UCU Unite will be holding a lunch time picket 12-1pm on Tuesday 15th April, next to the Emmeline Pankhurst statue at St Peter’s Square, Manchester.
We’re asking all members, UCU reps and UCU members to come along and show solidarity.
If you have kids off school, bring them along and make a day of it.
We’ll be just across from Central Library, where you can visit the reading room. Manchester Art Gallery is a short walk away and the Manchester Museum is just up the road.
The observance of IWMD allows millions of people around the world to reflect on those who have lost their lives at work or because of the work they do. It is also an opportunity to keep worker safety on the agenda with a particular focus on prevention, campaigning and education. Activities include vigils, readings, music, stalls and processions. The event started in North America in 1986 and has been supported by Greater Manchester Hazards Centre (GMHC) every year.
Where is it held?
As in previous years, GMHC along with partners and affiliates will coordinate the IWMD event in Manchester. There will also be activities and events at the Working Class Movement Library (Salford) and the Peoples History Museum (Manchester).
Date: 28th April 2025
Time: 11.45am – 1.30pm
Location: Lincoln Square, Manchester M2 5HX
We are pleased to announce that the Know your rights! session #2 ‘Broken relationships: ACAS and the Employment Tribunal process’ on Wednesday 02 April from 12:30-13:30! This topic was the most popular choice of the participants in the first session. Organised by UoM’s UCU, it is open to any staff at UoM, be they in a union or not, whether they are academics, professional support staff, researchers, administrative staff, etc. Join us, share widely, invite your colleagues to join or even set up a get-together lunch and attend as a group! See attached flyer and feel free to print it out and put it somewhere that you colleagues can see.
Register here to get the link for the session: https://tinyurl.com/KnowUrRights2 [tinyurl.com]
In this second session, Sarah Murphy from Greater Manchester Law Centre, will give us an overview of what your options are, once we have exhausted all internal methods of complaint at work. She will provide guidance on how to approach Early Conciliation with ACAS [acas.org.uk]-the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service- and then on taking a claim to the Employment Tribunal [gov.uk]. She will set out what practical considerations we need to bear in mind and give tips on how to maximise your chances of success. While the Union may be able to support you through these processes, it is always useful to know what to expect and how to best prepare ourselves.
Education–and the UCU members who power it–has a crucial role to play in society and the national renewal we so desperately need.
We are holding our annual education policy conference ‘Cradle to Grave’ on Saturday 29 March 2025, in London or online via Zoom. This annual conference is a chance for members to discuss some of the biggest challenges and opportunities facing the sectors where we organise.
The theme of this year’s conference is ‘Education for liberation: building progressive post-16 education policy’ [list.mercury.ucu.org.uk], and the confirmed keynote speaker is Richard Burgon, Labour MP for Leeds East. We also have sessions on social partnership, international solidarity, decolonising the curriculum, and decarbonisation and our role in the green skills agenda.
This is an important opportunity for UCU members to get together and explore the issues that matter to us. The conference is free to attend; please register as soon as possible [list.mercury.ucu.org.uk]. The deadline for registration is Thursday 13 March.
Accidents have been going up in UoM for a while, and the University is losing a lot of time off in sick pay due to stress. We need people to help UoM hold itself to account over these issues. So we are asking for members to step up to support our current (encyclopaedic) H&S rep Nicola, who will happily discuss with anyone interested. Note that H&S reps have a venerable history, going all the way back to legislation passed in 1974 [hse.gov.uk]. After receiving training—for which the Employer must give them time off—H&S reps have arguably the strongest protection of trade union representatives; they are entitled to independent time off (or workload relief) to fulfil their duties; and, when correctly viewed as critical friends of the Employer, play a valuable role in the University community that can be flagged in promotion applications.
Please do consider stepping up; the time-commitments would be tailored to your capacity. Get in contact with ucu@manchester.ac.uk to find out more.
In 2023 UMUCU in consultation with our members issued 11 areas where we sought improvement in the promotions process. Despite resistance from the employer we observed some limited but positive changes in subsequent processes across certain areas. More recently a well consulted process ran to develop clearer criteria for T&S promotions, a process which UCU were included in and support. Unfortunately changes were then made to all promotions criteria without consultation and this had led to changes which reduce transparency, increase complexity and threaten trust in the promotions process. This is compounded by a promotions appeal procedure which is not fit for purpose, a reality acknowledged by previous P&OD leadership. Whilst UoM can review promotions processes, it should do so in a way that reflects best practice and that has not been the case and as a trade union UCU cannot then reassure our members the process will be fair and free from bias.
We repeat our previous demands restating our 11 minimum criteria and request that any review ensures our promotions processes also align with the JNCHES agreement.
During discussions we requested that promotions criteria were mapped out so progression and differentiation were clearer in each criteria. This included the alignment of criteria by job role so progression could be more easily tracked. We are committed to working positively with the employer, but when this does not happen we are committed to leading discussion with our members, something which we have had to do here with promotions and with the travel policy proposals which we released in Dec and will be raising at Feb TUNG.
We will look initially to form a working group from within our membership to develop our proposals for change. Please join us to help lead positive change for the benefit of all academic staff.
UMUCU currently has a shortage of personal case reps – volunteers, who after undergoing some basic training, support UMUCU members facing problems at work.
Typical situations where a member might need support are:
You don’t need to be an expert on everything in order to become a personal case rep. You can start by focussing on a single type of problem, only moving onto other areas once you feel ready. There is always support and advice available from existing, experienced case workers. Most members are so glad to have someone helping them through a difficult situation that they don’t mind if you can’t answer every question immediately and sometimes need to seek advice from a case worker colleague.
Please email ucu@manchester.ac.uk if you’re interested in finding out more.
Everyone has the right to a safe workplace. No-one should be injured or made ill because of their work.
The best way to ensure that workers are protected is to have union Health & Safety (H&S) reps. Therefore, UCU is looking to identify members to serve as H&S reps, playing a crucial role in communicating H&S concerns and ensuring employees’ safety needs are met. According to the UNIAC external auditor, University restructures have damaged the H&S provision and accidents have been increasing.
The University has many health, safety and welfare committees, on which UCU needs representation. Commitment can be as little as attending one committee meeting per year, though most are still only once a quarter. We will ensure proper support, with available training courses, shadowing opportunities, and H&S professionals within UMUCU at hand to advise. By law, you are entitled to reasonable paid time off from your role to undertake these duties.
If you are interested in taking on this important role, please email ucu@manchester.ac.uk, so we can discuss the responsibilities and next steps. Your participation will contribute greatly to promoting a safe workplace for everyone.
