Happy New Year! In this Bulletin:
BGM Reminder
Teaching Observation & Peer Observation
BYOD
Climate, Coffee & Conversation
Solidarity With Sheffield UCU
BGM Reminder
The second Branch General Meeting of the academic year will be held via Teams on 21 January, 1.30-3.00.
Agenda Items
- L-SL Progression
- Other Ongoing Disputes
– Redundancy Prevention
– Block Delivery & Sprints
– Recording of Teaching
– Grade G Teaching Roles - Teaching Obs & Peer Obs
- Appraisal
- AOB
Remember that BGMs and AGMs are official union meetings and you are legally entitled to time off to attend them. Senior mgmt have promised that no teaching sessions or other staff meetings will be scheduled to clash, but some managers do seem to forget this, so please let us know if you encounter any difficulties.
Members for whom we have a Lancashire email address have been sent a calendar appointment. Others please join via the link you have been emailed.
Teaching Observation & Peer Observation
Management have confirmed the following:
- The version of the Teaching Observation scheme now in use is the version previously agreed with UCU and will remain so until any revisions are agreed with UCU.
- The Peer Dialogue scheme is a new initiative and is not intended to replace any existing scheme. Participation in it is entirely voluntary.
- The Peer Observation Scheme has not changed from the version agreed with UCU. The CCL website has been amended to show that the Peer Observation and Peer Dialogue schemes are separate from each other and there are no plans to change or phase out the agreed scheme.
BYOD
LIS would welcome hearing from UCU members on the User Owned Device policy (aka Bring Your Own Device or BYOD). LIS are aware that there have been some issues around staff using their own devices for doing university work and would like feedback on the policy, particularly if either use of one’s own device or the necessity of using a university-provided device has caused issues or prevented innovation.
Please send your use cases to Paul Colling in LIS with the Subject line “UX-UseCase”: PSColling@lancashire.ac.uk
Climate, Coffee & Conversation
Members interested in campaigning on environmental issues at the university are encouraged to join the Climate, Coffee & Conversation Teams space – created to connect with colleagues across the university and share ideas on how to embed sustainability on campus.
Throughout the year the Climate, Coffee & Conversation team also organises informal gatherings that are advertised on the Teams space and Sharepoint, aimed at all colleagues interested in environmental sustainability – in a similar spirit to the Green Network set up by UCU Green Reps in the past.
Solidarity With Sheffield UCU
A message from comrades in Sheffield. Please attend if you can.
Calling all UCU members — Staff at the University of Sheffield are under attack by their management, and we need your support as individuals and branches. Much like many institutions across the sector, University of Sheffield management are trying to make unprecedented cuts to staffing levels, despite the University’s finances being in healthy shape. In response, Sheffield UCU has taken 16 days of strike action and are poised to take more. However, now University management are threatening a lockout of any staff members who take part in Action Short of a Strike and refuse to reschedule teaching that would have occurred during strike action. Sheffield UCU are standing strong in the face of this threat, and through constant work and negotiations have held off a lockout for the first week of January, but this is one of the most punitive responses to ASOS that UKHE has seen, and we need the support of all UCU members to fight it! Pivotal negotiations are occurring this week, but SUCU members face potential indefinite lockout starting on 12 January. Please join us on 12 January 3:30pm to hear about the dispute and discuss what it might mean for other UCU branches. Register here to attend. Solidarity, Sheffield UCU Branch Committee”
Lancashire UCU Branch Committee
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