BU UCU Annual General Meeting – June 2026 – Bournemouth University University and College Union (BU UCU)

Our 2026 AGM was held on 22 June and chaired by Joint Branch Chairs Tilia Lenz and Lyle Skains. Members received reports from across the Executive Committee, reviewed branch finances, reflected on a challenging year of industrial relations, and elected the branch committee for 2026-27.

This post summarises the actions and discussions at the AGM, including:

Reflections on the Past Year

The co-chairs opened by reflecting on what has been an exceptionally busy year for the branch.

Alongside representing members through a difficult year of redundancy consultations, workload concerns, and individual casework, the branch also undertook a substantial programme of internal rebuilding. Following significant turnover on the Executive Committee, new systems were established for governance, documentation, action tracking, casework management, knowledge transfer, and member communications. While much of this work happens behind the scenes, it has significantly increased the branch’s capacity to support members, retain institutional knowledge, and hold the university to account.

Over the course of the year, the branch has established new systems for governance, record-keeping, action tracking, casework management, committee operations, and knowledge transfer. This work is often invisible, but it has transformed the branch’s ability to support members, maintain continuity, and hold the university accountable.

Key achievements from the past year include:

Successfully conducting industrial action and sustained campaigning which contributed to the university ruling out compulsory academic redundancies.
Negotiating a resolution to the trade dispute following extensive engagement through formal negotiation channels.
Supporting members through redundancy consultations, workplace disputes, reasonable adjustment cases, sickness absence processes, and other individual casework.
Establishing stronger member communications through regular branch updates and the BU UCU blog.
Developing robust branch systems for documentation, evidence gathering, governance, and committee continuity.
Challenging the university on workload planning, PRIEP allocations, policy changes, consultation processes, equality issues, and governance concerns.
Strengthening branch participation in regional and national UCU structures, including Congress, equality conferences, and sector-wide campaigns.

One recurring theme throughout the year has been accountability. Improved branch systems have enabled the Executive Committee to identify and challenge issues that may otherwise have gone unnoticed, including concerns around policy changes introduced without appropriate consultation or negotiation.

The branch has also continued to push the university on workload allocation, career progression, staffing levels, disability support, and transparency in decision-making.

Executive Committee Activity

Reports from Executive Committee members highlighted the breadth of work taking place across the branch. See full EC reports at the bottom of this post.

Representatives supported members through a growing volume of casework, with several new reps completing training and beginning to take on member representation responsibilities. Health and Safety representatives undertook workplace inspections, developed specialist expertise, and strengthened monitoring of staff wellbeing concerns.

The branch continued to engage with university committees and working groups covering workload planning, facilities time, recognition agreements, health and safety, sustainability, equality, and policy development.

Members also heard updates on equality and inclusion work, including engagement with LGBTQIA+, women’s, disability, and intersectionality initiatives both within UCU and across the wider sector.

Current Branch Priorities

The branch enters 2026-27 in a significantly stronger position than a year ago, with a larger Executive Committee, improved systems, and increased capacity to support members.

Priorities for the coming year include:

Continuing to challenge excessive workloads and staffing pressures.
Completing negotiations on the Academic Career Framework and revised Recognition Agreement.
Monitoring the impact of staffing reductions on workloads, student experience, and student-staff ratios.
Expanding health, safety, and wellbeing activity, including workplace inspections and evidence gathering.
Strengthening support around disability, menopause, fertility treatment, miscarriage support, and broader equality issues.
Continuing to develop casework capacity and representative training.
Improving opportunities for member engagement, feedback, and participation.

Treasurer’s Report

Tahani Mohamed presented the Treasurer’s Report, outlining the branch’s financial position and work undertaken to strengthen financial governance, reporting, and compliance.

The branch completed its annual financial reporting requirements, updated bank account signatories, and continued to improve financial oversight and transparency.

The branch is in a very healthy position in both its General Account and its Hardship Fund. Our member subscription contributions have varied slightly over the period, reflective of fluctuations in membership. Overall, our finances are strong, and as a result we plan to engage in various meaningful events with and for members in 2026-27.

NEC Nomination

Members unanimously voted to nominate Tilia Lenz to the UCU National Executive Committee (NEC).

The NEC is UCU’s national governing body. It provides strategic leadership between Congresses, oversees the union’s work, sets priorities, and helps shape UCU’s response to national issues affecting members across higher and further education.

NEC members contribute to decisions on industrial strategy, equality, employment rights, pensions, workloads, funding, governance, campaigns, and the future direction of the union. They represent members’ interests at a national level and ensure that the policies agreed by Congress are translated into action.

Executive Committee Elections

Members elected the Executive Committee for 2026-27.

The branch is pleased to welcome both returning and new committee members. The expanded committee reflects growing member engagement and provides greater capacity to support members across a wide range of issues.

We are especially thrilled that all of our existing executive committee members are returning, and we have added four more: this is a tremendous level of support and engagement for BU UCU activities, and enables us to offer even more support for members.

We unanimously voted to confirm Joe McMullen as Co-Vice Chair, alongside Co-Vice Chair Patrick Neveling.

Our new Executive Committee members for 2026-27 are:

Anne Mills (Ordinary Member)
Christine Hatcher (Union Learning Rep)
Jaqui Hewitt-Taylor (Ordinary Member)
Ian Gwinn (Pensions Rep)

We also welcomed a couple of EC members between the 2025 AGM and the 2026 AGM:

Paul Hartley (Faculty Rep – HEMS)
Ursula Rolfe (Grade 10+/Manager Members Rep)

Delegates to Regional Committee and UCU Congress

We called for volunteers for the Southern Regional Committee and delegates to UCU Congress.

The Southern Regional Committee holds meetings roughly three times per year, plus an annual general meeting. Sessions are held on Saturdays online. We may nominate two delegates, though they do not have to be the same delegates at all meetings. Delegates attend the meetings, contribute BU UCU-relevant input, and report back to BU UCU. This is a valuable opportunity to network with other universities and further education colleges in the region, to learn more about UCU activities and wider initiatives, and influence thinking at a broader level.

Patrick Neveling has volunteered for one regional committee delegate role; one remains open. Interested members should express interest by emailing UCUBUOffice@bournemouth.ac.uk.

The UCU Congress is the yearly conference/annual general meeting for the national UCU organisation. This is where UCU policy is discussed and voted on, motions can be made at national level, and various presentations, panels, and activities are held. It is an important stage for branches such as ourselves, to be able to understand the national trends in the UCU, to make connections, and to influence the wider body. Each branch may send two delegates (travel expenses paid), though only one has voting power.

Tilia Lenz has volunteered for one Congress delegate role; one remains open. Interested members should express interest by emailing UCUBUOffice@bournemouth.ac.uk.

Member Feedback

Members were invited to share anonymous feedback through our “Your Union, Your Say” padlet. While responses covered a range of topics, several clear themes emerged.

Members highlighted the branch’s support and representation during a difficult year, particularly through casework, workplace advocacy, and ongoing efforts to hold the university accountable for following proper processes. Members also valued the branch’s evidence-based approach, transparent communications, and the sense of community and solidarity that the union provides during periods of uncertainty and change. Several comments recognised the work of our caseworkers and Health and Safety representatives, as well as the branch’s efforts to challenge discrimination and support disabled colleagues.

Looking ahead, members identified health, wellbeing, disability inclusion, and workplace support as key priorities for the coming year. Feedback emphasised the importance of protecting reasonable adjustments, ensuring that sickness absence is managed fairly and accurately, improving support for disabled colleagues, and continuing to challenge disability discrimination and ableist workplace practices. Members also expressed interest in additional wellbeing-focused activities and opportunities for engagement. These priorities align closely with the branch’s plans for 2026-27 and will help inform our future work.

The Executive Committee would like to thank all members who have volunteered their time, undertaken training, represented colleagues, and supported the branch throughout the year.

As always, if you would like to get involved in branch activities, training, casework, communications, campaigns, or negotiations, please get in touch. A strong union depends on active members, and there are many ways to contribute.

In Solidarity,

BU UCU Executive Committee

Full Executive Committee End-of-Year Reports

Co-Chair Tilia Lenz:

As Joint Branch Chair, I have continued to represent BU UCU members locally, regionally, and nationally throughout a challenging year for higher education. Alongside supporting members through individual casework and coordinating branch casework until February 2026, I helped represent members through the ongoing consultation processes, workplace concerns, and the conclusion of the branch’s industrial dispute. This included planning and preparation for potential strike action, supporting members throughout a period of uncertainty, and contributing to the work that ultimately brought the dispute to a close. As Co-Chair, I focus on outward-facing activities, such as attending and chairing Joint Negotiation and Consultation Committees, direct negotiations with the university, and wider UCU representation.

Beyond the university, I represented the branch at UCU Congress, including work on pensions, attended equality conferences, and participated in the TUC LGBTQIA+ Conference in June 2026. I have also contributed to the development of UCU’s intersectionality training and am standing for election to the TUC LGBTQIA+ Committee. Throughout the year, I have sought to ensure that equality, inclusion, and member representation remain central to both the branch’s work and the wider union’s activities.

Co-Chair Lyle Skains:

As Joint Branch Chair, much of my work this year has focused on strengthening both the branch and our ability to represent members effectively. I established the BU UCU blog as a key mechanism for transparency and regular communication with members, ensuring that information about negotiations, consultations, and branch activities is accessible and timely. Behind the scenes, I have led the development of new systems for record-keeping, action tracking, committee management, knowledge transfer, and documentation. These improvements have helped create a more sustainable branch, better able to retain institutional knowledge, support future Executive Committees, and provide continuity for members.

I have also continued to represent members through major strategic issues facing the university. This included supporting the industrial action campaign that ultimately helped secure the removal of compulsory academic redundancies, contributing to the Workload Planning Framework working group and documenting concerns around the university’s approach to negotiation, supporting members in securing appropriate reasonable adjustments, and continuing negotiations on the Academic Career Framework. Throughout the year, I have consistently challenged the University Executive Team on issues including workload planning, policy changes introduced without negotiation, shortcomings in redundancy consultation processes, and inadequate communication with staff, with the aim of increasing accountability and ensuring members’ voices are heard.

Branch Secretary Rosie Read:

As Branch Secretary, I have worked closely with the co-chairs to coordinate branch and Executive Committee meetings, including establishing regular meeting schedules, agendas, and processes that have helped strengthen the organisation and effectiveness of the branch. I have also co-led the branch’s negotiation and bargaining strategy with the university through JCNC and JIG, contributing to discussions on workload planning, PRIEPs, the Academic Career Framework, BU2035, and other significant issues affecting members. This included drafting the branch’s response to the new Workload Planning Framework policy and working with colleagues to negotiate and draft the eventual settlement of the trade dispute.

Alongside this strategic work, I have undertaken individual casework, participated in the university’s policy review, recognition agreement, and facilities time working groups, and drafted a new Recognition Agreement, which is currently under review. I have represented the branch at every Southern Regional Committee meeting, helping to ensure BU members’ concerns are reflected within the wider union, and have supported motions in solidarity with colleagues facing campus closures at the University of Essex and attacks on the TPS pension scheme at Northumbria University. I also worked with the Treasurer to update the branch’s bank account signatories and strengthen branch governance arrangements.

Health & Safety Officer Holly Crossen-White:

The Health and Safety Officer’s role has a wide remit. In 2025/26, for the first time in several years, all Health and Safety Representative positions were filled, allowing me to focus on developing the team. We have divided different areas of health and safety work between representatives, taking account of individual interests and expertise, such as mental health and wellbeing. This approach is helping the team build specialist knowledge so that we can collectively support members more effectively and take a more proactive approach to identifying health, safety, and wellbeing concerns across BU.

A key area of focus this year has been the reporting of sickness and absence data, where I have continued to press for more meaningful information that can be used to identify trends and areas of concern. With an expanded team, we have also begun regular workplace walk-throughs across campus, helping us identify and monitor a range of issues affecting staff working environments. Alongside this work, I represent members through casework and attend a range of university committees, including the Joint Health and Safety Committee, JCNC, JIG, the Biodiversity Committee, Travel Plan Implementation Group, and Sustainability Committee, ensuring that staff health, safety, and wellbeing remain firmly on the agenda.

Treasurer Tahani Mohamed:

As Treasurer, I focused on strengthening the branch’s financial governance, reporting, and compliance. This included preparing the Branch Annual Financial Report for the year ending 31 August 2025, quarterly financial reports, the end-of-academic-year financial report for the AGM, and a bank account analysis to support approval of the Northumbria donation. I also updated the branch’s bank mandate by adding Rosie as a signatory, removing previous signatories, and am currently working with Holly to update the authorised signatories further, helping to ensure the branch’s financial arrangements remain accurate and compliant.

Alongside my Treasurer responsibilities, I continued to support members as the Business School UCU Representative through casework, including completing an in-person case, attending Employment Rights Act training updates, and contributing to the university’s facilities time allocation audit. I have also registered for the Rep 2: Representing UCU Members course and will continue supporting members through strong representation, financial transparency, and effective branch governance, while preparing the Branch Annual Financial Report for the year ending 31 August 2026.

Health & Safety (Mental Health & Wellbeing) Rep Tara Zaksaite:

Over the past year, I have been involved with the Health and Safety team as Mental Health and Wellbeing Representative. While I have not been contacted directly by members in this capacity, I have attended Health and Safety team meetings and catch-ups, raising concerns that have been brought forward within my school over previous years. I completed the introductory Health and Safety Representative training, attended a Joint Interest Group meeting, and assisted with a challenging case. Following my own return to work after a period of ill health, I also supported a member in navigating information related to parking and attended EDI meetings, including an individual meeting with the university’s EDI lead.

Looking ahead, I would like to create regular drop-in opportunities where members can raise concerns and discuss issues in a more accessible and informal setting. I am also keen to continue supporting EDI work where I can and to develop my knowledge and confidence further so that I can contribute more effectively to reviewing and responding to university policies and documentation.

Health & Safety Rep Sarah Ayer:

This year I focused on building the knowledge, skills, and experience needed to support members effectively as both a Health and Safety Representative and caseworker. I completed Rep 1, Rep 2, Rep 3, and introductory casework training through UCU Southern Region, alongside additional training on disability discrimination, ableism, and redundancy consultations. Since February 2026, with Holly’s support and mentoring, I have worked on several cases involving reasonable adjustments, disability discrimination, bullying and harassment, sickness absence, and redundancy. This work has already secured positive outcomes for members, including the restoration of incorrectly withheld sick pay, formal apologies and corrective action from management, and improvements to workplace support arrangements. Casework also contributed to the discovery of concerns regarding unapproved policy changes, which the branch is now pursuing with the university.

As a Health and Safety Representative, I worked with Holly to establish a programme of regular workplace inspections, completing a detailed inspection of Weymouth House and producing an evidence-based report identifying a range of health and safety concerns. This forms part of a wider initiative to ensure health and safety issues are documented and monitored consistently across the university. Going forward, I plan to continue supporting members through casework, workplace inspections, and health and safety activity, with a particular focus on reasonable adjustments, wellbeing, workload-related health concerns, and ensuring members can work in safe and supportive environments.

Campaigns Coordinator and Faculty Rep (BAL) Patrick Neveling:

As Campaigns Coordinator, I ran and coordinated the Get The Vote Out campaign for the 2025 autumn ballot in support of UCU’s Fair Pay campaign. I also attended meetings with the University Executive Team regarding changes to the Workload Planning Framework, prepared, ran, and analysed member surveys, and supported other Executive Committee members with outreach activities and survey design. Through this work, I helped ensure members’ views were gathered and represented during a period of significant change and consultation.

I continued to represent BU UCU at both the Southern Regional Committee and the BCP Trade Union Council, where I organised an International Workers’ Day event in 2026 to highlight the significance of the day, particularly for migrant workers. Alongside this, I contributed to casework, completed further UCU representative training, and maintained a visible presence for the union as BAL Faculty Representative by regularly meeting with members in the workplace and supporting colleagues across the Lansdowne campus.

Faculty Rep (HEMS) Paul Hartley:

As Faculty Representative, I contributed to the branch’s response to the redundancy programme by helping to establish faculty staff costing data for inclusion in the rebuttal to management’s financial justification for redundancies. I also raised concerns about the potential sharing of staff data between BU and third-party companies and highlighted how decisions around degree pricing may have contributed to reduced student recruitment and associated revenue loss. Throughout the year, I have sought to bring attention to issues that affect both staff wellbeing and the long-term sustainability of the university.

Looking ahead, I am particularly concerned about the impact of voluntary redundancies on student:staff ratios, which in some areas have risen to very high levels. I would like the branch to explore the feasibility of an annual staff-led audit of student:staff ratios across schools to provide an independent evidence base that can support colleagues facing restructuring or redundancy and challenge figures that may not accurately reflect staffing pressures. I would also like to encourage more opportunities for members to meet informally and regularly, helping to strengthen connections and engagement across the branch.

Grade 10+ / Manager Members Rep Ursula Rolfe:

As the newly appointed Grade 10+ Representative, I have begun building relationships with colleagues in leadership and management roles and exploring how the union can better support their specific concerns. This year, I facilitated two meetings with line managers aimed at helping to bridge the gap between staff and management perspectives. Line managers often have the unenviable task of balancing the needs of staff with the requirements placed upon them by the institution, and these discussions provided an opportunity for their experiences and challenges to be heard.

Looking ahead, I would like to continue developing this work through further workshops and opportunities for discussion. I am also keen to hear directly from Grade 10+ colleagues about the issues that matter most to them and where they would like the union to focus its support and representation in the future.

Women’s Rep Abir Awad:

I joined the UCU Executive Committee as Women’s Representative later in the year. Since taking up the role, I have undertaken a range of training courses to develop my knowledge and skills and better support members. I have also started contributing to casework, assisting colleagues and gaining practical experience in representation and advocacy, while building my understanding of the issues affecting women and other underrepresented groups within the university.

Looking ahead, I am working with colleagues to explore and strengthen support around fertility and IVF treatment, miscarriage, and menopause policies and guidance. I have also begun discussions about activities and events to mark International Women’s Day, with the aim of promoting awareness, inclusion, and support for women across the university and ensuring that these issues remain visible within the branch’s work.

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BU UCU Annual General Meeting – June 2026