Reading University UCU

New and improved statutory rights around Carer’s Leave and Flexible working come into force on 6th April 2024.

Acas Code of Practice on requests for flexible working: https://www.acas.org.uk/acas-code-of-practice-on-flexible-working-requests

Acas Carer’s leave Code of Practice: https://www.acas.org.uk/carers-leave

The University carers leave policy provides the right to take up to one week of leave per rolling 12 months: https://www.reading.ac.uk/human-resources/policies-and-procedures/absence-and-leave/carers-leave

If you need any further information, support or guidance/ representation, please remember that RUCU has a team of caseworkers who can support members.

Dooley Harte, UCU National Pensions Official, will visit the University of Reading to give us an in-person seminar on USS Pensions.

PLEASE FIND THE POWERPOINT OF THIS PRESENTATION HERE: University of Reading – Basic Introduction to Pensions

Thursday 21st March 13:00 – 14:00, Harry Nursten 234 Whiteknights Campus.

This open meeting is free and open to all staff, both UCU members and non-members, and relevant to everyone who is eligible to join the USS pension scheme.
Dooley will update us on the changes to the Scheme and ongoing USS negotiations. You will also be able to ask questions.

USS Pension Changes

In 2022 a range of changes were made to our pension benefits. UCU and UUK have now come to an agreement that reinstates previously-cut benefits, offers an augmentation and agrees lower costs going forward for both members and employers.

USS members will already have seen positive changes from the reduced contribution rates in this year’s payslips. As an example, for a member earning £45,000, this amounts to an extra £111 net every month in your pay slip (figures from UCU HQ approximations).

For full details of all changes see USS webpages on what’s changing and when.

Important information for non-USS members

If you are not a USS member, we recommend that you consider joining the scheme now. It offers important benefits including death-in-service cover and the reduced costs have made the Scheme even more affordable, particularly to our lowest paid and precarious eligible members.

Of particular importance is that if you join before the end of March, you will also benefit from the augmentation uplift of a further £215 per annum in pensions in retirement see USS webpages for full set of FAQs on the uplift).

USS Pension Changes Summary

1 – Restoration of benefits to pre-2022 levels to take effect from April 2024
accrual rate returned to 1/75 (had been reduced to 1/85)
DB threshold now restored to circa £70,000 (previously £60,000 before April 2022 but had been taken down to £40,000 after the cuts)
threat to inflation protection removed
2 – Augmentation / recovery of benefits (for benefits lost 2022-24): One-off pension payment of £215 (per annum paid in retirement) to all active members plus an associated £645 retirement lump sum. (Different calculations apply for pensioner members and those in other categories). Please inform USS non-members who are eligible and encourage all eligible members to join the scheme urgently before 1st April 2024
3 – DC pot: Anyone who accrued money in the DC pot due to threshold changes in 2022-24 will keep that pot untouched too.
4 – Reduced contribution rates –from January 2024. Contribution rates reduced to 6.1% for employees and 14.5% for employers

If you have any queries, please email RUCU branch administrator.

Best wishes

Reading UCU

Have your say in who becomes the next UCU General Secretary and join us at the hustings online:-

Thursday 1 February, 12.30-14.00

https://www.ucu.org.uk/elections-2023-24

You can use the form to submit a question for the hustings. Questions must be submitted by 12 noon on Wednesday 24th January 2024:-

https://yoursay.ucu.org.uk/s3/General-Secretary-hustings-question-submission-form

UCU General Secretary Candidates

We have a very strong field of candidates for UCU General Secretary and invite you to peruse the candidates’ manifestos, before deciding who you would like to vote for:-

Vicky Blake https://vickyblakeucu.uk/

Dr Jo Grady Www.grady4gs.com

Professor Ewan McGaughey https://ewanmg.uk/

Sara Weiner https://saira4gs.wordpress.com/

There has never been a better time to participate in union democracy: there has never been a better chance to improve workers rights and conditions; we wish all the UCU General Secretary candidates the best of luck for the hustings, their campaigns, for the election and for their and our collective future.

We stand together!

Reading UCU Committee.

Dear Members

We are taking this opportunity to invite you formally to a RUCU Ordinary General Meeting:

Date: Thursday 23rd November

Time: 12:00 – 13:00

More details will be circulated nearer the time, including a branch meeting agenda.

Members who wish to submit a motion can do so before the deadline of 12:00 Tuesday 21st November. Please send your motion, with proposer and seconder, to the branch administrator: cmaxfield@ucu.org.uk. More information on motions can be found in our local rules here: https://reading.web.ucu.org.uk/local-rules/

We look forward to seeing you there

RUCU

RUCU is proud to announce that UCU has won a five-year long USS pension dispute and would like to congratulate all RUCU members who took industrial action, or were part of the negotiations or who contributed to the fighting fund … this historic victory belongs to you!

Whist, there are still some details to be ironed out, in Spring 2024, we shall see pensions restoration, a reduction in our pension contributions and better protection against inflation. For more information see here https://www.ucu.org.uk/article/13247/UCU-wins-five-year-long-USS-pension-dispute?utm_source=lyr-ucu-members&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=members&utm_term=he-uss-all&utm_content=We+have+won+back+our+pensions

Now that we have won on pensions, let’s win on pay … if you have not done so, please return your ballot paper by 31st October 2023, which is the last safe postal date to post back your ballot papers.

If you need a replacement ballot paper, please order one ASAP here! https://yoursay.ucu.org.uk/s3/ucuRISING-ballotupdate?mg-src=website

Reading UCU Committee

RUCU Build the Union Programme 2023

Reading UCU is very excited to present the following programme for BTU month this October.

3rd October 2023: 13:00 – 14:00
Pensions Briefing with Dooley Harte, UCU National Pensions Officer (In Person Only)
A FREE USS Pensions seminar and Q&A for Members & non members.
Room: Edith Morley 126. Whiteknights Campus.

5th October 2023: 13:00 – 13:50
Drop-In hosted by Hattie Robinson, RUCU Membership Secretary (Online only)
Come and have a chat, bring your issues, feedback, knitting or crafting and catch up with new and old RUCU colleagues. Non members welcome.

Click here to join the meeting on UCU Teams
Meeting ID: 386 493 394 038
Passcode: u3Hyey

12th October 2023: 13:00 – 13:50
Disabled Members Coffee Pot hosted by Ellen Owens, RUCU Treasurer
(Online only) Non members welcome

Click here to join the meeting on UCU Teams
Meeting ID: 371 789 771 917
Passcode: cPUuds

17th October 2023: 14:00-15:00
President Inaugural Lecture – With Dr Deepa Driver, RUCU President. Online.

Click here to join the meeting
Meeting ID: 363 255 728 663
Passcode: Ac4Ti5

19th October 2023: 12.00 – 13.00
RUCU October OGM & Build the Union
Guest speakers from HEI & FE (HEI speaker from a MABBING Branch Brighton (Online only)

Tuesday 24th October 2023: 14:00-15:00
Anti-Casualisation Agreement & Successes with Rita Balestrini, Anti Casualisation Officer
Room Carrington 201, Whiteknights (Hybrid).

Click here to join the meeting
Meeting ID: 322 573 681 813
Passcode: YoAvcz

Tuesday 31st October 2023: 13:00-14:00
Introduction to UCU National Workload Campaign with RUCU AntiCasualisation Officer
Room Carrington 101, Whiteknights Campus (Hybrid)

Click here to join the meeting
Meeting ID: 323 495 621 314
Passcode: WU49XG

[Programme Subject to Change, please check the RUCU website.]

At the RUCU AGM in June, a motion to build regional solidarity in the UCU Southern region and to support UCU branches participating in the a Marking and Assessment Boycott (MAB) as part of Industrial Action over pay and pay-related conditions was proposed.

Unfortunately, the motion could not be heard as we ran out of time. We brought it to the next OGM in July, but it could not be passed then as the meeting did not reach quorum. However, there followed a lively discussion about the impact of the cost of living crisis and RUCU members were unanimous in wanting to show regional solidarity and make small donations of £100 to each Southern region branch needing it (permitted under the RUCU local rule book when members voting can’t be achieved).

In a subsequent committee meeting, committee members also voted to send solidarity donations to a few other branches facing excessive deductions.

Payments have now been made to the following branches:

Winchester – MAB
Southampton – MAB
Bournemouth – MAB

Others voted on by the committee:

York St John – MAB
Kingston – MAB
Brighton – Redundancies

RUCU is proud to show solidarity with regional UCU Southern and other branches in need of solidarity.

UCU will carry on fighting to defend pay and workers conditions in Higher Education, amidst one of the most severe cost-of-living crises faced in recent decades by education staff and the broader collective of workers.

During the June AGM a motion was passed to top the local hardship account back up to £5,000. A bank transfer of £3,050.61 has now been made. This covers hardship applications that have mainly been made by Reading members over the past year, though also includes some smaller amounts from previous years.

Solidarity!

RUCU Committee

Dear Members

We are taking this opportunity to invite you formally to the first 2023-24 RUCU Ordinary General Meeting:

Date: Thursday 20^th July

Time: 12:00 – 13:00

More details will be circulated nearer the time, including a branch meeting agenda.

Members who wish to submit a motion can do so before the deadline of 12:00 Tuesday 18th July. Please send your motion, with proposer and seconder, to the branch administrator: cmaxfield@ucu.org.uk. More information on motions can be found in our local rules here: https://reading.web.ucu.org.uk/local-rules/

The RUCU Committee 2023-24 is currently working on a calendar of meetings for the following year. The calendar example below is a working draft and we hope to finalise this, with more details, very soon:  Meetings – Reading University UCU

We look forward to seeing you all on the 20^th July!

Reading UCU

Dear Reading UCU Member,

I am writing to you in my capacity as Returning Officer for the Reading UCU Branch AGM and elections.

Nominations for roles in the Reading UCU Branch for 2023/24 academic year closed at noon on Thursday 18 May.  The following posts were uncontested and will be formally announced at the AGM.

President: Deepa Driver

Treasurer: Ellen Owens

Membership Secretary: Hattie Robinson

Anti-casualisation officer: Rita Balestrini

We continue to have several roles still available, and therefore I have decided to re-open nominations to the Reading UCU Branch Committee 2023/2024.

The new deadline for submitting a nomination is midday on Tuesday 13 June 2023.  A nomination form and can be found here, once completed should be sent to cmaxfield@ucu.org.uk for the attention of Moray McAulay.

The following roles are available, and we encourage members to submit nominations for these roles for the next academic year:

UCU Branch Officers:

• Vice-President
• Secretary
• Equality Officer
• Ordinary Committee member (9 posts)

For a more detailed description of each of these roles, please see the Local rules of our website at www.reading.web.ucu.org.uk in section 8.

How to get involved in the Reading UCU Branch Committee

This is a great opportunity to get involved in the running of our branch by nominating yourself for a role. If you already have a role and wish to continue, please do not forget to fill in the attached form to nominate yourself.

If you wish to nominate yourself, you will need to include a proposer and seconder for each post (details about this are on the nomination form).

If you wish to share one of the posts, you will need to complete the nomination form to include both members’ details and indicate that you are sharing the role (i.e. one form, two names, one proposer, one seconder).

Should any post(s) be contested, UCU will organise an online ballot of members.  Further details on this will follow if applicable, and this will take place after the Reading UCU Branch AGM.

Reading UCU Branch AGM

The Reading UCU branch Annual General Meeting (AGM) will be held at 1pm on Thursday 15 June 2023.  Papers for the meeting will be sent out by 1 June.  Please ensure any agenda items, including motions, are received by the branch (cmaxfield@ucu.org.uk) by 5pm on 30 May.

Reading UCU would like to encourage members to get involved in their trade union, so please do put the Branch AGM in your diaries and consider standing for one of the Branch Committee positions.

We hope to see you at the AGM on Thursday 15 June 2023.

In solidarity

Moray McAulay

Regional Official, UCU Southern Region