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,…
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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…
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…
2019 General Election Result
Some thoughts, in an entirely personal capacity of course…. The Conservative victory at the general election is a major setback for working people. The bumbling bigot Johnson will whip up prejudice and launch further attacks on our services, livelihoods and environment. This was not a Trump-like victory. Trump mobilised a base organising mass rallies, for example. By contrast, Johnson boycotted…
Pay Ballot – have you voted yet?
We’re half way through the pay ballot which closes on 30th October. UCU are also balloting to the same timescale. It’s important that all our members vote and we’re encouraging members to vote YES for strike action, because what we’ve been offered (and what has been imposed) falls well below what we asked for and well below what we deserve.…
UNISON National Executive Council Elections 2019
If you’re a member (if not, why not?), you should receive a ballot paper to your home address very soon. Please don’t ignore it. It’s your opportunity to decide who you would like to run the union on a national basis for the next two years. Of the full National Executive Committee of 67 people, we can vote for Higher Education seats,…