Saint David’s Day or the Feast of Saint David, is the feast day of Saint David, the patron saint of Wales, and falls on 1 March, the date of Saint David’s death in 589 AD. The feast has been regularly celebrated since the canonisation of David in the 12th century, by Pope Callixtus II, though it is not a public holiday in the UK.
Category Archives: General News
Branch New + Updates(March 4th 2021):
1. Cardiff UCU Annual General Meeting (AGM)
Our Annual General Meeting will be held online next week on Wednesday 10 March at 1.10pm.
We will be voting motions to submit to the Higher Education Conference Sector and the UCU Wales Congress in April and members of the new Executive Committee, starting in September, will be selected. We will also update you on our dispute with University management and discuss further actions. The full agenda can be found here.
A link to the registration form will be sent on Monday.
You can still submit motions by emailing them to the office (ucu@cardiff.ac.uk) by Tuesday 9th March.
2. Update from the Joint Consultative and Negotiating Forum (JCNF)
The campus unions met management at the JCNF on Monday 22nd February at 9am for 90 minutes.
University Executive Board (UEB) members presented papers on a) Professional Services strategy and b) Academic Renewal. Both initiatives are intended to bring about consequential changes across the University.
Both initiatives have commenced and the position of UEB members is that as these are a development of “Transforming Professional Services” and “Transforming Cardiff” there is no need to consult, but simply to inform.
Cardiff UCU branch negotiators and executive committee members are not surprisingly somewhat unhappy about the approach UEB members have taken. The branch will be pushing forward with measures to ensure that effective and meaningful consultation commences as soon as possible.
In the meantime, the “Academic Renewal” initiative is already pushing ahead with measures to curtail programmes in one AHSS school with a deadline of 12th March.
On the one hand UEB members are adopting a UK Government framework called the 7 Lenses of Transformation as good practice to follow, where for each “lens” warnings about things to watch out for are set out. On the other hand, they have not heeded many of those warnings and have commenced short timetables that don’t incorporate listening or consultation.
Members with any information about either of these two initiatives and measures being put in place are asked to contact their department rep or the UCU office (ucu@cardiff.ac.uk).
3. USS 2020 Valuation – Trustee’s Update
USS have feedback response from the Pensions Regulator for the Rule 76.1 report where they have indicated that pension contributions will need to rise sharply if existing benefits are to be maintained. This now moves the 2020 valuation to the next stage of consultation and UCU has provided a response to the USS trustee update.
In the Rule 76.1 report, USS have ignored most of the concerns expressed by members, universities and many external experts presenting the same picture they have been doing for a long time now that pension scheme has a large debt and only very large increases in contributions can resolve this to continue with the current benefits.
As part of the previous valuation, in 2018, there is already an increase set for October this year where contributions will rise to 34.7%, split as 23.7% for employers and 11% for members (which is a further contribution increase for us from the current 9.60% level that came into effect from October 2019).
Discussions will continue and a consultation period must now involve members in the official response. The lateness of this means that it is now unlikely that there will be a resolution to this within the original timeframe and so this is likely to take any actual changes into next year. But that doesn’t change the fact that by doing this USS are setting up an inevitable dispute between employers and members and that this could result in large dropouts due to the cost which will take the scheme itself into even more problems and even closure.
4. Update on Teaching Delivery Governance Group
The teaching Delivery Governance Group was set up by University management in response to UCU’s concerns on the extent of casual staff across the University. The group falls short of what is needed to tackle casualisation but aims to improve in the short-term the teaching conditions for staff on variable hours contracts and for postgraduates with teaching responsibilities.
The progress of the group has been slow and a number of scheduled meetings have been cancelled. We recently wrote to HR to enquire about this and to push for the group to act with a matter of urgency to protect workers who are most vulnerable, particularly since the pandemic. They confirmed that following initial conversations with all schools/departments, they will be contacting them again to review information gathered and inform the next steps.
We urge our postgraduate members and our members on variable-hours contracts to raise any issues relating to their working conditions, including in relation to the pandemic, with their line managers and heads of school and/or to contact their UCU departmental reps so that HR cannot claim not to be aware of these in discussions with us. You can contact our office (ucu@cardiff.ac.uk) or our Anti-casualisation Officer, Renata Medeiros (medeirosmirrarj@cardiff.ac.uk), if you have any questions or would like more information.
5. Meeting for Staff with Caring Responsibilities
Several members have contacted us to raise issues related to their caring responsibilities, especially relating to home-schooling children while working.
We remind you that you can always request a case worker to support you, if you would like to raise concerns with your manager.
We have contacted management to address this collectively, and we have arranged some meetings where members facing similar issues can come together to share experiences, let us know of their concerns and discuss what further action by the branch would be the most useful to them. We held two meetings yesterday and our third is today – 4th March – at 6pm using this link https://cardiff.zoom.us/j/82230701484?pwd=NjdhSksybjZ1Z3R4ZTN4OTJzd3hHZz09
6. Members’ experience of the immigration system
UCU is currently supporting some research into migrants’ experiences of the UK immigration system; if you’d be willing to be interviewed for this, or for similar research in the future please contact Jenny Sherrard, the UCU National Head of Equality and Participation, on: jsherrard@ucu.org.uk
Tribute to Catherine Belsey:
We were saddened by the news of the passing of our colleague Catherine Belsey last Sunday at the age of 80. Catherine taught English literature at Cardiff University from 1975 until 2006 and was always a fearless and important voice against the privileges of the establishment. She was active in local politics throughout her whole life.
You can read the official Cardiff University obituary here and the Guardian one here, with more detail on her trade union work and feminism advocacy.
Thank you Kate for the works, the legacy, and the inspiration you leave with us.
Branch News and Updates (February 25th 2021):
1. Dispute Update
As you can probably guess from the text above, our negotiators reported a ‘failure to agree’ at the last Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC) meeting with the University Executive Board (UEB) on 18th February. The University management claims that under no circumstances could they make such a statement that says no member of staff should be compelled into face-to-face work on campus since making such a statement would imply that this is currently happening and they believe appropriate procedures are already in place.
We have now referred the dispute to ACAS (The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service https://www.acas.org.uk/) in an attempt to resolve it through facilitated discussions with management . In the meantime, we ask again all our members to ensure their postal addresses are up to date on their UCU account (here) so that you don’t miss the ballot for industrial action if we cannot resolve the dispute through ACAS.
Please continue to engage with us so that we are aware of a range of views across the branch regarding our dispute. You can get in touch with the office (ucu@cardiff.ac.uk) or share your views or ideas via this link.
2. Meeting for Staff with Caring Responsibilities
Several members have contacted us to raise issues related to their caring responsibilities, especially relating to home-schooling children while working.
We remind you that you can always request a caseworker to support you if you would like to raise concerns with your manager.
We have contacted management to address this collectively, and we will be calling a meeting where members facing similar issues can come together to share experiences, let us know of their concerns and discuss what further action by the branch would be the most useful to them.
Please fill in a poll to indicate your availability for the meeting. Please tick all dates and times you can attend but feel no obligation to join if, when the time comes, you just don’t feel like attending yet another meeting. Our Membership/Recruitment Secretary, Luzia Dominguez, is coordinating this work; if you cannot attend the meeting or if you prefer, you can contact her directly on (dominguezl@cardiff.ac.uk) or our office (ucu@cardiff.ac.uk)
Happy Carnival:
Carnival is a Western Christian festive season that occurs before the liturgical season of Lent, although its roots are likely to be linked to the pagan festival celebrating the arrival of spring.
The name of the holiday is sometimes also spelled Carnaval, and is said to come from the Latin expression carne levare, which means “remove meat”; a folk etymology derives it from carne vale, “farewell to meat”.
Carnival typically involves public celebrations, including parades, public street parties and other masquerade entertainments, combining some elements of a circus. The main events typically occur during February or early March and this year the celebrations would be happening this week, across the world and most famously in Rio de Janeiro – Brazil.
Branch News and Updates (18th February 2021):
1. Volunteer to help with Get The Vote Out Campaign (GTVO)
Our negotiators are meeting with the University Executive Board (UEB) today in another attempt to resolve the dispute. Recent correspondence from management indicates that they are still refusing tomake the commitment that face-to-face work on campus will be optional. Time is of the essence in a situation like this and we must be prepared to keep up the pressure for ours and our colleagues’ safety. We urge all members to check their UCU records here (link) to ensure they have the correct address to receive a ballot for industrial action. We also need volunteers to help with the GTVO campaign so that we can reach those members who are less engaged with the union and encourage them to vote in order for us to reach the required 50% voting turnout. If you can spare any time over the next few weeks, please add your name to this form and we will get in touch soon.
2. Anti-Casualisation Update
Casualisation in HE, including at Cardiff University, has been a growing concern over the past years and the impacts of the pandemic on those in precarious work are particularly concerning.
We recently wrote to HR enquiring about the progress of the Teaching Delivery Governance Group, set up to improve the contracts and progression of hourly-paid staff and to evaluate the terms of conditions for postgraduate tutors (for which UCU is requesting working contracts), after a number of meetings have been postponed – we have received no reply yet but we will update members when possible.
The Anti-casualisation working group set up a new taskforce, led by Dr Ryan Davey, to look at contracts with relevant factors. We aim to submit a claim to the University with demands relating to these contracts. If you would like to contribute to the discussion leading to submitting the claim, please get in touch with the office (ucu@cardiff.ac.uk).
3. Casualisation – Potential Legal Cases
UCU National is asking branches for case studies for potential legal challenges across HE institutions by way of unfair dismissal or indirect discrimination claims. We are seeking cases for submission that include staff on fixed terms contracts which have been allowed to expire where:
• They have been on one Fixed term contract of 2 years or more, or
• On successive fixed term contracts with a gap between them of no more than 1 week, or
• Have had a significant history of fixed term contracts (more than a few years) expiring at the end of the academic year and being issued another one in September
(all of these with the same institution)
We are also interested in any cases of fixed terms contracts being allowed to expire where those contracts are primarily fulfilled by (a) staff of one sex, (b) a particular age group or (c) a particular race or ethnic origin, or (d) of staff being selected for redundancy (i.e. let go when their latest contract expired) just because they were on a fixed-term contract.
If you think you can be used as a case-study or know anyone who might fit any of the above please contact the office to let us know (ucu@cardiff.ac.uk).
4. Promotions
Following the University’s announcement on the decision to delay promotion awards this year, we inquired about the reasons and objected to the effective ‘suspension’ of the academic promotion process for 2021 in this letter sent to the University Executive Board (UEB) on 21st January 2021.
UEB have responded and confirmed that the decision to delay the promotion award is not because of savings to staff costs but they did not address our questions and concerns sufficiently. As a result, we sent a follow-up letter pushing for the award to be back-dated to August so that no member of staff incurs a detriment when applying for promotion this year.
5. Home Working Risks
Many staff have still not had a proper Risk Assessment, including a Display Screen Equipment (DSE) assessment, specific for home-working.
The Health and Safety Executive Government Agency (HSE) has some useful advice for home-working here and here and this fact sheet by Greater Manchester Hazards Website contains details on some of the risks involved in working long periods without the right equipment.
If your home does not have the conditions for you to arrange a proper workstation, you should consider discussing with your line manager a different space to work, including safe access to your office.
6. Four Fights National Dispute
UCU national office is surveying members on the latest offer by the employers at UCEA (Universities and Colleges Employers Association) over the four fights dispute relating to: Pay inequality, Job insecurity, Rising workloads, and Pay devaluation.
There’s still time to have your say if you have not yet done so – later today please lookout for a reminder email from independent scrutineers Civica containing your unique link to vote in the e-ballot (with subject line: ‘UCU consultative ballot on UCEA final offer 2020/21’ from sender ‘takepart@cesvotes.com‘).
If you do not receive this email, after having checked your spam/junk folder you can request a replacement by entering your details on this online form.
The consultative ballot closes on at 12 noon on Tuesday 23 February 2021. UCU’s higher education committee will then meet on 26 February and will decide the next steps.
Events (11th February 2021):
1. Cardiff Lunchtime Talk Series – Thursday 18th February 13:10-14:00
Next week, we will have Dr. Woon Wong, Reader in Financial Economics in the Cardiff Business School, and Dave Atkins, our UCU pensions officer, talking about “Understanding Pensions: Conversation and Q&A”
Thursday 18th of February 1:10-2pm
We hope to see you there!
2. Heart Unions Week 2021 – Free Film Screening of “The Big Meeting” TODAY 7pm
It is ♥ Unions Week and the Cambridge Trades Council will be hosting an online screening of “The Big Meeting” documentary about the annual Durham Miners Gala (UCU Eastern & Home Counties Regional Committee donated to enable to make the film). This will be followed by a live Q&A with the film makers and one of the organisers of the Gala. The screening will be via Zoom at 7pm on Thursday 11th Feb and the link is below. This will be especially poignant viewing whilst we are in lockdown but hopefully be a positive experience to see and feel something we can look forward to returning to.
Facebook Event here: “The Big Meeting” free film screening with live Q&A | Facebook
If you can’t make it on the night or would like to get your own copy of the film, the filmmakers -Shut Out the Light, are kindly offering the DVD for trade unions for a limited period for £5 instead of £7.50, people just need to go to www.galafilm.co.uk/deal to redeem it.
3. Annual adult & continuing education national meeting – Saturday 27 February 2021
This meeting is for branch delegates from UCU branches working in adult and community education and employed in local authorities or the voluntary sector. Each branch may send 2 voting delegates which must be elected by a quorate general meeting or by a quorate branch committee meeting and the registration deadline is the 19th February. You can find more details here.
If you are interested in attending as a Cardiff UCU delegate, please get in touch with the branch, ideally TODAY so that we can vote the delegates at the GM tomorrow.
4. Wales green transitions network event – Friday 26th February at 14:00 online.
During the next decade, we foresee the climate emergency impacting upon our professional lives. To ensure that this transition is fair, UCU is working closely with TUC Wales to drive a green recovery and a just transition, building strength in our workplaces and liberating the expertise that sits in our institutions.
Timed to closely follow the 10 February launch of Wales TUC’s ‘greener workplaces for a just transition’ toolkit, this event will give you the opportunity to explore how you can root a just transitions agenda in the workplace.
• Learn – from UCU reps who are already taking this work forward
• Share – your own experiences, successes and challenges
• Network – be inspired and supported to make the change happen
• Access – training, advice and continuing professional development
Please join by clicking the link on this page.
Solidarity and Wider Campaigns (11th February 2021):
1. Solidarity with other UCU branches
Brighton strike to defend IT jobs
Members at University of Brighton are taking strike action next week 8-12 February over plans to make IT staff compulsorily redundant. Please tweet support to #SaveBrightonITstaff.
To make donations to their strike fund please use:
UCU Brighton University SO224
Sort code: 608301
Ac. no. 40000280
Stop job cuts at University of Leeds: sign the petition
The University of Leeds is proposing job cuts in medicine and biological sciences. The university refuses to rule out compulsory redundancies, reports an operating surplus of 38 million pounds and has failed to provide any financial rationale for the cuts.
Please sign their petition to stop job cuts here.
University of Liverpool threat to jobs and Covid research
University of Liverpool UCU branch is consulting members over potential industrial action to stop plans to sack 47 staff from health and life sciences. The cuts are impacting a faculty that is part of Liverpool STOP COVID, a city-wide group whose aim is to decrease the burden of the pandemic locally, nationally and globally. You can read more about their dispute here.
Defending jobs at University of Central Lancashire
The UCU branch at the University of Central Lancashire is resisting compulsory redundancies, has lodged a dispute and an industrial action ballot opens next week ballot. We will send them a message of solidarity from the branch.
Save London weighting – proposed cuts to teaching grant in London
The Westminster government has recently announced cuts to the teaching grant in London and the removal of London weighting for institutions in the capital. UCU are campaigning against the decision
2. Primary School Closures
Powys County Council is proposing to close a number of primary schools, including Churchstoke Community Primary School, which serves a small village in North Wales, near the border. The alternatives schools are mainly in England, meaning the pupils won’t be learning Welsh. Please support the campaign to keep the school open. You can sign their petition here.
We need more schools with fewer pupils and not fewer schools with more pupils!
3. Petition: Protect our news media from monopoly control
A free, diverse and independent media is vital to the functioning of any democratic society. But the British media landscape is increasingly dominated by a small number of corporations and very wealthy individuals.
The Project for Peace & Justice, founded by Jeremy Corbyn and recently launched, is calling on Parliament to establish a new independent commission into broadcasting standards. You can support this petition here.
4. Key Workers Pay Rise
Throughout the pandemic key workers have risked their lives to take care of us. But despite this they get paid 8% less than the average workers. The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is asking us to show support by joining the key workers campaign to win a pay rise and sign their petition here.
Branch News & Updates (February 11th 2021):
1. General Meeting next week – TOMORROW Friday 12th February 1.10pm
Please join the branch General Meeting on zoom tomorrow to discuss the current dispute in light of the mandate for industrial action given by the indicative ballot. This includes strategies to achieve the 50% turnout and forms that an Action Short of a Strike or a Strike Action could take, if we do not reach an agreement with management in the meantime.
To register for the meeting, please complete this form
2. Cardiff Dispute and Media campaign
The recent article in the independent media platform voice.wales covering our dispute, has generated disaccord with the University management who sent us a letter of complaint. pointing out that the article was misleading and unfair that they were unaware of the issues presented. You can read our response here.
We are committed to working with University management in resolving the dispute and we have brought their proposed statement in response to our demands to a vote with the members at our last General Meeting on xxx. Their statement was rejected by a large majority of members present since it did not offer the reassurance we were asking for, that no worker should be compelled to work face-to-face on campus. We are open to alternative wordings that offer us the same reassurance and our negotiators will meet with management again on the 18th February.
In the meantime, and while we prepare to ballot members on industrial action in case a resolution is not achieved, we urge all members to update their contacts on our database to ensure that your ballot will be sent to your home address. You can do that here or email the office (ucu@cardiff.ac.uk).
3. Four Fights National Dispute
UCU national office is surveying members on the latest offer by the employers at UCEA (Universities and Colleges Employers Association) over the four fights dispute relating to: Pay inequality, Job insecurity, Rising workloads, and Pay devaluation. If you have not voted on whether to accept or reject the offer, please check your inboxes for an email sent on Monday 8th by CES titled UCU consultative ballot on UCEA final offer 2020/21.
UCU is recommending that we vote to REJECT this offer, because:
– the 0% pay adjustment is yet another real-terms pay cut;
– there is no commitment to ending the sector’s reliance on zero-hours contracts and reducing other types of precarious contracts;
– there is no commitment to controlling and reducing excessive workloads;
– it does not offer any meaningful actions on gender, ethnic and disability pay gaps; nor does it recognise the disproportionate impact the pandemic has had on carers, LGBTQ+ members, disabled members, and our Black, Asian, and ethnic minority members.
This offer does not recognise our efforts during the pandemic and the work we have done to keep higher education functioning. The employers’ offer is unacceptable, and only the possibility of more industrial action can bring employers to their senses
4. UCU HE Sector Conference & Wales Congress – REMINDER
The HE Sector Conference will take place on Saturday 17th April 10.30 AM – 12.30 PM and the UCU Wales Congress & AGM will take place on Saturday 24th April 2021, via Teams.
Issues relating specifically to HE are dealt with in the Sector Conferences while overall policy issues for Wales or wider political issues are dealt with at the Congress. Each branch is entitled to submit 2 motions to the Conference and 2 motions to the Congress.
Our branch is entitled to 23 delegates with voting rights (but more members can join as observers). If you would like to attend either event or both as a delegate for our branch, please get in touch with the office. All delegates much be registered by noon on 2nd April. This is an important opportunity to represent our members in shaping the priorities of UCU Wales and we strongly encourage members to put themselves forward – we usually do not fill all the places we are entitled to.
We also encourage members to submit motions to the branch to be voted by members at our AGM and decide which motions to put forward as a branch for the Sector Conference and for the Congress. Motions must be no longer than 150 words, not including titles. Titles must not be more than 10 words. Guidance on how to compose a motion can be found here. All motions must be submitted to the branch office ahead of our branch’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) on 10th March.
Events (February 5th 2021):
1. Cardiff UCU Lunchtime Talks and Discussions – Thursdays 1:10-2pm
Next week we will have Professor Lina Dencik talking to us about ‘Unions in the Datafied Workplace: Covid-19 and Beyond’ – Thursday February 11 13:10-14:00
https://cardiff.zoom.us/j/85200186810?pwd=RmpFVno0UCtrQTk4c21aazJtK096dz09
2. Wales green transitions network event – Friday 26 February 2021 at 14:00
Timed to closely follow the 10th February launch of Wales TUC’s ‘greener workplaces for a just transition’ toolkit, whether you teach in a college or university setting, this event will give you the opportunity to explore how you can root a just transitions agenda in the workplace. Please join by clicking the link on this page.
3. Annual adult & continuing education national meeting – Saturday 27 February 2021
This meeting is for branch delegates from UCU branches working in adult and community education and employed in local authorities or the voluntary sector. Each branch may send 2 voting delegates which can be elected by a quorate general meeting or by a quorate branch committee meeting. If you are interested in being a delegate for this meeting, please contact the UCU office
More information can be found here.
4. Happy Imbolc
Imbolc (pronounced “EE-molc) is a Gaelic traditional fire festival held on 1st February and one of the 8 Sabbats or seasonal points on the Wheel of the Year (the annual cycle of seasonal festivals, observed by many modern Pagans). The meaning of Imbolc, Imbolg, or Oimealg is “Ewe’s Milk” and celebrates a time when life is returning to the fields as livestock begin to give birth.
Imbolc welcomes the return of the sun and marks the changing of the Goddess from Wise old Crone to Fair Maiden. It is a time of new beginnings and of hope that spring will return.
There are also several other names and festivals associated with this time of year. In Ireland, February 1st is the Feast Day of Saint Brighid (pronounced “Breed”) – the Celtic Fire Goddess of healing and inspiration.
In the Christian faith, it’s Candlemas – the Festival of Lights, where candles are blessed for the coming year. Like many of the Christian festivals it has echoes of its Pagan past, in that it marks the halfway point between the Winter Solstice (Yule) and the Spring Equinox (Ostara).