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Branch updates

News in brief from SUCU Committee.

SUCU Branch News 5 March 2015

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Branch Meeting next Wednesday 11 March 1pm Council Chamber Octagon Centre

Our guest speaker next week will be Geraldine Egan - a pensions advice specialist from UCU.  Please note Geraldine advises and assists UCU members regarding their individual pensions - separate to USS negotiations.  Other items on the agenda are: USS update (read more..), anti-bullying and harassment campaign and an update on reward and recognition negotiations.  Tea and coffee will be served at 12.45. Please display this poster and encourage members to attend.

Pensions specialist surgery for individual members 11 March - book your appointment

Our pensions specialist will also hold a surgery after the branch meeting to give advise to individual UCU members about anything to do with pensions.  10 minute slots will be available.  The surgery will be held in the SUCU office.  If you're interested please reply to this message, and provide times you can be available between 2.30 and 4.30. Obviously, the more flexible you can be, the greater the chance of an appointment.  We'll gauge demand from this event, and hold further sessions if necessary.

International Womens' Day 8 March

Each year International Women's Day is celebrated across the globe on 8 March. It is a widely celebrated as an opportunity to draw attention to the struggle for women's rights, to link these up with women's struggles worldwide and to demonstrate international sisterly solidarity with working women everywhere. Events in Sheffield UCU postcard

SUCU Branch News 26 Feb 2015

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USS: Management too should reject the restructuring

SUCU met with management recently to press management to publicly distance themselves from the UUK position on USS - UUK being the University managements' national body. The radical restructuring of USS which is proposed is damaging to all current and future staff members of USS, and also to the interests of the institution as a whole. We talked through figures from one of USS's own documents that show the £2.9bn deficit of 2011 disappearing over the three years to March 2014 only to be replaced with more pessimistic assumptions which create a £12.3bn deficit instead. Management said, quite reasonably, that an 'attractive pension scheme' is in the University's interest, and that every 1% increase in their contribution rates adds £2m annually to their overall wage bill. SUCU pointed out that if these changes go through, the highly questionable valuation methodology will, since 2011, have added £8m annually to the University's costs, arguably unnecessarily. UUK's position is inconsistent: their actuaries have not criticised the work of UCU's actuaries, but this didn't change UUK's support for the changes. There have been behind-the-scenes back-testing of previous valuations using an approach advocated by UCU, which apparently shows a much more stable fund which better matches experience; however USS's actuaries won't allow the release of these results claiming 'intellectual property rights'. We are not conspiracy theorists, but the more that one reads about this the more it looks like a stitch-up. SUCU has asked the University management to join the heavyweights of Warwick, Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial etc who have spoken out against the need for radical structural change.  Imperial have gone further and commissioned an excellent report from five of their academic staff with relevant knowledge. We believe that an in depth study of all the documents and their implications reveals the necessity of rejecting the radical restructuring of USS.  We urged our management to undertake this study, rather than largely relying on the word of UUK and USS.SUCU has written a summary here collating the information, with links to further reading.  A dedicated webpage will soon be set up to keep member updated - so please watch this space.

Free education demo in Leeds, 6 March

Regional demo for free education, organised by Leeds For Free Education. Fighting cuts, privatisation, tuition fees, for affordable housing and decent living standards for staff.  Read more...

Mental health prejudice still rife in the workplace says report

Prejudice against workers with mental health conditions is widespread amongUK organisations, according to a report from Bupa.  Read more...

Stand up to Racism national demo 21 March

Many organisations will be coming together on Saturday 21 March 2015 to reject racism, Islamophobia and anti-Semitism; to celebrate diversity and make migrants welcome, to demonstrate our confidence in a future free of scapegoating, racism and hatred, and to remember Nelson Mandela and cherish the idea for a free and democratic society in which all persons live together in harmony and equal opportunities.  More information...

SUCU Branch News 12 Feb 2015

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HE Special Sector Conference re USS, 24 February 

As previously reported this special sector conference to debate the union's strategy to defend pensions is now going ahead, and we as a Branch are fully engaged with it.  3 delegates are being sent to represent branch views and vote on a number of proposed motions.  We believe that motions 2 to 5 are in broad agreement with the sentiment expressed in branch meetings.

Please vote in the NEC elections

It is sometimes difficult to tell a great deal from the candidate statements, and at the Branch General Meeting 2 weeks ago it was agreed that we should also send members advice from the two main groupings within the union:  
  • UCULeft, which wanted more active campaigning on USS and opposed the current pensions deal.
 
  • In addition there are a number of non-aligned candidates whose statements you can read via the elections link above.
Whoever you vote for, please do vote - if your pay and pension matter to you.

UCU modeler for USS pension

Just to alert members - it's been brought to our attention that UCU's pension modeler used to give indications of the effect of the USS changes on our pensions does not have all the information needed to produce an accurate figure.

Stand up to Racism national demo Saturday 21 March 2015, London

Organised by Unite Against Fascism (UAF) and supported by Sheffield Trade Union Council.  No to scapegoating immigrants, No to Islamophobia, No to anti-Semitism, Yes to Diversity.  Read more...

SUCU Branch News 5th Feb 2015

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USS Pensions - A Lost Opportunity

The SUCU General Meeting last week saw many members expressing anger at the USS pensions deal which has just been agreed by UCU nationally.  The final salary scheme will end and a 'defined contribution' element start, probably in April 2016. This is a very bad deal for us, particularly given what a good position we were in to stop this blitzkrieg on our pensions:
  • Last summer we had the biggest vote for action since UCU was founded
  • The supposed deficit was demonstrably phoney, and independent accountants backed us on this.  It was fabricated to justify attacking our pensions and shifting towards the sort of pensions the City of London love - 'defined contribution'.
  • The employers were divided, with some publicly opposing UUK's position.
  • The employers have plenty of money, and indeed spending on staff as a proportion of income has steadily declined over the years.
Unfortunately this was all frittered away, and last month members gave up and accepted the deal in an e-ballot. What can we do now? In December our branch along with many others demanded a recall 'Special Conference' to get the branches and membership back into control of the dispute.  Apparently there were not enough branches (20) to make this happen by January, so our negotiators have signed the deal off, but the Special Conference is happening on 24  February.  It will give us an opportunity to lay the groundwork for the future.  We are continuing to lobby the University of Sheffield to ask why they haven't joined Imperial College, Warwick University, Oxford, LSE and Cambridge and others in speaking out against the changes. We know many members feel very let down, and justifiably so, and some have even talked of leaving the union.  But that would be giving the aggressive employers exactly what they want.  This is our union, we must reclaim it.
  • You can vote in the current NEC elections for people you feel will lead the union effectively.
  • You can become active locally: the strength of our union is here.
We have a very active and effective local branch, and we have negotiated some sector-leading agreements here, and we do a huge amount of individual support work.  Please continue to support us, however you feel about the national leadership. Standing together we can continue to make life better for staff here in Sheffield.

Reward & Recognition: Good Progress

We have told you about our local 'Reward and Recognition' negotiations in previous Branch News emails. We had made some very good progress but there was one key area where we were in deadlock with management, the issue of normal incremental progression. We are pleased to say that we had a very constructive meeting with management yesterday and are now hopeful that we will be able to reach an agreement.  We will keep you informed, and you will of course have the final say on whether to accept the eventual set of proposed changes.

Pensions surgery for members

SUCU Committee are organising a surgery for Branch Members to receive individual advice from a UCU national pensions official.  We will keep you updated about arrangements for this.

Industrial action at Barnsley and Sheffield Colleges

Sheffield College and Barnsley College UCU members took strike action on Thursday 29th January. At Sheffield the threat of 75 redundancies and downgrading of lecturing staff to trainer, assessor facilitator roles amongst other attacks on lecturers conditions has led to the dispute there.  Barnsley College UCU members were on strike for three consecutive days  from Thursday 29th January to Monday 2nd February. They have already taken 3 days of strike action since October over the forcing through of a new contract in the summer on the back of a major restructure.  Both branches plan more action in the near future. It is really  important to members in dispute to know they have support from UCU members in the Region so please:

Public meeting: Stand Up to Racism and Fascism Tuesday 3 March 7pm

No to scapegoating immigrants - No to Islamophobia - No to anti-Semitism - Yes to diversity.  This event is organised by Sheffield Unite Against Fascism.  Venue:  Central United Reform Church, corner of Chapel Walk opposite the Crucible Theatre.  Read more..          

SUCU Branch News 29 Jan 2015

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Update following Branch Meeting on Wednesday

Members turned out in good numbers yesterday despite the terrible weather and heard:
  • A briefing following the UCU consultative ballot on USS.  Representatives from this Branch also attended a special USS meeting for UCU Branches in Manchester yesterday.  A full update on USS will be circulated in Branch News next week.
  • The need for continued local strength in negotiations was re-emphasised, as members heard from Branch Officers about University management's plans to link your incremental pay progression with performance. This represents a threat to the 'Framework Agreement' underpinning our current pay structure.  Negotiations are ongoing but the campus unions may be reaching a point of deadlock on this issue and we will of course keep you informed. Read more in this joint union paper - Performance Related Pay. A Flawed Vision
  • Brandon Wilshaw from Sheffield College spoke of the attacks his members are facing to their terms and conditions and threats of redundancy.  Industrial action starts today with an all out strike at Sheffield College.  Send messages of support and solidarity to brandon.wilshaw@sheffcol.ac.uk.

Letter to Times Higher 

Members are encouraged to read this letter to THE from HEC members opposed to any retreat from defending members’ pensions.

A reminder about union subscription payments

Could colleagues please check that you are paying the correct UCU sub.  If you have received a pay increment - this may have taken you over the boundary to a higher UCU subs rate. You can update your membership details online.

National Voter Registration Day Thursday 5th February. -Volunteers Required!

Sheffield Peoples Assembly and Sheffield TUC are holding stalls at both universities and in the City Centre to get people to register to vote. Can you help? The government's move to individual voter registration (as opposed to household) has meant that millions of students, young people and working class voters are not registered - and 44% of those not registered DON'T KNOW! Please contact Sheffield Peoples Assembly if you can help on one of our stalls sheffieldpeoplesassembly@gmail.com

Improved offer accepted at Lambeth College

UCU members at Lambeth College returned to work last week after accepting an improved offer from the college. Read more

Sheffield TUC "Celebrating Sheffield's Diversity" Black Workers event Saturday 28th February  1pm - 3.30pm

Linking Sheffield's Black Asian and Ethnic Minorities with the trade union movement. The event is FREE, food is provided courtesy of Sheffield Trade Union Council and the event is open to ALL - Asian, Black, ethnic minorities and white - to celebrate Sheffield's rich cultural diversity. Entertainment and speeches, award presentations etc. Guest speakers including Mohammed Taj recently TUC President and  currently UNITE executive council  member. N.B. this event was previously scheduled for 24th January. It is the first of a series events to be hosted by Sheffield TUC to engage the Black Asian and ethnic minority populations in Sheffield with the work of the trade union movement Venue: Pakistani Muslim Centre, Darnall.  STUC Celebrating Sheffield Diversity 28.02.2015