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Campaigns

As teaching approaches…

Published: 28th September, 2020

A University of Leicester employee reflects on our good fortune. As the first teaching term of 2020/21 is about to start, I feel more anxious than I normally feel at this time of the year. My anxiety mainly originates in the fact that, despite the increasing number of daily new coronavirus cases in the UK…

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Promises, Promises

Published: 27th September, 2020

Our employer has initiated what it’s calling a Safe Citizen Promise. We have some comments.

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Outcome of EGM on Campus Working: University of Leicester Act Now!

Published: 25th September, 2020

Email to all Leicester UCU members, 25 September 2020 Yesterday (24 September 2020), Leicester UCU held an Extraordinary General Meeting to discuss rapidly escalating member fears and concerns about the return to on-campus face-to-face working during the Coronavirus pandemic. With near record attendance, a powerful consensus emerged from our membership, who have directed the LUCU…

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Raising the alarm on our University’s ‘Safe Working’

Published: 24th September, 2020

Leicester UCU has serious concerns about the University’s response to the UK’s move from Level 3 to Level 4 COVID-19 alert level (announced 21 September), which has major implications for the health and safety of all members of the University community and the communities in which we live.  [There is an emergency general meeting –…

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No more room on the 16th floor

Published: 27th July, 2020

Two Leicester UCU colleagues, both activists and picket line stalwarts, both precariously employed, were recently made redundant by the University of Leicester after many years as part of our university community. Both were recognised for their expertise, the quality of their work and, in particular, their ability to engage effectively with students from non-traditional backgrounds….

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Open Letter to the Chancellor and Vice-Chancellor

Published: 23rd July, 2020

To add you signature to this Open Letter follow this link. [To see the response, received on 29 July, see here.] 23 July 2020 Dear Professor Canagarajah and Lord Willetts The University of Leicester is ONE community, and now, more than ever, we must stand together and support one another as we face the teaching,…

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Four Fights offer – where do we go from here?

Published: 14th July, 2020

Email sent to all Leicester UCU members, 14 July As a UCU member working in higher education you will have received an email from Civica, inviting you to vote on whether to accept or reject UCEA’s offer in our Four Fights dispute. As the covering letter makes clear, UCU’s higher education committee, following the steer from…

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School of Business staff dig deep for casualised colleagues

Published: 15th June, 2020

In May, the UCU members in the School of Business (ULSB) launched a crowdfunding campaign for some of our PhD students. “Thank you for the initiative, it means the world 🙂” – PhD student 1 ULSB educates approximately 4,000 students. Of those, several hundred are pursuing a Masters’ degree, almost all of them from overseas. The…

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Four Fights and USS disputes… where now?

Published: 1st June, 2020

Last week we invited all members of Leicester UCU to give their views on the present situation in the Four Fights and USS disputes. These views informed discussions of the union’s Higher Education Committee, which met on 27 May to try to agree where next.  There are four parts to this communication. First, we repeat…

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Strikes 2020… Day 13: Not all heroes wear capes!

Published: 12th March, 2020

It was a bright, beautiful and brisk day on the pickets as we gathered once again to fight for fair compensation and decent working conditions in Higher Education. Tomorrow is Day 14 of this period of strike action, Day 22 of strikes in this dispute, and Day 36 of strike action in the fight for…

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