The Friday email: 10 March 2023

UCU Rising: strike and chase the vote out!

UCU members in higher education will next week be out on strike and are chasing the vote out for the reballot in their pay and conditions and pensions disputes. Let us know as soon as you have voted or if you require a replacement ballot here.

UCU members in 150 universities across the UK will be out on strike on Wednesday 15 March, Thursday 16 March and Friday 17 March to fight for fair pay, manageable workloads, an end to casualisation, closing equality pay gaps and restoring USS pensions.

Wednesday 15 March is National Chase The Vote Out Day: this needs to be the biggest day of UCU Rising so far. We need mass picket lines with every UCU member painting the picket line pink with posters, banners and beanies, every UCU member to have voted YES in the re-ballot and every branch ramping up their local phonebanking. 

15 March is also looking like the biggest day of strike action this country has seen for years: UCU members will be joined by members from PCS, NEU, BMA, ASLEF and more. For those of you joining the NEU's national defend education march and carnival in London you should aim to assemble at 11:30 at speaker's corner so that we can form a UCU block.

For any queries about the disputes or the re-ballot please check the UCU Rising FAQ as well as the sub-FAQ on the re-ballots.

Respect FE e-ballot: have your say on the pay campaign

Members at participating further education (FE) England branches have been sent an email (subject line: 'Respect FE: UCU consultative ballot') containing a unique link to vote and show support for a national strike action ballot over pay, workload and national bargaining. Please vote now, vote YES and support your union's campaign for a better deal for college staff. Voting closes on Friday 24 March 17:00 and the result will be considered by a special FE sector conference (FESC) on 1 April where branch reps will decide whether to proceed to a national aggregated ballot for strike action. You can:

• request a replacement link to vote using this online form
• read the Respect FE e-ballot FAQs
• watch and share the UCU Live launch event on YouTube here 
• talk to your colleagues about the Respect FE consultative ballot, share this leaflet and speak to your local UCU reps about helping get the vote out.

FE members fighting back at City of Norwich College and Barnet and Southgate College

Staff at City College Norwich will strike on Wednesday 15 and Thursday 16 March over a huge real terms pay cut. The announcement comes after an overwhelming 88% of UCU members who voted said YES to strike action in an industrial ballot. Turnout was an incredible 73%.

UCU members at Barnet and Southgate College are being balloted for strike action in their long-running dispute over low pay. Their ballot runs until Friday 31 March.

Please click here for a list of local disputes and wins that need your support.

PGR cost of living crisis

UCU have submitted a report to the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Students on how postgraduate researchers (PGRs) are experiencing the current cost of living crisis. Our findings highlight the extent to which all PGRs are struggling, and how self-funded PGRs, migrant PGRs, disabled PGRs and those with caring responsibilities face additional challenges.

UCU LGBT+ research conference 2023

The 2023 UCU LGBT+ research conference will be held as a hybrid event on Friday 19 May at the University of Manchester. This is an open event; delegates do not have to be UCU members. However, if the in-person places are over-subscribed, UCU members will be given priority access. To register please follow the link to the online form.

FE staff governors' conference, 24 March

The joint education unions and the Education and Training Foundation (ETF) 2023 staff governors' conference takes place on Friday 24 March with a range of speakers invited for the three-hour event. Spaces remain available for all FE staff governors and you can book your place here.

Workload campaign and training

Sign up for the Workload reps 1 training session 'Introduction to the workload campaign and the role of the workload rep' on either Wednesday 15 March or Thursday 23 March. This short course is open to UCU health and safety reps, branch officers and activists who want to tackle the causes of workload stress in the workplace. It is envisaged that after the course you will be actively involved in any branch workload campaign.

TUC Ukraine solidarity fund

The Trades Union Congress (TUC) have launched a new fundraising initiative to provide practical support to trade unionists in Ukraine. The solidarity fund will enable the Federation of Trade Unions of Ukraine (FPU) to continue to provide much needed humanitarian support as well as to build the union centre's capacity to respond to their members' needs. Click here for further details about the fund and how to donate.

SOS NHS coalition national demonstration, 11 March

The SOS NHS coalition has called a national demonstration in London on Saturday 11 March to respond urgently to the NHS crisis and to bring striking workers from the NHS, different sectors and different unions in one big action. UCU is supporting the event and UCU president Janet Farrar will be speaking.

UCU Scotland rallies, 15 March

UCU branches and members are asked to attend the strike rallies on Wednesday 15 March in Edinburgh and Glasgow on the first of six strike days in March in higher education. Branch are asked to bring banners.

• Edinburgh: UCU Scotland/PCS joint rally at the Mound precinct. Assemble 12:15 for 12:30 start. Speakers from UCU, PCS, STUC and RMT
• Glasgow: STUC rally. Assemble 12 noon at the Donald Dewar statue at the top of Buchanan Street. Speakers from UCU, STUC and PCS and other trade unions.