Urgent Meeting Monday 17th September

URGENT – MEETING – MONDAY 17 SEPTEMBER FOR ALL UCU MEMBERS AT UEL: 1PM DOCKLANDS, ROOM EB.3.16. Report on negotiations: preparations for further action

Workloads: advice to academic staff from UCU

UCU has been, and remains, involved in lengthy negotiations with senior management regarding a Workload Allocation System. These negotiations remain unresolved. In the meantime, UEL’s approach to workloads for academic staff remains incoherent and inconsistent. This chaotic situation reflects a general crisis of workload management for academic staff across the institution. Workloads are being set without consistency, equity or transparency.

We would like to remind our members of a joint statement issued by the Vice-Chancellor and UCU Regional Office sent out as an all staff email back in May:

“Negotiations are progressing well between UEL and UCU regarding the issues currently in dispute between the union and the university. Both parties remain hopeful of a resolution of that dispute very soon.
One element of the discussion is a new workload allocation scheme for academic staff. The aim is to implement the new scheme as soon as possible. In the meantime annual workload consultations should continue to establish the distribution of academic workload for 2012/13. Those consultations must include consideration of the full range of academic duties in establishing a reasonable and equitable workload for each member of staff (as outlined in UEL Local Guidelines on the Determination of Lecturer’s Duties and Workload).

The above statement has been jointly agreed by the Vice Chancellor and the UCU Regional Official”

21 May 2012

If you believe you are being asked to work at an unreasonable level you should immediately contact the union (see details below). UCU will request a meeting with your Dean or Associate Dean at which the issue will be addressed with the full backing of the union. You can assess your workload by inputting data to the AWAM model: AWAM remains the only workload model at UEL that can give members a clear picture of their workload commitments and we urge members to use this until such times as appropriate and an alternative fair and transparent model has been agreed. A guide and the AWAM template can be found here: http://uel.web.ucu.org.uk/AWAM/

Workload will be the key issue at the UCU branch meeting to be held next Monday, at which members will hear from our regional and national officials, and will discuss the action required at UEL  including industrial action in response what is proposed for workloads. Please make every effort to attend: this is a key meeting for all academic staff.  What is happening at the moment in relation to workloads represents the biggest challenge to academic staff and their working conditions in many years.

THIS IS NOT A FIGHT WE CAN AFFORD TO LOSE.

MONDAY 17 SEPTEMBER, 1.00 pm , Room EB.3.16

UCU School Representatives: