Quick Reminders

• Go prepared to your workload planning meetings — you can use our tool to estimate your workload to aid your negotiations
• Our AGM is Thursday 4 September at 13:00 (online) — nominations close tomorrow for Exec roles. Get involved!
• The deadline for AGM motions was today — if you submitted one, you’ll get a confirmation.
• Don’t forget our General Reporting Form for restructuring-related chaos and our Casework Pro Forma if you need individual support.

Here’s the latest on the restructuring process, industrial relations, and workload pandemonium. This update covers developments since the 14 Aug Sit-Rep.

We’d also like to welcome our colleagues in UET to the blog. We’re delighted you are so interested in our activities; it’s a shame your abandonment of our regular meetings is rendering your interest MOOT.

Industrial Relations Breaking Down

Management has now cancelled all JCNC meetings for the rest of August. This means:

• No meeting on 7 August (they cancelled with 15 minutes’ notice).
• The 14 August meeting ended without discussing all agenda items.
• 21 & 28 August meetings were cancelled without waiting for our response.

This is part of a broader pattern of non-engagement:

• The university still hasn’t given an answer to our formal request for ACAS conciliation.
• They claim they can’t reply until the Director of HR (who is leaving at the end of the month) is replaced — no name, no date.
• And six weeks on, they have made no attempt to set a meeting to resolve the Trade Dispute.

Workload Planning Chaos

WLP is a shambles:

• Comms and training on the updated WAMS interface is poor, meaning line managers are badly prepared for WLP.
• WAMS is missing essential workload categories; others are “set centrally” but not in the system yet, further disabling line managers and staff from being able to negotiate workloads.
• Even non-UCU managers are refusing to hold WLP meetings because it’s not possible to assign fair workloads.

BU UCU advice:
If you’re a line manager, do not impose this downward. Push back up. The system is broken. Don’t lend it legitimacy.

If you’re a staff member, be prepared when you go into your workload planning meetings. Review the tariffs, know what takes you time, know the roles you need to fulfil, and where the indicative tariffs may short-change you (despite rumors to the contrary ALL are negotiable!). Use our tool, or your own, but go prepared!

We Are Not Operational

Four weeks from Welcome Week:

• Multiple programmes are short-staffed and have not been allocated necessary resources to deliver their validated curriculum.
• Leadership teams are still incomplete.
• Many staff have no confirmed line manager.
• Safeguarding, Prevent, and H&S responsibilities remain unclear in several areas.

Let us know if this is happening in your area. Use the Reporting Form. We are tracking every failure.

Interim Leadership Roles Downgraded

Staff returning from interim leadership posts are being:

• Downgraded in grade and salary, regardless of contractual language.
• BU is treating these roles as “secondments” despite past practice and formal terms.

If this affects you and you haven’t already contacted us, please do.

Union Under Attack

Management is now trying to undermine BU UCU directly, including pushing back on union commentary and communications.

We’re not intimidated. We know why they’re doing this: because we’re effective.

Let us know what you’re seeing, what you need, and what support you’re getting (or not). We’ll keep fighting. You’re not alone.

Remember, make good trouble, and illegitimi non carborundum.

— BU UCU Exec