Representatives & volunteering

Representatives & volunteering

Group of Aberdeen UCU committee members and department reps holding UCU rising campaign signs

Our members are the branch, so don't miss out on getting involved! We do have more formalised roles within the branch and you can find out who your elected representatives are below. 

We also employ a part-time Branch Administrator and Organiser who will often be your first point of contact for enquiries and supporting members with a wide range of campaigns.

Branch Committee

The Committee is elected every year by branch members at our Annual General Meeting (AGM) which usually takes place every May. The Committee leads the branch in bargaining, negotiations and campaigns and postholders can either have a specialist or generalist area of responsibility. Outside of our AGM, members can still volunteer to join the Committee by being co-opted (elected by the Committee) to join.

Academic Year 2023/2024

Position

Name

Chair

Rachel Shanks

Vice-Chair (x2)

David Clough
Vacancy

Branch Secretary

David Anderson

Treasurer

Ursula Witte

Branch Organiser

Vacancy

Partnership & Negotiating Consultative Committee
(PNCC) Officer (x2 + 1 for standby cover)

David Anderson
David Clough

Joint Consultative Committee on Redundancy Avoidance
(JCCRA) Officer (x2)

Mike McConnell
Dan Cutts
Frederik Pedersen

Antiā€casualisation officer

Daniel Cutts

Communications Officer

Vacancy

Health, Safety & Wellbeing Officer

Dr Alessandra Cecolin

Environment & Sustainability Officer

Vacancy

Policy Officer

Mike McConnell

Workload Officer

Adam Price

Learning Representative

Elizabeth Elliott

Casework Officer

Rachel Shanks

Pensions Officer

Gerhard Kling

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Officer

Alysia Reid

Retired Members Officer

Vacancy

Ordinary Member (x5)

Scott Styles
Aideen O'Leary
Rachel Smith

Co-opted Member (x3)

Helen Martin
Vacancy

Branch Delegates

Adam Price
Helen Martin
Ursula Witte
Frederik Pedersen
Department Reps

Some members prefer to get involved as a Departmental Representatives or "Dept Reps" and these are your usual first point of contact if there are any local issues, to receive information and for member meetings in departments. Members join and leave the University and so we don't always have coverage in every department - let us know if you'd like to volunteer in your department.

Through the network of UCU Contacts, we aim to stay in touch with membership concerns and deal with issues that are occurring at local as well as an organisational level.

Business School

  • Vacancy, Business School, Edward Wright Building
  • Vacancy, Busines Schoool, Macrobert Building

Divinity, History & Philosophy

Education

Language, Literature, Music & Visual Culture

Law

  • Vacancy, Law, Taylor Building

Social Sciences

Biological Sciences

  • Dr Adam Price, School Of Biological Sciences, Cruickshank Building
  • Vacancy, Zoology, Zoology Building

Medicine, Medical Sciences & Nutrition

Psychology

Engineering

Geosciences

Natural & Computing Science

Professional Services and Academic Related

Safety Reps

Sometimes referred to as Safety Reps, these are specialist roles with protected rights to inspect the workplace, review and consult health and safety matters and investigate safety incidents.

Group or groups of employees

Safety representative

School - Business School                          

Cheryl Dowie

School - Divinity, History and Philosophy

Frederik Pedersen

School - Education

Helen Martin

School - Language, Literature, Music and Visual Culture

Syrithe Pugh

School - Law

Scott Styles

School - Social Science

David Anderson

School - Biological Sciences

Adam Price

School - Medicine, Medical Sciences and Nutrition

TBA

School - Psychology

TBA

School - Engineering

TBA

School - Geosciences

David Cornwell

School - Natural and Computing Sciences

TBA

Professional Services - Estates & Facilities

TBA 

Professional Services - Library

TBA 

Professional Services/Other

TBA

Volunteer & get involved

Ways to get invovled

We've outlined key areas for you to consider and you can choose how much or how little you want to do. However you want to volunteer, rest assured that you will get free training, advice and support. Email us if you have any questions or to let us know how you'd like to be active. Generally we encourage all members to:

  • Attend general meetings
  • Hand out UCU recruitment material to new staff members
  • Help at recruitment stalls and induction events
  • Contribute to campaigns
  • Put up posters

If you volunteer as a Rep:

  • You're entitled by law to reasonable paid time to carry out union duties.
  • Members in your area of work will see you as an active member, leader in the branch and well regarded part of the university community.

Members can become reps in the following areas:

  • Departmental Reps
  • Caseworker
  • Safety Rep
  • Committee

Training and resources

UCU Scotland training
UCU Developing Activists Network
UCU jargon buster