to it. In a…
Annual General Meetings 2020 Booklet
Annual General Meetings AGM 2020 Booklet This is the booklet available at the AGMs, containing all the papers for the meeting. Feel free to have a read of it, even if you can’t make the AGM.
UNISON Supports the UCU Strikers!
Given the democratic support from the Students’ Union, the eve of the next round of strike action is a good time to remind everyone that UCU have the full support of the UNISON branch. Our members also voted overwhelmingly for strike action, but the national turnout was not sufficient for UNISON to call its members out on strike. If our…
Guidance for those taking Voluntary Severance
Obviously, as a trade union, we don’t want people leaving their jobs, but we understand that many of our members will be looking to leave for a variety of reasons, given the right offer. Here’s what to do if you are in that situation and want our help, assuming you’re a member of course. If you’re told that your application…
UNISON’s response to the closure of Phoenix Nursery
Our members will have seen the announcement that the University intends to close Phoenix Nursery, explained as a consolidation of nursery provision at One World Nursery in Moulsecoomb. This is a case of history repeating itself, since the same proposal was made almost exactly ten years ago. Thanks to a campaign involving nursery staff, students, the children themselves, the UNISON…
National Higher Education Conference, January 2020
Delegates from around the UK met in Milton Keynes last week for the annual conference of UNISON’s university workers. Fifteen motions were debated, and there was a speech from Christine McAnea, Assistant General Secretary and an interesting presentation from Jim Dickinson, Associate Editor at WonkHE. The conference was dominated by the general election result, what this might mean in relation…
Merry Christmas to all our subscribers
Seasons’ Greetings to you all. Decorative UNISON Image Christmas Eve is the best day to revamp the blog, so I’ve changed the look of it, ready for 2020. Hope you like it. If you’re not yet subscribed, you can do this easily to get all our latest posts. You can also see a year’s worth of newsletters on the…