Trade dispute between UCU and Newcastle University concerning proposed changes to performance management (Raising the Bar)
- The ballot opens on Tuesday 3rd May
- The independent scrutineer, Electoral Reform Services (ERS) will post ballot papers by first class post to UCU Newcastle University members at the address listed as the main / preferred mailing address on their UCU membership record as of 29th April
- The ballot closes at noon on Tuesday 17th May
- Members are encouraged to vote YES to BOTH questions.
FAQs during the ballot period
I haven’t received my ballot paper: Please contact Emma Alexander ealexander@ucu.org.uk preferably by email, providing the correct mailing address at which the ballot paper should have arrived and your membership number (if known). If a ballot paper has already been sent to you but does not arrive, UCU can ask the scrutineer to issue a duplicate ballot paper, which will come with a duplicate declaration form on which you will be asked to declare that you have received only one ballot paper.
I’ve just joined UCU, can I be sent a ballot paper? You can contact Emma Alexander in the regional office to request one. But a ballot paper cannot be sent to you until your membership has been confirmed by UCU’s membership department at head office.
I received a ballot paper, but I’m no longer at the institution being balloted: Please contact Emma Alexander in the regional office, who will make sure our records are updated. Please destroy the ballot paper.
I received a ballot paper and I shouldn’t have done/I haven’t received a ballot paper but I should have done – is the ballot now invalid? No. Although UCU does its best to keep membership data up to date at all times, it is data which by its nature changes daily and it is unrealistic to expect 100 per cent accuracy at all times. The statutory requirements that apply to industrial action make allowances for minor errors of a scale unlikely to affect the outcome of the ballot.
I didn’t receive a ballot paper, can I take part in the action? If you were entitled to vote, but didn’t receive a ballot paper through an error or lost post, you can still take part in the action.
I joined the union after the ballot had closed, or after the call to take industrial action had been made, can I take part in action? Yes. If there is a call to take industrial action, you can take part in that industrial action as soon as your membership has been confirmed by the membership department at UCU’s national head office. Please wait for this confirmation before you take part in action.
Why is ERS’s address on my ballot return envelope slightly different to their registered office address? Running ballots all the time, ERS receive so much post that they have special arrangements for receiving ballot returns via a main sorting office. All their mail is ultimately delivered to the same building, and any ballot paper sent in the pre-paid envelope provided or returned to their registered office address will reach them.
When will I be informed of the ballot result? The result will be emailed to your preferred email address on the afternoon of Tuesday 17th May, and will be publicised on the UCU national website ucu.org.uk UCU regional website ucunorthern.org.uk and UCU regional twitter @UCUNorthern Your branch will also publicise the result locally.
