1) Don’t Forget To Vote
The UCU ballot on pay opens tomorrow.
Please vote. We need as high a turnout as possible.
Voting for both forms of industrial action is key. We must give our negotiators the strongest possible mandate.
If you have not received a ballot paper by Wednesday next week, you should notify membership@ucu.org.uk, giving your name, University of Bristol UCU branch, address to which the ballot paper should be posted and your membership number.
Let ucu-office@bristol.ac.uk know, too.
More information can be found on our Bristol UCU blog:
https://bristolucu.wordpress.com/2016/04/12/ucus-pay-campaign-latest-marchapril-news/
https://bristolucu.wordpress.com/2016/04/12/message-from-sally-hunt-201617-pay-claim/
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2) Annual General Meeting, 13:00-14:00, Wednesday, 11th May, LT3, Arts Complex
The pay campaign will be in all likelihood agenda item no. 1 at our Bristol UCU AGM on the 11th May. Other agenda items include the election of branch officers and executive for 2016-17, plus discussing UCU national Congress motions.
The AGM will be a couple of weeks before any industrial action.
Please feel free to send ucu-office@bristol.ac.uk any motions on pay (or on any other matters).
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3) Prevent and Senate
Further to Bristol UCU’s Preventing Prevent campaign, a letter has been sent to University of Bristol Senate Members, signed by a number of Bristol staff and students:
http://tinyurl.com/letter2SenateAprilPrevent
Senate meets on Monday, 18th April to formally approve University of Bristol Prevent Duty-related policies.
The letter highlights ‘the University and College Union (UCU) official position that the Prevent Duty seriously threatens academic freedom, stifles campus activism,
encourages racial profiling and does not promote an open and supportive learning environment’ and ‘[t]here is more scope for a “non-party line” than is suggested’.
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4) Academic Role Profiles, Impact, Engagement, Progression and Promotion
Following members’ concerns, branch officers asked for a change in a draft version of the recent RED document ‘Guidance and Exemplars of Engagement and Impact’, a guide for ‘users of existing grade profiles, those preparing cases for promotion and the panel members considering those cases’.
The document comes in the wake of the November changes to the Academic Role Profiles and the assessment of progression and promotion.
Further to these Bristol UCU representations, instead of the sentence:
…The engagement must also be successful, having led to uptake of the work and outcomes beyond academia…
it is proposed to have:
…The academic should provide evidence of how these efforts have achieved engagement and impact beyond academia…
Further context can be found on the Bristol UCU website:
http://bristolucu.blogs.bristol.ac.uk/files/2016/04/Academic-Role-Profiles_Summary-April-2016.pdf
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5) ‘Health, Homes, Jobs, Education’, National Demonstration, Saturday 16 April 2016, Assemble: 12:30pm, Gower Street, London
Join the Bristol UCU-affiliated People’s Assembly Demonstration in London on Saturday.
UCU members join the education bloc from 12:30 on Gower Street.
Book a coach place from Bristol:
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6) New Professional Services Staff Group
Are you in Professional Services? Think Bristol UCU could be doing more to represent the interests of Professional Services’ staff?
Then join our new Professional Services’ Staff Group and chairs Suzy Cheeke and Neil Abel.
Email ucu-office@bristol.ac.uk, if you’re interested.
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7) Workload & Well-Being Survey Report – TBC
We are currently finalising the Report based on the findings of our Survey carried out last year. The report will be added to the agenda of JCNC later today.
A copy will be circulated to members in next week’s Newsflash.