News

UCU's Pension Negotiator Sam Marsh will give a presentation on the current USS situation on Thursday 17 March at 1pm via Teams. This is an open meeting and all university colleagues are welcome, you will need to be logged into the OU website. 

OU UCU members are taking part in national UCU action in two separate disputes:

• over devastating cuts to USS pensions
• and over falling pay and the employers' refusal to address pay gap, precarious employment and unsafe workloads.

UCU's higher education committee has called further waves of strike action in both the USS and Four Fights disputes which will ensure that the disruption continues across the sector until the end of term.

UCU, the OU's BME staff network and Women@OU are jointly presenting a 60-minute lunchtime seminar to celebrate the life and work of Gloria Jean Watkins (aka bell hooks). 

The seminar will be on International Women's Day, 8th March at 1pm in our Adobe connect room, please email ucu@open.ac.uk if you would like to attend. 

bell hooks passed away 15th December 2021 from kidney failure and her death leaves a huge hole in our society. Her body of work includes academic books, children's books and documentaries to name a few:

Have you signed our petition which calls upon the OU to resolve the pension and pay disputes?

Any friend of the OU can sign this petition so please feel free to share the link widely.

We have launched a Valentine’s day poetry/ditty competition – send your entry to ucu@open.ac.uk and there will be a Book token prize awarded to the best poem/ditty at the end of the industrial action. Entries will be judged by the branch Executive committee. 

The closing date is 5pm on 2nd March 2022.

Here's an example: 

Violets are blue,
roses are red,
the gender pay gap is messing with my head.

Academic related staff members Amy Ryall and David Conway explain we need to take collective action between the 14th February and 2nd March 2022.

If you are on a casualised contract, or have an interest UCU's work on behalf of those who are, you may be interested in attending UCU's annual meeting on 26th February, view further information.  Members can attend as branch delegates, or self-register. Priority is given to branch delegates, but self-registering delegates nearly always get a place.

We have now opened the branch hardship fund - there's guidance, FAQs and an application form on the Hardship fund page. 

UCU members risk their pay being docked for the December wave of industrial action during the USS and Pay/Equality disputes.  Whilst UCU is not able to give assistance to all members taking strike action, the union offers the financial support both nationally and locally for members at risk of serious hardship. UCU members must ensure they are paying subscriptions at the correct rate in order to be eligible. 

We have now published videos of our strike day online rallies, day 1 was Wednesday 1st December 2021, day 2 was Thursday 2nd December and day 3 was Friday 3rd December 2021. 

Day 1: Watch the video

Day 1: Read the transcript

Day 2: Watch the video

We agree with the author about the excellence of UCU's national policy statement of principles on academic freedom, a position that the branch formally re-affirmed in 2019. That is why the email complained of included a link to this policy statement. The Open University branch of UCU does not discriminate or encourage discrimination against members.