We wanted to notify you all, with plenty of time, of the next online Surrey UCU branch meeting scheduled for Monday 11th May 13:00. We will circulate a full agenda and meeting link, hosted on UCU teams, nearer the time.
This branch meeting will be an opportunity to report back on recent union discussions with senior management.
We will also report back and discuss the recent Surrey UCU Workload Survey – we had really comprehensive responses, which highlighted the deep concerns that members (and the committee) have in this area.
We have also be adding the University’s approach to AI on the agenda for wider discussion, as we have been receiving member queries, concerns and suggestions on this topic.
On another note, you may have seen the recent article on University sector finances/risk appetite, and the listing of University of Surrey as second out of the 10 universities with the highest external borrowing levels (% of total income, 2023-24): ‘Excessive’ financial risks threaten survival of many English universities, report warns | University funding | The Guardian. Many of our members will remember the intense change/severance processes that we endured in and around Spring 2024. One of the points that we pressed with senior management at our recent Spring JNCC (Joint Negotiation and Consultative Committee), was for greater transparency on the University finances, including a return of visibility regarding the project streams/spending on PowerBI. We will continue to press for this, as we do not want staff to bear the brunt of any excessive spending that could have been redirected into the staff budget.
We will be in touch soon with further details of the upcoming branch meeting.
Thanks everyone
Surrey UCU