TOMORROW AT 6:30PM: Exposing government interference, monitoring and meddling in our sector

Our sector is under attack by this increasingly desperate and electioneering government. Further education staff are being forced to monitor their students and have come under investigation themselves under the Prevent duty. In higher education, a government minister has smeared our members. As a result, UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) have suspended their advisory board on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion. Even worse, we have discovered that government employees are compiling secret dossiers on our members who show support on social media posts on matters such as Black Lives Matter, transgender rights, strikes and criticisms of the government.

We cannot and we will not allow this government to spend the last of its term in office attacking education and attacking education workers. This is why we are launching a major new campaign to expose this interference, monitoring and meddling. Join me, NEU general secretary Daniel Kebede, UCU member Priyamvada Gopal, and others live at 6:30PM tomorrow, Wednesday 8 November, on Twitter, Facebook or YouTube. It is vitally important that all of our members - from our newest members to our retired members - attend so that we can build a united front to defend our union and our sector from these attacks. Everyone in this union has something to contribute to this fight!

This is just the start of our campaign. The mask of this government has fully slipped, and education is on the front line of a right wing culture war. They think they can treat our sector, our union, and education more broadly as a political football. We are here to show them that they can't. Our campaign will expose these disgraceful tactics of this government and our employers, and you will be a crucial part of that.

See you tomorrow.

In solidarity

Jo Grady
UCU general secretary