Author: ucuuea3

14/01/2025 – Local ballot opens

A strike ballot will open at the University of East Anglia (UEA) on 14th January 2025 over huge job cuts that are once again being pushed through by management. The ballot will run until Tuesday 4 February and a successful result will pave the way for strike action to begin as soon as next month, unless management rules out compulsory redundancies.

Members are advised to check for emails from the branch committee with relevant information and updates.

12/02/24 – Branch General Meeting

The UEA UCU branch is having a general meeting on Tuesday 12th March, 14:00-15:30 on Teams (check email for link).

The main focus of this session will be the UCU Congress or the Higher Education Sector Conference (HESC) that is taking place in Bournemouth in May 2024. 

It is likely that this Congress will be asked to hear a series of motions that will dictate upcoming industrial action strategy and we feel it is important that members of UEA get the opportunity to contribute to this debate.  We will be discussing and voting on any motions that members want the branch to submit.

As such, we ask that members wishing to submit a motion to Congress/HESC do so no later than 15:00 on Monday 4th March so that these can be circulated on the 5th of March and allow a week’s notice of the general meetingIt is important that members have time to read and consider these motions ahead of the meeting, so motions received past this deadline will not be ordered onto the Meeting’s business.   

Motions for Congress/HESC must conform to the strict word counts required, which can be found here. 

Members can also submit motions for the UCU UEA branch to consider that relate to local UCU UEA positions, ahead of any general meeting.  The same deadline for these will apply and these will be tabled for business after any Congress/HESC motions. 

We encourage any member wishing to submit a motion to the general meeting to reach out to the branch first (ucu.office@uea.ac.uk) so we can help you with the formatting of motions.   

14/02/24 – UCU elections drop-in session (online)

With key elections ongoing within UCU for the General Secretary, NEC and other positions, and ballots due to close by 1 March 2024, we are holding an online election briefing at 3:00 pm on Teams on 14 Feb 2024 led by the branch membership secretary, Nick Grant. (The Teams link is in the branch email from 13/02/24)

This informal session will be a chance for you to get more information to complete your ballot. We have also posted some information about the different groupings on our website. 

Often there is very low turnout for these positions despite the fact that these are for important decision-making bodies within our union. We strongly encourage all branch members to complete their ballots and mail them in time. Replacement ballots can be requested up until Thursday 22 February 2024 by filling this online form.

7/2/24 – #StandWithGaza Workplace Day of Action

#StandWithGaza Workplace Day of Action – Wednesday 7th February 2024 

UEA UCU and other campus unions are joining thousands of workers across the country in the Workplace Day of Action to call for a ceasefire in Gaza.  

We will meet at 12:30 for a vigil in The Square.  

UCU calls for an immediate ceasefire, the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, unrestricted access to humanitarian aid, and the lifting of the siege of Gaza.   

There are many ways for you to get involved in this campaign, details are available on the national UCU website. UEA UCU is asking our members to donate to the Medical Aid for Palestinans (MAP) Gaza emergency appeal.  You can read more about UCU’s current position HERE.   

01/01/24: Branch Social for Pensions Win!

To celebrate the UCU success in the pensions dispute and to recognise the power of the collective action, we’re holding a branch celebration on Thursday 1st Feb 2024 from 5:00 pm in  the Scholars Bar/Lounge area. We’ll be in the bookable rooms Seven and Eight next to the Scholars Bar.

UEA UCU members do come along if you can. We also welcome staff who are interested in joining UCU, as this is an opportunity to meet members and find out more about the union!