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News Archives

Debunked: 4 myths of the USS pension ballot

Published: 23rd September, 2019

It’s no surprise that members of an education union hold a variety of views. But there are currently in circulation four myths about the USS pension ballots that do not stand up to scrutiny. We address these here. Myth 1 The second Joint Expert Panel report is soon to be delivered. We should wait to…

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Out-of-the-ordinary general meeting and welcome – 7 Oct

Published: 1st September, 2019

Join us on Monday 7 October – from 4:30pm (venue: Physics Lecture Theatre A) – for an extraordinary general meeting of Leicester UCU, followed by welcome gathering. In the middle of not one but two strike ballots – in defence of our USS pensions and for greater equality and pay rises that aren’t real-terms pay…

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Letter to VC and Chief Librarian

Published: 30th August, 2019

Letter sent from Leicester UCU to Acting Vice-Chancellor and the Chief Librarian re proposed cuts to library budget, 30 August 2019. We write to express our alarm at the cuts to library information resources due to be introduced from the academic year. At more than half a million pounds (£547,624 is the figure we have…

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Let’s plan, let’s Get Out the Vote!

Published: 15th August, 2019

From September 9, all UCU members will receive two sets of ballot papers, asking whether we are prepared to take strike action in defence of our pension and in support of our pay-and-equalities demands. It’s essential a high proportion of members vote. For the result to be legally valid turnout must be at least 50%;…

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Moving towards a safer campus

Published: 14th June, 2019

University leaders’ decision to repurpose the Brookfield campus such that it becomes home of the School of Business (ULSB) have been contentious to say the least. Few of the professional services staff who had been located there wished to move to the main campus. Few ULSB staff wanted to move to Brookfield, believing that the…

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Gender Pay Gap Continues at University of Leicester

Published: 3rd April, 2019

The Suffragettes chained themselves to metal gates and held hunger strikes in order to receive the vote for women in the early part of the 20th century. Dagenham plant and Ford machinist women workers fought in the 1960s to be paid the same amount that men were being paid to carry out the same work…

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AGM – Tues 7 May

Published: 2nd April, 2019

Our annual general meeting will be on Tuesday 7 May, 12.15–2pm in Ken Edwards lecture theatre 3. This is your chance to question committee members, meet other members and get more involved. Come along!

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Get Out the Vodka! Tues 7 May

Published: 2nd April, 2019

Originally scheduled to coincide with the one-year anniversary of our USS pensions strike, we had to rearrange this party because of problems with the venue. But rearrange it we have. It’ll now be on the evening of Tuesday 7 May (the same days as our AGM). So please join us, along with our friends from…

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University of Leicester CONVOCATION – 8 May

Published: 2nd April, 2019

Wednesday 8 May. 4.30–6.30pm. Rattray Lecture Theatre Confirmed speakers: Natalie Bennet – University of Leicester graduate and former leader of the Green Party Ambrose Musiyiwa – poet, journalist and facilitator of Civic Leicester Jacqueline Sanchez-Taylor – lecturer in sociology Elsie White – co-chair, Intersectional Feminist Society Marta Gasparin and Jan Zalasiewicz – convenors, Anthropocene Research…

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Views on a new VC

Published: 23rd March, 2019

On Wednesday (March 20) representatives from Leicester UCU, along with reps from Unison and Unite, the other two unions that represent University of Leicester employees, attended a meeting entitled ‘Selecting our next Vice-Chancellor: we want your views’. The meeting was facilitated by Fiona Carruthers of ‘international executive search firm’ Perrett Laver – which has been…

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