Thank you so much to all who voted for me in the Vice President election campaign. It was a hard fought, democratic campaign and members for the first time in a long time, had plenty of choice. I worked hard to arrange the majority of the hustings we attended, including the first ever Prison EducatorsContinue reading “The VP election results”
Author Archives: marianmayer2020
The risk of F2F Teaching and Casualisation
At a branch executive committee meeting yesterday, on behalf of Bournemouth University UCU the committee passed the following motions. We will submit these motions to the upcoming Congress and Special Conference. Motion 1 speaks to the continued precarity of HE sector workers, and the abuse of casualised contracts, and the consequent damage to our sector.Continue reading “The risk of F2F Teaching and Casualisation”
At last advice from the UK Government on the re-opening of FE.
Most FE colleges in England started physical on-site opening on 17th August, colleges are due to open their doors to workers and students on Monday 7th September. The UK Government released SAGE backed advice on Saturday 5th September. This advice was long in coming, unfortunately short in substance and four months late. The new advice highlights: · that FEContinue reading “At last advice from the UK Government on the re-opening of FE.”
Undergraduate recruitment – no justification for cuts?
Executive summary: The basis of the prediction that we all – UCU, the employers and those of us in the union organising a fightback – have been working to was that we faced a small but significant drop in student numbers (around -2%) pushing some universities into financial difficulties. This prediction has turned out toContinue reading “Undergraduate recruitment – no justification for cuts?”
We have to stamp out casual contracts and stand by our precariously employed colleagues: it is the least we can do.
Across HE, many of our precarious members have only just received their contracts for this coming semester/term, including those still working on PhDs, newly graduated PDRs, and staff who have experienced firing and rehiring every summer for years. Many of these precarious teaching staff have been told they will have to carry out frequent face-to-faceContinue reading “We have to stamp out casual contracts and stand by our precariously employed colleagues: it is the least we can do.”
Can we teach face to face this semester?
UCU’s General Secretary Jo Grady has released a statement calling for the default for teaching in the autumn to be on-line. This is the right thing to do. Finally, the press have woken up to the emergent problems of one million students moving around the UK in the coming weeks. We should be clear withContinue reading “Can we teach face to face this semester?”
Trans Rights are Human Rights
In this article I use the term trans to refer to all people who identify with a gender other than that assigned at birth, including nonbinary people, though I note that not all nonbinary people identify as trans. It is very simple. Trans women are women. Trans men are men. Nonbinary people are nonbinary. RespectContinue reading “Trans Rights are Human Rights”
Let’s be honest.
We know that sexual assault, harassment and abuse of women is still a problem in society. But as repeated media, UUK, NUS, 1752 Group reports show us, it is also a massive problem in Universities. As a Union, we have a legal (and moral) responsibility to ensure the safety of all of our members andContinue reading “Let’s be honest.”
What can UCU do for prison educators and students who live or work behind the walls, and those in ACE?
Working conditions Prison educators do not need to be told that the conditions in which they work are amongst the most challenging in post 16 education. And yet, many of us who do not work in that world are not so aware of their terms and conditions of work. UCU is working to raise theContinue reading “What can UCU do for prison educators and students who live or work behind the walls, and those in ACE?”
CALL TO ACTION – Use Teacher-Predicted Grades for A levels: overhaul the system
The pandemic has unsettled the life of every family and child across the UK. We also know that the crisis has made life harder for low-income households, those living in insecure housing, and those at risk of homelessness. Now, thousands of students in England are facing uncertainty over their futures, with nearly 40% of A-LevelContinue reading “CALL TO ACTION – Use Teacher-Predicted Grades for A levels: overhaul the system”
