Summer Branch News: restructures, Saturday working and more
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Put our USS-themed Action Group meeting in your diary: Wednesday 13 September, 1-2pm, Room tbc.
Summer Branch News
The traditionally quiet time of year has been anything but, with member-led branch meetings, restructures and new policies imminent, and the USS pension fund making the headlines.
The university's Strategy Delivery Group (SDG), a temporary management team set up by the Vice Chancellor to look for money-saving opportunities across the university, isn't set to disband any time soon. The SDG were responsible for last year's Staff Release Scheme, and their reviews of substantial areas of the university's activities may well lead to significant change and uncertainty. With large parts of Professional Services currently in the spotlight and many staff potentially affected, we are keeping a close eye on what's going on alongside UNISON and Unite. Most importantly, we are keen to make sure the university follows its agreed change management procedures and treats affected staff sensitively and fairly. Please do contact us with any concerns or issues you think we need to know about.
In July, following a call from 50 Sheffield UCU members, we held an Extraordinary General Meeting where a motion was passed strongly criticizing Sheffield City Council's response to protests regarding Sheffield's street trees. We are pleased to see such member-led initiatives, and would welcome calls for single-issue meetings from other members. You can read the latest developments on the trees at the Sheffield Trees Action Group website.
The USS pension fund has made the headlines this summer, with sensationalist reporting focusing in on an accounting figure which has little relevance to the scheme's health. The figure that matters much more is one which will appear in the triennial valuation, due in September. Early signs are that there has been some softening of the 'reckless prudence' which was a hallmark of 2014's valuation, although there is likely to remain significant damage from a self-inflicted risk-management measure known as Test 1. We are working well with the university on this issue, as so far our priorities seem to be closely aligned. That said, members could start preparing themselves for the worst case, where a sturdy defense may be needed of a pension scheme well worth holding on to.
This summer also saw significant coverage on pay inequality, with the BBC's list of high earners revealing a startling gender disparity, and politicians starting to focus on eye-watering pay for Vice Chancellors in the context of soaring student fees and stagnating staff wages. Recent legislation mandates that employers publish their gender pay gaps; this University has been acutely aware of its own gender pay discrepancies for a number of years, and we have been working with them to understand the data and highlight the problems. We hope, ultimately, that the university will commit to some actions to alleviate the problem locally.
Two fairly significant changes for the coming academic year are the mass roll-out of lecture capture and a shift towards Saturdays for open days. Following a useful Action Group in June, we have written a letter to Wyn Morgan in which we acknowledge the benefits that lecture capture can bring while remaining concerned about the opt-out process. We have requested that the policy removes the requirement for Head of Department approval for opt-out so that lecturers will retain autonomy over pedagogical decisions, and await a response. Saturday open days are likely to affect a large number of our members and we are continuing to discuss how these will be handled by the university, having pointed out that time-off-in-lieu, a suggested mechanism for reimbursing time worked on a Saturday, is all but meaningless to most academic staff.
Finally, members voted in an indicative ballot earlier in the summer to accept the 1.7% pay settlement resulting from the national negotiations. With this being another big effective pay cut, and salaries below where they were in the late 1990s in real terms, it begs the question: can you see this turning around? And if not, any thoughts on where it will lead us? Answers on a postcard to the usual address.
Sheffield UCU Committee
Are you up to speed on 'Prevent'?
The Prevent duty, part of the government's counter-terrorism strategy, came into effect for higher education institutions in September 2015. It requires all HEIs to have due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism. UCU nationally has been campaigning against Prevent since it came in, with concerns that range from the possibility of infringement on academic freedom to certain groups being targeted due to prevailing narratives around extremism. You can read more about UCU's response to Prevent, and download posters expressing that 'I dissent from Prevent'.
Over the last two years a range of policies and procedures have been put in place here at Sheffield that include Prevent duty actions. As a branch we're interested in hearing from members who have experienced problems relating to the Prevent duty. Have you been prevented from putting on an event at short notice, for example? The external speakers policy requires 10 days to risk assess all external speakers, and we're aware of at least one case of someone being refused permission to speak. Please get in touch if you have any concerns or questions about how Prevent is being implemented.
Are you in a health and safety hot-spot?
We have managed to increase our number of trained Health and Safety representatives, and are hoping to make health and safety inspections of departments more routine in the future. If you are aware of health and safety issues where you work - this could be an environment detrimental to mental health equally as well as physical well-being - then please let us know, as some ideas of where needs attention helps us to plan.
#JobstownNotGuilty defendants found not guilty
If you were at our general meeting earlier in the year, you will recall that the branch passed a motion in support of a group of protestors who were accused of false imprisonment after a sit-down protest in Ireland. The most recent trial has resulted in not guilty verdicts for the six facing the charge, but the campaign continues to ensure that all remaining charges are dropped.
Thu 19 October, 13:00-14:00, General Meeting, Council Room, Firth Court
June Branch News: lecture capture, international staff and more
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June Branch News
Our Action Group discusses lecture capture with Wyn Morgan, international staff stay in our attention and we welcome new committee members
Our June Action Group took lecture capture as its theme, and we were joined by Wyn Morgan for the second half of the meeting to hear from members directly. There was healthy discussion, taking in the potential benefits to students alongside concern over the wording of the policy. In particular, there was general agreement among members that final authority over the ability to opt out lying with the Head of Department is an unprecedented level of managerial interference in the pedagogical process and seriously undermines the professional autonomy of teaching staff. The policy as it stands was considered to be largely acceptable, but this key element is a sticking point for members which we will be asking the university to revisit.
A year after the EU referendum, the Government finally published its negotiating position on the rights of EU citizens, suggesting it put a 'generous' offer on the table. The treatment of EU staff, and international staff more generally, is of huge importance to higher education and directly effects many of our members. We are continuing to discuss the university's support for international staff, in particular the rising costs associated with remaining in the UK for staff and their families. We think the university will have to do more to justify its #WeAreInternational hashtag if it wants to retain its international expertise and attract new staff.
With national pay negotiations having reached an impasse earlier this year - the final offer was of more real-terms pay erosion - and with a draft valuation for the USS pension scheme imminent, we are pleased that UCU has called a commission into industrial action and bargaining with a remit to look into the strategies that have been pursued nationally and how to make these more effective in the future. There is no justification for the huge pay erosion endured by staff over the past 8 years, and 2014's pension downgrades were preventable. The question is: will universities change their approach to remuneration before anger reaches critical levels among staff?
Finally, our Annual General Meeting took place at the beginning of the month, and we were pleased to formally welcome new members to the committee. We also gave our thanks to two long-standing committee members who are retiring this summer - Jane Simm and Pablo Stern - who have both made huge contributions to the union's work in Sheffield. Luckily, Pablo will continue to act as treasurer and Jane is planning to stay on committee as a retired member. We always have space on our committee for members who would like to get involved: if you can spare one lunchtime a fortnight to discuss the pressing issues and how we can make progress on them, please do reply to this email.
Wishing you a pleasant start to the summer,
Sheffield UCU Committee
EU negotiations - what is the current state of affairs?
The government's newly published proposal for the rights of EU citizens in the UK outlines a new procedure that will in effect replace the current permanent residency requirement with a settled status, being compulsory for all who wish to stay after the UK’s departure from the EU. The published documents have left several crucial question unanswered, suggesting the Government will specify the timeframes and key deadlines at a later stage. It is important to note that the current offer is the initial negotiating position that might well change over the coming months. Moreover, several commentators (see below) argued that the outlined proposal is anything but generous, pointing to the EU 27’s offer preserving all existing rights of all citizens. A comprehensive analysis on the proposed changes can be found on Free Movement Website.
There have been a number of disputes occurring at other higher education institutions in our region and beyond. Leeds University called local strike action over a change to their statutes, with the university wanting new powers to sack staff. At Manchester Metropolitan University, there are job losses threatened due to the proposed closure of their Crewe campus. We give our full support to UCU members taking robust action in the face of questionable decision making by universities.
May Branch News: Support for international colleagues, lecture capture and more
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Come to our AGM, Thursday 8 June, 1pm (Council Room, Firth Court) and keep an eye out for our printed bulletin, to appear soon.
May Branch News
Our Deputy Vice Chancellor departs, we focus on the difficulties facing international staff, and lecture capture is prominent in members' concerns.
With the deputy Vice Chancellor, Shearer West, having announced her departure, we asked the university what this means for the Strategy Delivery Group and the reviews for which she had oversight. We are told that a direct replacement is being sought, and that temporary arrangements for covering any gap are being discussed. In particular, there isn't expected to be any change to the scope or schedule of the SDG's activity. The first of the reviews springing from the SDG are starting to bite, and we will do our best to ensure that the procedures that we negotiated will be followed and that staff get properly supported.
The university recently announced that it will reimburse the cost of residency cards backdated to 23 June last year and will offer legal support on immigration matters for EU staff. While we are pleased of the help for those who find themselves in an uncertain position due to last year's referendum, we think there is more that can be done, especially in light of rocketing charges for initial visas (including the new hard-to-defend 'NHS surcharge' and its proposed hike), as well as for the Indefinite Leave to Remain for non-EU international staff. Here (http://bit.ly/2rnPHew) is a short version of our discussion document outlining what we'd consider to be gold-standard help for international staff, both EU and non-EU. We hope that the university will support our suggestions which we think align perfectly with its welcome #weareinternational campaign. In addition, if you are a member of our international staff, please remember that UCU offer free legal advice for immigration matters (see below).
We have continued to discuss lecture capture with the university, who are set to roll the system out on an 'opt-out' basis in September. While our members have brought up a number of concerns, we were reassured to see guidance which stated that staff will retain all performance rights for their recordings, and that recordings cannot be used for performance management reasons without the lecturer's permission. We will endeavour to keep all members informed as this guidance firms up.
Thanks to all who took part in our consultation on the recent pay offer. We have fed all feedback in to Head Office, and the relevant national committees will be making decisions on the next steps soon. It seemed clear that our members viewed the recent award as dismal, and were supportive of a formal ballot in the autumn. After years of below inflation pay increases, it is hard to see how this year's award can be thought of as fair or acceptable.Finally, we sent four delegates to UCU's annual congress to vote on behalf of Sheffield members on a range of motions. A report will follow in due course, but for now you can see what happened on our Twitter account (https://twitter.com/sheffielducu).
Sheffield UCU Committee
Legal Advice for International Staff
Our union has partnered with Bindmans immigration law experts to provide advice to both EEA and non-EEA nationals, including partners and dependents of members. The union has also waived the three months waiting period for new members in gaining advice for the legal scheme. The FAQs on UCU’s website contains information on how members can get personalised advice. (https://www.ucu.org.uk/we-are-international & http://bit.ly/2kWgvyZ).
AGM Thurs 8th June 1-2, Council Room, Firth Court.
Action Group Wed 21 June 1-2 (theme tbc)
April Branch News
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April Branch News
The NSS looks set to miss its target, pay continues to erode and who knows about pensions?
With just a few days to do until the National Student Survey closes, it is very likely that the University of Sheffield will fall short of the 50% response rate at which its results will be published. This is due to the high-profile boycott being run by the National Union of Students which has the support of UCU nationally and locally. The boycott was motivated by the linking of fee-rises to the Teaching Excellence Framework metrics and almost certainly played a part in the House of Lords' rejection of this aspect of the Higher Education Bill. The bill was rushed through the system yesterday to make way for a general election, and while there have been some concessions by the government, it still contains much that is malign.
The annual negotiations on pay have reached an impasse, with the headline offer on the pay spine equivalent to a massive 1.3% pay cut in real terms compared to RPI. There was an agreement for further joint work on the gender pay gap, but nothing further on casualisation, and an outright refusal to engage in negotiations on workloads and stress. The scale of the wage erosion is now such that starting lecturer salaries are lower in real terms than they were in 1999 and, when factoring in last year's downgrade to the USS pension scheme, it becomes clear that the power balance in higher education remuneration is far from healthy.
The triennial valuation of the USS pension fund should appear soon. While the same calculations as in 2014 would produce another large deficit, there are signs that the arguments made by UCU and its actuaries last time are starting to bite. In Sheffield, a joint working group was established to firm up the institutional view of the area, and we were pleased to find fairly closely aligned priorities. It is hard to know what the outcome of all this will be, but the worst case could be another attempt to downgrade the pension scheme; such an attempt would need a robust response from members.
The work of the university's Strategy Delivery Group continues, with the recommendations from major reviews imminent. We encourage all members to take part in the numerous consultation events that are occurring, as it is important that staff voices are heard. Sheffield UCU will have a role in ensuring that agreed procedures are followed in any restructuring that results from the reviews, and we will do our best to support members collectively as best we can.
Along with our sister campus unions, UNISON and Unite, we will be holding a drop-in event on Tuesday 16 May for non-members interested in knowing more about trade unions, what they're for and their role in change management processes (details below). Please do encourage colleagues who are interested to attend.
Finally, our Annual General Meeting is approaching, and there is still time to volunteer to be on the branch committee (see below). With a lot of uncertainty at the university, it is important that the local union provides the collective voice and support that it is here to give. Any part you can play in ensuring this happens will be appreciated by members.
Sheffield UCU Committee
Introduction to trade unions for non-members (drop-in)
Please encourage those who show an interest in joining a trade union to come to our drop in session, held jointly with UNISON and Unite. We will outline what trade unions do, discuss how we make sure the university follows proper procedures in change management and answer questions from the floor.
Introduction to trade unions (drop-in), Tue 16 May, 13:00-14:00, Arts Tower LT7
Sheffield UCU Annual General Meeting
Our Annual General Meeting takes place on Thursday 8 June, 1-2pm, Council Room, Firth Court. Part of the business is to elect members to the committee for the next academic year, and we very much encourage people to put themselves forward for positions. Current committee members would be happy to discuss the roles and what being on the committee would mean.
The roles which currently make up the committee are: President, Senior Vice President, Vice President, Branch Secretary, Education Officer, Equalities & Diversity Officer, Health & Safety Officer, Treasurer, Pensions Officer, Membership Secretary, Communications Officer, and Anti-casualisation Officer. Additionally, we have 6 positions on the committee which can be held without taking a specific role.
To put yourself forward, you need to be nominated by two fellow UCU members, and contested positions will be put to the vote at the AGM in June. The deadline for nominations is Thurs 11th May.
We Stand with CEU!
Our March branch meeting voted unanimously in favour of a motion in support of the Central European University in Budapest, whose existence is under threat from a law passed by the Hungarian government. The move is seen by many as an attack on academic freedom, and has been condemned by over 650 universities and academic organizations worldwide. We will be writing to our Vice Chancellor to ask if Sheffield will join the list. In the meantime, you can show your support with the hashtag #IstandWithCEU.
Support for EU staff
We were pleased to see the university has committed to paying the fee for permanent residency applications for its staff from EU countries, backdated to the EU referendum of last year. The university are also offering free specialist legal advice for such staff. To enquire about either, email eu@sheffield.ac.uk.
TUC survey of LGBT+ staff
Are you LGBT+? Are you currently working or have worked in the last 5 years? The TUC would like to hear from you.
The TUC are launching a UK wide survey for all LGBT+ workers, whether you are in a trade union or not. They want to understand your experiences of work – good and bad. Have your say today by completing the survey.
Do you employ student ambassadors as casual staff?
If you engage any student ambassadors as casuals, the pay rate has changed for those on Grade 1 since 1 April 2017 due to the removal of point 1.1 on the pay spine.
Any work completed up to and including 31 March 2017 - £8.09 (Grade 1.1)
Any work completed since 1 April 2017 - £8.25 (Grade 1.2)
Please make sure all those you employ are properly paid!
Dates for the diary
Wed 24 May, 13:00-14:00, Action Group (theme tbc)
Thu 8 June, 13:00-14:00, Annual General Meeting, Council Room, Firth Court
March Branch News – reviews everywhere, lecture capture and NSS
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March Branch News
Reviews spring up everywhere, we record our thoughts on lecture capture, and the boycott of NSS seems to be taking hold.
As will be all too clear to many staff, the university has been gripped by review-fever, with a major review of Student Services joining that of Research and Innovation Services and numerous other departments already under the microscope. Add to that a recently announced reflection on the faculty structures and it is clear that there is a lot of change in process. While we acknowledge the university has a right to review its processes and structures whenever it likes, we are concerned that too much at once may lead to over-stretching, insufficient oversight and rushed decisions. We are watching as closely as we can to ensure policies are followed properly and staff treated fairly. We are grateful to the university for the transparency they are providing on the Strategy Delivery Group webpages; do familiarise yourself with the content there if you haven't already.
The Strategy Delivery Group's remit is, of course, predicated on the university's financial position. We are still seeking clarity on the university's accounts, with the new accounting standards raising more questions than they answer. In particular, in this age of alternative facts, it is disappointing that that the university is refusing to correct inaccuracies and misleading statements in its financial infographic after we have repeatedly asked them to do so. We haven't heard recent claims anywhere near as worrying as those used as a launchpad for the SDG last summer, and note the sizable total surplus for the 2015-16 year. We await updates, and will pass on any information we can.
Lecture capture is now firmly on the agenda, with an 'opt-out' system due for for the 2017-18 academic year. We have been discussing this issue with the university in depth, and have raised numerous concerns that staff have brought up in meetings and by email. We are doing our best to ensure that the implementation of the policy protects as many staff rights as possible, with retaining performance rights currently a priority. We have an Action Group meeting dedicated to lecture capture on 29 March (see below) where we will be brainstorming a way forward. We also plan to meet with the Students Union to see if we can form a joint position of aligned interests.
The NUS's national boycott of the National Student Survey appears to be working in Sheffield, with low response rates across the university. Interestingly, we believe that students who have already filled in the survey are entitled to ask for their data to be removed. The boycott is supported by UCU nationally, and we have formed a joint statement with the Student Union locally. Our advice to staff is that it's acceptable to make final year students aware of the boycott and where to find more information, but to stop short of advocating they take part.
Our Action Group meeting in early March focused on stress and workload. The need for a university policy on workload allocation was discussed, with significant variability evident across the institution, along with the potential for better coordination with the university's Staff and Disability Network. Health and safety matters are a continual source of negotiation with the university, and health and safety law offers powerful protection for staff. We believe that the university should be doing full risk assessments of all departments, particularly with regards stress, and hope to make further headway in the coming months.
Lastly, some good news: Sheffield UCU membership continues to climb, up 5% over the past year, and we have co-opted new members to the committee. With uncertain times at the university, it seems an important moment to be part of a collective. Please do encourage colleagues to join and consider responding to our plea for help to increase our effectiveness locally.
Sheffield UCU Committee
Do you want a trip to Brighton?
The annual UCU Congress - the main decision making body of the union - happens 27-29 May in Brighton. This branch can send four delegates. If you are interested in attending to see how UCU works on a national level, then please get in touch (ucu@shef.ac.uk).
Save Sheffield Central Library!
Our March branch meeting was addressed by Rebecca Gransbury who is leading the campaign to save Sheffield Central Library, which is under threat from plans to sell it to developers who plan to turn it into a hotel. Please do sign the petition and keep out for events via the Facebook page. You can find out more about the proposals on the Sheffield City Council website.
Action Group on Lecture Capture
Our next Action Group meeting is focused on the issue of lecture capture. We will be discussing what we should be doing about the issue, ways to link up with the local student union and more. If this is an issue that you feel strongly about, please come!
If you are concerned about your right to work in the UK, whether as an EEA or non-EEA National, you can find information on your rights and legal advice through UCU by visiting the page below.