News

UCU announced on Friday 17 February that they have reached a point in discussions with employers where they have made significant progress across a range of issues. To allow the ongoing negotiations to continue in a constructive environment UCU has agreed to pause action across the pay and pension disputes for the next two weeks and create a period of calm. 

For the upcoming strike action the Open University pattern will include two weekends, These have been added where the existing pattern already had a Friday. Therefore the 'extra' dates will be Saturday 11th February, Sunday 12th February, Saturday 18th March and Sunday 19th March. See list of the national UCU strike dates below.

How does this work?

Staff who work the normal 5-day working pattern (or a part-time portion of the standard weekday work week) are not affected by this. You would not declare the extra strike days.

There is a campaign to raise money for UCU's fighting fund ahead of the industrial action in the face of employer intransigence on JNCHES (pay, equalities, workload and casualisation) and pensions. 

This branch invites all members: 

UCU have announced that 18 days of industrial action will take place in February and March 2023 in the pay and pensions disputes, read the UCU press release here. 

The first strike day will be Wednesday 1st February. 

Members of the Nottingham Clarion Choir joined our picket line at the OU office in Nottingham on one of the strike days in November 2022. One of our members took these videos and she is happy for us to share them. The same UCU member also made a beautiful picket arm band in the photo on this page. 

Further information about the Choir is on their website.

Videos of the Choir singing.

We have sent another issue of our Associate Lecturer (AL)  newsletter to all AL members, you can read the newsletter here. 

UCU have announced three strike days in the current dispute over pensions, pay and working conditions.

The three strike days are planned for:

• Thursday 24th November
• Friday 25th November
• Wednesday 30th November

Read the UCU press release, 8 November

There is a recording of our Open meeting on Pay and Pensions, which took place on 10 October 2022, on our YouTube channel. 

Mark Taylor-Batty and Robyn Orfitelli spoke about the key issues and gave an inside perspective on why Higher Education staff need a pay rise and the restoration of our USS pension benefits.

View video.

The success of the AL contract in reducing casualisation within the Open University is now being recognised more widely, both nationally and internationally, with the trade union movement.

The branch has said farewell to three special branch members, Bruce Heil and Jeremy Roebuck are retiring from the OU and Kate Hawkins has got a new job.  Bruce has been a member of our branch executive since 2009 and a UCU AL rep since 2007 when the AL reps became an elected committee. Bruce has helped hundreds of members over that time as one of our caseworkers. Jeremy joined the branch in 2013 and has been an excellent AL rep and caseworker, helping lots of members with their issues.