Author Archives: readingbetweentl

Third letter to the VC

In response to her second open letter to the Vice-Chancellor, Dr Deepa Govindarajan Driver received the following reply: Dear Deepa, Thank you for your letter to me dated 5 October 2020. Your description of the recent consultation process as a “sham” does a disservice to your colleagues on the local UCU branch, your UCU Regional Officer,Continue reading “Third letter to the VC”

Second letter to the VC

Dear Professor Van de Noort, Thank you for your e-mail dated 23rd September 2020, in response to my letter dated 11th September 2020. It is very disappointing that you “neither recognise nor accept your (ie my) interpretation of the University’s position or its conduct, and see no reason to ‘withdraw the S188 notice’.” Indeed, itContinue reading “Second letter to the VC”

Where did the £5 million go?

Executive summary The required savings stated in the “Final Proposal” – to be paid for by wage cuts and changes in terms and conditions – are £5 million more than the figure the RUCU President’s blog suggests was agreed upon by the consultation group. Why are RUCU members being asked to vote on a dealContinue reading “Where did the £5 million go?”

Save the University. We’ll sack you later

We have been threatened with redundancy at the same time as being expected to return to work under dangerous and stressful conditions. Save the University! Across the summer, we worked beyond our contracted hours to get students through remote exams and re-sits; we also responded to the chaotic admissions situation to ensure successful recruitment forContinue reading “Save the University. We’ll sack you later”

Learning Capture: on Recordings and Redundancies

The University of Reading recently released its Policy for the Recording and Digital Delivery of Teaching in 2020/21. The Policy requires staff to participate in learning capture – departing from Reading’s prior ‘opt-in’ approach – and makes failure to follow the Policy a disciplinary offence. All academic staff at the University of Reading should beContinue reading “Learning Capture: on Recordings and Redundancies”

Majority of RUCU Committee rejects proposal

Between 18th September and 9th October Reading UCU members will be balloted on whether they accept the Consultation Group’s Final Proposal. If accepted, the university will implement a three-year pay freeze and pay cuts for all employees earning over c.£18,000 per year, including part-time workers earning that on a pro rata rate. As the majorityContinue reading “Majority of RUCU Committee rejects proposal”

An open letter to the VC

Dear Professor Van de Noort, I write this open letter, as a concerned member of staff at the University of Reading (UoR) and as a trade unionist (member of the Reading UCU branch).  Many of my colleagues across the University, and I, are deeply concerned about the process of consultation (under s188 of TULRCA) inContinue reading “An open letter to the VC”

Reasons to vote NO to the University Proposal

The figures are flawed Our modelling suggests that the VC’s figures are out by up to £50 million. Quite a lot for a man who prides himself on ‘transparency’, eh? Especially when the savings senior management said they aimed to make through salary cuts were just £60 million. Even the university admitted its own modellingContinue reading “Reasons to vote NO to the University Proposal”