February 2019 – a bleak month for the UK Higher Education sector
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February 2019 – a bleak month for the UK Higher Education sector

ByBranch Committee

State of Higher Education – please read the news below – all of them published just last week. Part of the list was compiled by @UUKSpin  1. University of Reading (£££ blackhole) https://www.theguardian.com/education/2019/feb/09/reading-university-in-crisis-amid-questions-over-121m-land-sales 2. Swansea University (problematic Kuwait deal) https://www.walesonline.co.uk/business/swansea-university-600m-joint-venture-15798126 3. Cardiff Metropolitan University (VC/DVC vanished on ‘sick leave’) https://the-eye.wales/sick-with-fear/ 4. De Montfort University (conflict…

IWGB Guest Speaker for the AGM & for an evening event on 13th February 2019
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IWGB Guest Speaker for the AGM & for an evening event on 13th February 2019

ByBranch Committee

Jordi Lopez-Botey (caseworker and campaigner for IWGB London) will be our Guest Speaker at the AGM (Wed 13th Feb 1-3pm in LR1 Arts, with free lunch from 12.30pm outside the room). You are entitled to 2 hours of paid time off to attend – please do come! As Jordi will be on campus the entire…

A few thoughts on the New Core postponement
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A few thoughts on the New Core postponement

ByBranch Committee

Staff at the University of Birmingham were informed this morning that the ‘New Core’ system will no longer be going live for 4th February 2019 .  In an email sent out from the Vice Chancellor’s mailbox, it was confirmed that the system launch has been postponed until June 2019 . While the email sent out…

Karaoke Afternoon with UoB UNISON! (Sat 26th Jan at 3pm)
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Karaoke Afternoon with UoB UNISON! (Sat 26th Jan at 3pm)

ByBranch Committee

You are invited to a karaoke afternoon at Karaoke Box in Birmingham. Please note this is not a karaoke bar, you rent out the room and only sing in front of your group. Partners are welcome to join too! Karaoke at Karaoke Box, Birmingham (http://website.karaokebox.co.uk/birmingham/) Date: Saturday 26th January Time: 3pm-5pm Cost: £10 per person PRE-BOOKING IS ESSENTIAL…

Annual General Meeting – 1-3pm, Wed 13th February in Arts LR1 (with lunch from 12.30pm)
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Annual General Meeting – 1-3pm, Wed 13th February in Arts LR1 (with lunch from 12.30pm)

ByBranch Committee

Run for an officer position at the next AGM! Your UNISON Annual General Meeting is taking place between 1-3pm on Wednesday 13th February in Arts Lecture Room 1. The AGM is your opportunity to raise issues that matter to you, stand for your UNISON branch committee, vote for who you want to be your branch officers, set branch policy and…

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Branch and Emergency HE motions on the Dubai campus to be discussed and voted on 12th December

ByBranch Committee

Meeting on the 12th of December to vote on two Dubai Campus-related motions (5pm in 417 Muirhead Tower) At the next UNISON committee meeting, we will be voting on two motions regarding the Dubai Campus: a branch motion, and an emergency UNISON Higher Education Conference motion (the Conference will take place in early January). Please…

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What you can do to help spread the word about pay, working conditions, the Dubai campus

ByBranch Committee

We need to bring attention to our campaigns from outside the campus, and as such as many of us as possible need to spread the word about the campaigns on: ·     Concerns regarding the Dubai campus (listed in this letter) ·     Pay and Living Wage Accreditation ·     Working conditions (here is the report…

Questions on the Dubai campus & a short report on yesterday’s all-staff meeting
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Questions on the Dubai campus & a short report on yesterday’s all-staff meeting

ByBranch Committee

Urgent: please respond to our questions listed at the end of the email – the answers can be very short (Y/N), or as detalied as you’d like!  You may know that the University of Birmingham has been in the national news this week. Matthew Hedges, a Durham University Research Student who is currently in an…