Category: Uncategorized

ARU UCU Branch has declared an official dispute with ARU over plans to evict staff from their offices.  Staff and students are deeply distressed.  The consensus is that certain elements within university management have revealed through their actions, including the abject failure to consult, utter contempt for staff and students.

Under the terms of the recognition agreement between the University and UCU, as we are now in official dispute, the status quo prevails. Consequently, the university cannot enforce the eviction of colleagues from their offices unless and until a formal resolution is agreed. UCU members are therefore advised that they are NOT compelled to cooperate with this most unreasonable set of demands outlined by AHESS faculty management.

You can read our full Notice of Official Dispute here.

ARU UCU Branch Executive

The ARU Student Union and the ARU UCU Branch have sent a joint letter to the ARU Vice-Chancellor, Professor Roderick Watkins, asking him to show leadership and join us in a call for an immediate ceasefire in the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict.

Thousands of innocents have already lost their lives and thousands more will perish if the fighting does not stop. We believe it is crucial for our university to take a stance in favour of peace and join the international chorus demanding an immediate ceasefire.

You can read our letter in full here.

Follow this link to see UCU negotiators’ analysis of the current University employers “offer” of real terms pay cuts.

At the moment, it is striking UCU members who are carrying the sole burden of sacrifice.  With the three days of action over the last week, our members will have to face considerable deductions from their earnings, some in the region of £300.  Furthermore, with more action, ongoing and anticipated, from strikes to ASOS, our members face the prospect of considerable losses until such time as our dispute is resolved. We are calling on all members, family, friends of the branch and other trade unionists to please donate, if they can, through the link below to the local hardship fund.

Donate here – https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=AVPQDK3GVT6QL

When donating please do tick to add the fee to your donation so ARU branch doesn’t pay the fee. You can also donate directly to the branch hardship bank account through a BACS transfer using the below details:

UCU Anglia Ruskin University bank

20469896

608301

 UCU is delighted to announce the conclusion of an historic Collective Agreement with Anglia Ruskin University, which represents a major investment in supporting the work of academics and a clear break with excessive workloads.   

While negotiations were prolonged and at times difficult, UCU acknowledges the sincerity and commitment of university leaders to address our concerns.  See joint statement. 

The Collective Agreement, signed by the Vice Chancellor Professor Roderick Watkins, maintains the momentum on addressing the wellbeing crisis and the shared desire to put an end to the scourge of casualisation, while putting in place significant improvements in time allocation for research and innovation activities, knowledge exchange and teaching preparation, as well as academic management responsibilities. 

UCU looks forward to working with the university to ensure enforcement of the agreement and to build upon this major breakthrough in improving industrial relations. 

ARU UCU Branch Executive 

ARU’s Vice Chancellor signs historic collective agreement with UCU. To view the collective agreement, click here.

The joint statement by ARU and UCU on the new workload agreement can be found here.