News

In Wales, the Open University branch of UCU has led representations to Senedd (Welsh Parliament) and found cross-party support on pensions and working conditions.

Two Members of Senedd, Mike Hedges (Labour) and Sioned Williams (Plaid Cymru) co-sponsored the event, having previously attended our lobby on the steps of Senedd two weeks earlier. Also giving strong support were Liberal Democrat Jane Dodds MS and several other Labour and Plaid Cymru Members. The Conservative Shadow Education Minister in Wales, Laura Anne Jones, attended and other ministers registered support.

We’ve been successfully lobbying the Welsh Senedd. Now we have been invited to present at an indoor event on the 23^rd March, to explain our disputes on pensions, pay and conditions and the impact that poor working conditions for university staff will have on students.

Members of the UCU branch at Queen Mary, University of London (QMUCU) are currently without any pay because their employer is docking 100% of salary for 'partial performance' for Action Short of a Strike - for those lecturers who refuse to reschedule classes that were cancelled during strike action.

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.