The Friday email: 18 November 2022

UCU Rising: strike action next week

Next week marks the start of UCU's national strike action in higher education. 150 universities across the UK are set to walk out on 24, 25 and 30 November. Despite management attempts to bully and intimidate our members with threats of pay deductions for taking part in ASOS (action short of strike), our members are ready to deliver the biggest picket lines in the history of higher education. 

On Wednesday 23 November Jo Grady will be hosting a pre-strike UCU Live event on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. Please invite all of your colleagues, students, friends and family. 

On Thursday 24 and Friday 25 November members will bring every university in the UK to a standstill. Join us at 10:30 on Friday 25 November on Zoom for our virtual picket line. 

There will also be a joint UCU/EIS-ULA strike rally in Glasgow on Friday 25 November. Meet at 12:30 at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall steps at the top of Buchanan Street, Glasgow.

On Wednesday 30 November at 13:00 we are asking every branch in the country to descend on Kings Cross in London for the biggest national rally in UCU history. Contact your reps to find out plans for coaches carrying members, students and supporters to the rally. 

There will also be a UCU Scotland strike rally in Edinburgh on Wednesday 30 November. Assemble at 12:30 for 13:00 start at the Scottish Parliament concourse, Edinburgh. Speakers include: UCU Scotland; STUC general secretary Roz Foyer' NUS Scotland president Ellie Gomersall; and MSPs.

Respect FE: Newham College deal and industrial action ballots

UCU members at Newham College voted to accept a deal, which will see a consolidated 8% pay rise for staff earning up to £25k and a 5% consolidated pay rise for qualified lecturers and curriculum managers (2.5% increase backdated to September 2022 with a further 2.5% to be paid from January 2023). The deal also includes a £600 non-consolidated lump sum for staff earning over £30k and £750 for those earning below £30k. This deal was won through effective and meaningful negotiation with Newham College management and shows that there is money in the further education sector to help staff through the cost of living crisis.

UCU members at Sheffield College are currently being balloted for industrial action over pay and working conditions. The ballot opened on Friday 11 November and will close on Thursday 8 December. Meanwhile, UCU members at Darlington College and Furness College voted for strike action and beat the anti-trade union threshold (Darlington: 95.2% 'Yes' on a 56% turnout; Furness: 84.6% 'Yes' on a 60% turnout).

Strike action suspended at Barnet and Southgate College

Strike action at Barnet and Southgate College planned for Wednesday 16 November was suspended to allow for further talks. Staff have already taken three days of strike action in the dispute over excessive workload and management's paltry 2% pay award for the previous two financial years (1% 2020-21 and 1% 2021-22). To allow time for further talks UCU members agreed to suspend the planned strike action. Further action will be called if an acceptable agreement is not reached. 

Strikes action suspended at University of Sheffield International College

Strike action planned for this week at the University of Sheffield International College has been suspended to allow for further consultation with members. Strikes were due to take place on Thursday 17 and Friday 18 November, but the employer has made new offers, which the union is now putting to members. It is now up to members to determine next steps but if the offer is rejected then industrial action is still on the table for: Monday 28, Tuesday 29 and Wednesday 30 November.

Birkbeck threatens to sack 140 staff

UCU slammed plans by Birkbeck, University of London to sack 140 staff this academic year, including up to a quarter of teaching staff, and up to a third of administrative staff. UCU vowed to fight the cuts, which it said are a disaster for students and the university, and is threatening potential industrial action. Please click here to send an email to Birkbeck's vice-chancellor, David Latchman, and the board of governors to object to their plans. The link provides some draft text for you; you could simply add your name at the end but it will be more effective if you personalise the message. (If you have problems opening the draft email .)

Please visit this page for all local disputes and wins across all the sectors represented by UCU.

UCU 'teach out' sessions

We are running a number of 'teach out' sessions during the upcoming HE industrial action in November. These short 90-minute online interactive workshops are part of UCU's continued professional development programme and are open to all UCU members in all sectors. We hope you will find something from the list below that interests you and also hope you will be able to promote the sessions to your colleagues. Each link below takes to you a registration page along with more information about each course. 

• Collectively challenging disability discrimination, Thursday 24 November 10:30-12:00
• Collectively challenging disability discrimination, Thursday 24 November 14:00-15:30
• Collectively challenging disability discrimination, Friday 25 November 10:30-12:00
• Introduction to sustainability, Wednesday 30 November 10:30-12:00
• Embedding climate education in the curriculum, Wednesday 30 November 14:00-15:30

UCU climate and environment update: November 2022

In time for COP27 taking place in Egypt, Mock COP and UCU have launched a new film, entitled 'The climate crisis: an education crisis', highlighting the impacts of the climate crisis on students, pupils, and the education workforce. The film is available on UCU's YouTube channel.

University of Edinburgh UCU becomes the first UCU branch to back the People and Planet Fossil Free Careers campaign. Students and staff are demanding University of Edinburgh careers team ends the oil, gas and mining recruitment pipeline. 

UCU's climate and ecological emergency committee held their first formal annual meeting on 10 November. Members passed 7 motions for the committee, and a new committee was elected. A report of the meeting will be circulated soon. 

NUS research into impact of cost of living crisis on students

The National Union of Students (NUS) released results of their cost of living crisis survey this week. It reveals that 42% of UK university students are living off £100 or less a month, and 9 in 10 students' mental health impacted by cost of living as confidence in government falls to record low. You can read NUS's press release and UCU's response.

The Equality Trust's equal pay toolkit

The Equality Trust's toolkit for achieving equal pay in your workplace was created to help workers and union reps to address unequal pay in their workplaces through examining the policies and practices that lead to this inequality. The toolkit sets out what equal pay is, how it intersects with the gender pay gap and why issues occur in the workplace. It offers help with talking about pay, adapting policies, and conducting equal (horizontal) pay audits. Take a look at the toolkit and use it to address the issues you and your colleagues experience.

Annual St Andrew's Day anti-racism march and rally

The Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) have announced details of the annual St Andrew's Day anti-racism march and rally, to take place on Saturday 26 November 2022. This is a crucial year for the fight against racism. The Sheku Bayoh Family Justice campaign needs our continuing support; racist UK government immigration policy and rhetoric are only getting worse; and we face a cost of living crisis and attacks on pay that disproportionately impact Black workers. Assemble at 10:30 on Glasgow Green, marching off at 11:00, with the rally at 12:00 at the Renfield Centre in Bath Street, Glasgow.