The Friday email: 9 June 2023

UCU Rising: ready to negotiate, holding strong

UCU members in higher education are holding strong and united in the marking and assessment boycott (MAB).

More and more employers are breaking ranks to call for Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA) to return to negotiating table. This past week management at both London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and University of Sussex have released joint statements with their UCU branches confirming that negotiation is the only way out of this dispute. 

While we remain ready to negotiate at any time, our employers are spending their time writing divisive statements defending their punitive deductions. You can read our response to the latest comments from UCEA chief executive Raj Jethwa.

Increasing numbers of branches have followed our escalation strategy and escalated to strike action over punitive deductions. Please show your solidarity to members striking at University of Leeds, University of Westminster, University of Bristol, Sheffield Hallam University, University of Winchester, SOAS, Liverpool John Moores, Heriot-Watt University, Keele University, University of Dundee, University of Leicester and Durham University.

Student support for our action and members remains high and this week the National Union of Students (NUS) has organised an open letter urging UCEA to settle the pay and working conditions dispute with UCU; please encourage your local student officers to sign.

Members in USS can also find here a timeline of the history of our dispute and the next key dates in winning back our pensions. 

Respect FE: sign the pledge

Please sign and share our Respect FE campaign pledge setting out our demands for a new deal for college staff in England on pay, workload, binding national bargaining and for a 'just transition' commission on climate change. We hope college leaders will work with us to address these urgent issues but UCU is now preparing for an industrial action ballot in September should employers continue to refuse to make a reasonable offer to address our claim.

The pledge is an opportunity to build support for our demands across the further education (FE) sector. You can help prepare for the autumn strike ballot by checking and updating your details on MyUCU now to ensure you receive your postal ballot papers.

UCU members in a number of FE colleges are also already striking for fair pay and working conditions:

• The Manchester College and UCEN Manchester
• Barnet and Southgate College (please donate to their local strike fund)
• Kirklees College, Bradford College, Leeds City College and Harrogate College in Yorkshire and Humberside
• Tyne Coast College

Meanwhile, City College Norwich, Barnsley College, North Kent College and Newcastle and Stafford Colleges Group are being balloted for strike action.

Fighting back against redundancies at universities

The University of Kent have reneged on an agreement with UCU to ensure job security among arts and humanities academics for the duration of the review into these areas. UCU regional official Michael Moran said, 'ripping up a good faith agreement and putting our members at risk of compulsory redundancy is no way to conduct industrial relations'. The announcement comes in the wake of a proposal to put large numbers of professional services staff at risk. We urge all UCU members at University of Kent to use their vote in the current industrial action ballot to send a clear message to management, and encourage all UCU members to sign this petition.

Staff at the University of Brighton are fighting back against management's plans to sack over a hundred members of staff; they have just won their ballot with 90% voting for strike action on a 61% turnout. Join the march and rally on Saturday 10 June at 11:00 at the Level in Brighton and please bring your local banners. You can also donate to the branch's fundraiser here.

University of East Anglia (UEA) has recently announced that over 200 staff are at risk of redundancy. Staff are once again having to pay the price for the failure of senior leadership. The local UCU branch has just smashed the threshold for strike action and discussions have already begun on how they can take effective industrial action to resist the cuts and save jobs. Branches are encouraged to pass motions in support of UEA staff (template available here) and donate to the UEA UCU hardship fund.

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

New report on terms and conditions in adult and continuing education

Click here to read our new report on the terms and conditions for staff working in adult and continuing education (ACE) in England. If you would like to discuss how we can use this report, please join us for our ACE member meeting on Wednesday 14 June at 16:00. The event is online and to register please email David Bussell.

Cradle to Grave conference, 17 June

Have you registered for the Cradle to Grave conference? Our online conference 'A vision for education: the way forward for the post-16 education sector', will take place on Saturday 17 June 2023. We will discuss a shared vision for post-16 education in these challenging times. Keynote speaker: John McDonnell MP. Registration deadline is Wednesday 14 June.

UCU walking group at Pride London, 1 July

We have a limited number of wristbands available to join the walking group at Pride London on Saturday 1 July. For more information and to express your interest please complete this form.