Hello!
It has been a busy time. We continue to push back on workload, especially with the transition to SAIL many of us are feeling it. This workload campaign is challenging, but we are continuing to fight excessive workloads. We are also opposing the introduction of new academic contracts for new staff, this change would mean that new staff would no longer be directly employed by Roehampton University but by a subsidiary company. That means that new staff would lose the current entitlement to pension contributions. We consider that to be wrong.
The University has also withdrawn from national pay bargaining. The UCU regrets and opposes this but take a view that we are now in a local pay bargaining situation and will strongly represent your interests in our negotiations.
The way we see it:
Members report frequent stressors arising from excessive workloads and last-minute changes to module content, programme design, and curriculum development. Management directives and ARF allocations are often imposed with little or no individual consideration, team planning, or staff consultation, and with limited regard for staff well-being or professional development.
Colleagues also report feeling under pressure to meet urgent deadlines, respond to systemic failures, address administrative gaps, and cover for sick colleagues. This additional workload and stress contribute to illness and further distress, particularly for those with caring responsibilities.
SAIL
The University is asking for feedback on SAIL from “pilot” programmes. We would encourage you to complete these although they are badly worded and the questions are somewhat “leading”. If you have had problems, with, say, timetabling the new structure, this is your chance to say so. There are two questionnaires, one for PLs and one for any academic staff. The UCU takes the view that the new structure creates problems, including timetabling, quality assurance and staffing, it is also not necessarily enjoyed by the students who are getting less contact time per credit than they did under the old system of 20 credit modules. This is in addition to the huge amount of work needed to develop these new 30 credit modules. If you agree, this is your chance to have your voice heard.
Programme Leaders: https://roehamptonpsych.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_a2XqReXOua30Kea
All Academic staff: https://roehamptonpsych.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_cOoZZkw0xZVJsyy
Health, Safety and Welfare
This is an important issue for the UCU at Roehampton. It is our view that there are ongoing problems with workload and that this relates to high levels of occupational stress leading to stress-related illness amongst staff. We continue to address workload from this health perspective which is where it can adversely affect members.
We want to emphasise that we are strongly advocating for you on workload. The UCU is using health and safety to get management to listen to our concerns over workload in general, spikes in workload and the long-term effects of stress for staff. People under such high levels of stress can develop all sorts of health problems and may make mistakes at work: squeezed middle crunch times. This year even more stress has been caused by major technical problems with induction and attendance. When key staff are put under excessive pressure like this, there are inevitable points of failure.
Sickness absence often occurs during periods of predictable workload pressure. When this happens, the additional work is absorbed by already overstretched teams, creating a cycle in which overload contributes to illness and further strain on colleagues.
that system transitions, administrative gaps, and last-minute operational changes generate significant additional work not recognised within existing workload models.
there is currently no clear or structured mechanism through which staff can review management practices or provide collective feedback on leadership decisions, limiting opportunities for organisational learning and improvement.
We are concerned about members facing intimidation in the workplace. Poor student behaviour seems to have caused an increase in this recently, which may reflect a growing climate of misogyny. If you are experiencing problems with student behaviour, please email us at UCU@roehampton.ac.uk so we can keep a log of problems.
Online training.
There seem to be various problems with the online training system. “Mandatory” certification is marred with technical problems which can make it impossible to complete the training. Can we ask that anyone experiencing problems with online training email us at UCU@roehampton.ac.uk so we can keep a log of problems.
EDI
We are seeking to understand if the University is carrying out an Equality Impact Assessment on key initiatives such as new workload and the SAIL implementation. This will capture information on any mitigation required for staff impacted by a disability, learning difference or other protected characteristics and caring responsibilities.
The Together Alliance will be presenting a film night on campus with a movie screening of Standing in the Shadows of Motown (2002). Watch this space for further news about this.
Together against the Far Right
We live in challenging times. UCU Roehampton was proud to join with half a million other protestors on Saturday 28th March to demonstrate against the rise of the far right in the UK. It was a vast, vibrant and happy march, a real show of strength to those who would sow division in our wonderfully diverse communities.
Patrick Brady, on behalf of UCU Roehampton