HudUCU Message from the Chair

The university has announced yet more redundancies, this time affecting every school and service across the entire institution. These draconian cuts come at a time when the university has tens of millions of pounds in the bank and is spending huge sums on yet more shiny new buildings. It also follows release of the 2022-23 financial statement (available on the university web site) that shows a further £18K pay rise for the VC, already one of the highest paid VCs in the country.

The cuts include course closures and the restructuring (i.e. reducing) of student support, which will unquestionably have an adverse impact on the student experience. Around 200 of our colleagues are slated to lose their jobs. UCU, along with our UNISON colleagues, will fight these cuts. We call on the university to halt the compulsory redundancies and to enter into a period of real negotiation over the future of this institution.

We hope all members will join our on-line AGM this Wednesday at 3.30PM. Details and a Teams link have been circulated by email.

Huddersfield Announces Huge Cuts

• 12% redundancies
• Potentially 200 individuals affected
• No voluntary redundancy scheme

A message from UCU Huddersfield to our members:

Staff have received a message from the Vice Chancellor announcing wide-scale redundancies across the University. Not only will this round of redundancies affect all schools and services, it is unprecedented in the number of people it will affect. Among academic staff, 309 individuals are at risk. The situation is compounded by the absence of a voluntary redundancy scheme. All redundancies will be compulsory and departing staff will receive statutory redundancy payments only.

Please also be aware that we will be meeting with the regional UCU officials very soon to discuss our strategy, including the possibility of local strike action to fight the redundancies. If you have any views on this matter, please let us know.

Also, please remember that we will be holding an AGM on Wednesday the 1st of May. This meeting will be our opportunity to discuss the present situation and our collective response to it. Because of the redundancy-related meetings with the management Gary and Anna will have to attend on that day, we have to move the AMG to 15:30-17:00 (it was previously scheduled for 14:00).

AGM Date and Time: Wednesday, 1st of May 2024, 15:30-17:00

Location: Teams

Finally, while the HR will encourage you to not discuss the redundancies with your colleagues, our advice would be to do the opposite. It is very important to avoid isolation in such difficult circumstances. Please talk to your colleagues and share concerns and ideas.

National Agreement: Working Conditions

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Are your employers observing the national agreement on terms and conditions (the Post-92 contract) ?

UCU is running a survey to better understand how employers are observing national agreements on terms and conditions (the Post-92 contract), so we can better identify threats and erosion to these agreements. In addition, we would like to share local successes. For a summary of the provisions of the Post-92 contract and national Framework Agreement you can read this Branch Action Note.

Please complete the short survey here

Make & Save Money Survey Results

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A basic Google Forms survey was sent out to all Huddersfield UCU members, but
individuals were free to forward the survey link to non-members. The survey ran for two
weeks. Below are the summarised results.

How can we make more money or preserve current operations in our University?

• Invest in academic staff who will then create and run attractive and well-rated
  courses. Broaden the horizon to hiring teaching staff with no PhD degrees but
  with relevant practical experience that will be attractive to students. Attract and
  retain good staff by improving job security and giving staff more freedom to
  define teaching methods.
• Consider the direct and indirect financial and reputational cost of redundancies
  and voluntary severance schemes.
• Engage in production of high-quality online courses and explore other
  unconventional education options such as night courses, life-long learning short
  courses and apprenticeships.
• Make an effort to free academic time for grant application writing and provide
  proper administrative support for this activity.
• Explore opportunities for joint degrees between schools.
• Reduce and streamline administrative processes, make the SAVP faster in order to
  respond to the “student market” faster.
• Improve marketing, especially in the town centre.
• Invest in more professional services support.
• Invest more in student experience, staff development and management
  education.

How can we cut costs in our University?

• Stop building buildings that are never used or underused.
• Streamline the purchasing processes and stop using expensive agents such as Key
  Travel.
• Stop purchasing expensive staff training courses that have no impact.
• Assign right work to right people – don’t pay academic to perform administrative
  tasks.
• Cut VC’s salary. Its size (one of the highest in the UK) is not justified by the modest
  size and ranking of our university. Reduce the size of the VC suite.
• Cut the salaries of the senior management team and reduce their numbers as they
  are not performing.
• Reduce the size and complexity of administrative processes and actually make
  them work.
• Trust academic staff and stop constantly policing their work.
• Get rid of the PhD requirement.
• Invest in more energy saving devices. Stop using the Oastler exterior lighting to
  illuminate Sainsbury’s carpark.
• Be transparent about costs, including those of new buildings and the financial and
  reputational costs of recent controversies (Prince Andrew, Bahrain, the strikes).
• Institute a maximum pay ratio of highest to lowest paid staff.

What process should we use to define and agree upon new growth/contraction/preservation directions in our University?

• Meaningful consultation with staff who do the work of teaching and serving the
  students.
• More financial transparency from senior management.
• Wider staff representation on the senior decision-making boards.
• Closer working relationship with the unions. Discussion of strategic options with
  the University Council and the unions. Organise a working advisory group of
  frontline staff.

Any other comments?

• Recent cost-cutting measures led to the loss of valuable staff and crippled our
  capacity and prestige. The long-term consequences will be negative.
• Emulate the best practices of the best universities.
• Treat part time staff and staff on casual contracts better.
• Make the marketing and PR people accountable.
• Stop the authoritarian management that creates a climate of fear and a toxic
  workplace.
• Engage with other post-92 universities to develop collective strategies for the
  survival of the sector.

Huddersfield UCU Branch Workload Survey

Access the survey here

The purpose of this survey is to assess the present state of workload management at the University of Huddersfield. This survey to a large extent replicates our past workload surveys so we can compare our present situation with the past. 

• Formally acknowledging and eliminating the increases in workloads that may have resulted from the recent redundancies
• Ensuring the availability of up-to-date workload modelling files to staff
• Ensuring the accuracy of the recording of working hours in workload files
• Eliminating arbitrary decreases of time allocated to certain tasks

The survey is completely confidential and will not ask you for any personal identifying information. The survey will close on Monday the 4th of March 2024 at 23:59.

If you have any questions about this survey, please contact the branch secretary Anna Zueva (a.zueva@hud.ac.uk) or the branch chair Gary Allen (g.allen@hud.ac.uk). 

Online Application for Assistance

Huddersfield UCU members can now apply for assistance through our online form. This can be found under our Contact page or using this link

Huddersfield University Money Matters – UCU Branch Views

Solidarity to the IWGB Charity Workers

Huddersfield UCU Branch Committee send our support and solidarity to members of the IWGB Charity Workers Branch at the Royal Society of Arts in their dispute over pay. Members at the RSA have taken 5 days of strike action so far – the first strike in the charity’s 270-year history – in support of their claim for fair pay. We urge the RSA to enter into meaningful dialogue with the IWGB Charity Workers Branch in order to resolve the dispute as soon as possible. We will raise a full solidarity motion at the next Huddersfield AGM and discuss ways our members can offer their support.

Huddersfield Branch Survey Result

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The results of our survey may be seen here

Season’s Greetings

Season’s Greetings from your Huddersfield UCU Committee

Message from the Chair

On behalf of the Huddersfield UCU Branch Committee, I would like to wish all of our members a Merry Christas and a Happy New Year.

2023 has been a challenging year for us, with further restructuring and redundancies affecting Human and Health Sciences, Arts and Humanities, Applied Sciences, Education and Professional Development, and the Business School.  Here’s hoping the university management finally realise that it is people, not shiny new buildings, that make a university a great place for students to study and for staff to work.

As a branch we are stronger together, and we will be focussing in the new year on building our membership and raising our profile.  For that, we need all our members’ help.  Only as a strong collective can we hope to influence the running of the institution.  Let’s all commit to working together to build our branch strength in 2024.

Enjoy the holidays, and we look forward to seeing you back and re-energised in January!

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From UCU Central …

• Union calls on University of Portsmouth to reverse punitive sanctions on staff UCU members at the University of Portsmouth are calling on the university to refund the deductions it made from the pay of staff who took part in industrial action…
• Anger and disappointment at Aberdeen modern languages cut proposal UCU comment after senior managers at Aberdeen University announced to staff that they are launching a consultation on Modern Languages provision at the university,…
• Vow to fight plans to cull 1 in 10 academic jobs at Staffordshire University UCU vowed to fight devastating cuts at Staffordshire University.
• Vow to fight plans to cull 1 in 10 academic jobs at Staffordshire University UCU vowed to fight devastating cuts at Staffordshire University.

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And remember …