The Friday email: 19 April 2024

Northern Ireland further education lecturers win pay award worth 11.2%

After taking 16 days of strike action Northern Ireland further education lecturers have won a huge pay uplift worth around 11.2%. The full pay deal:

• 8.4% backdated to September 2023 + £1k consolidated (equivalent to 11.2%)
• lecturer starting salary uplifted to £30k

UCU members overwhelmingly voted to accept the deal, which brings an end to sustained industrial action by lecturers, who have been working to rule for the past four years and began withholding marks in January. The Department for the Economy has also committed to an independent examination of pay and conditions to ensure parity with schoolteachers.

Myerscough College staff win pay rise of up to 12.8%

Workers at Myerscough College in Lancashire have won a huge pay rise following strike action and talks at Acas. UCU members at Myerscough only won recognition at the college last year, making this year the first time the employer has had to bargain with the union. Click here for more details including the full pay deal.

A new deal for further education in England

Last Saturday (13 April 2024) representatives of nearly a hundred UCU college branches in England met for a special further education sector conference (FESC) to make some important decisions about how the union will campaign for you over the coming months and years. You can read the full update here and read full details of the decisions made by FESC here; the headlines of what your representatives agreed are:

• a campaign for a new deal for FE workers involving: 
  • a 10%/£3000 pay rise
  • parity with schoolteacher pay within 3 years
  • a minimum starting salary of £30,000 
  • reform of the pay spine
  • close equality pay gaps
  • national agreements on workload
  • a return to national bargaining
  • putting FE at the heart of a new government's plans.

Members at North East college group renew strike mandate

UCU members at five further education colleges in Cleveland, Redcar and Stockton-on-Tees have again voted to renew their strike mandate. An overwhelming 94% of those who voted said 'Yes' to strike action in a ballot with a turnout that beat the anti-trade union threshold of 50%.

The strike vote is the latest escalation in the long running dispute over the 2022-23 pay award. It comes after staff took six days of strike action and rejected employer Education Training Collective's (ETC) latest offer. ETC's position on pay remains that it wants staff to accept a paltry increase of just 3% for 2022-23, with an additional 1% from May 2023.

Reclaim higher education launch event, 9 May

The UK higher education sector is facing unprecedented threats and attacks. Job cuts and redundancies at HE institutions are increasing at an alarming rate. Students are graduating with a lifetime of debt, spending on staff is at record lows, workload and job insecurity is sky high, painful cuts to arts and humanities funding continue, and financial inequality across the sector is growing as institutions are forced to battle for income.

UCU believes it is time to reclaim higher education for the interests of staff and students. We are calling for radical reform to ensure that a fair funding model is introduced and that professional autonomy and respect for all staff becomes the norm. Click here to sign up for the Reclaim higher education launch event: Thursday 9 May (18:00-19:30) at Central Hall Westminster in London.

UK higher education pay claim 2024-25

The higher education joint trade union claim for 2024-25 has been agreed by the five trade unions (UNISON, Unite, EIS, GMB and UCU) and submitted to Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA). Click here to read the heads of claim as well as the full claim. Further negotiations have been scheduled for Monday 22 and Monday 29 April.

Tell your MP: support the funding of Teachers' Pensions Scheme rises

Employer contributions to the Teachers' Pensions Scheme (TPS) are due to rise but despite covering this cost for schools and colleges, the Department for Education is not covering the cost for universities. This will increase the financial pressure on higher education institutions specifically Post-92 universities.

We are encouraging our members in England and Wales to ask their MP to sign a parliamentary motion calling on the government to intervene and cover the cost. You can use UCU's tool to contact your MP here.

Northumbria University: no compulsory redundancies

This week UCU members at Northumbria University voted to end their dispute, having received a commitment of no compulsory redundancies. Jon Bryan, UCU regional support official (Northern), praised the reps and members for the way they have approached the dispute: 'The branch made it clear from the start that they opposed compulsory redundancies. They built a coalition of support around that demand and balloted for action. Members and activists deserve praise and credit for their work on this issue.'

Defending jobs in higher education

Please support the following university branches where UCU members are defending jobs and education:

• Goldsmiths, University of London: Goldsmiths UCU members have overwhelmingly voted to take industrial action in a fight to stop the sacking of more than one in six academic staff (over 130 jobs) at the institution. Over 87% of UCU members who voted said 'Yes' to strike action in a ballot with a turnout of 69%. A marking boycott begins on Friday 19 April
• University of Kent: Kent UCU members have backed strike action in defence of jobs: 58 staff are at risk of redundancy as part of a programme that would see courses closes across the institution. An overwhelming 85% of UCU members who voted said 'Yes' to strike action in a ballot with a turnout of 57%. The result comes as the person in charge of the cuts, vice-chancellor Karen Cox, announces she will step down in May, before they are even implemented
• University of Lincoln: staff at University of Lincoln are poised to take a stand against brutal cuts. A consultation over potential strike action is set to begin on Monday 22 April. The looming threat targets over 220 employees, including one in ten academic staff. Cuts include the phasing out of the fashion degree and ending specialist support for widening participation students in the foundation studies centre
• University of Portsmouth: UCU has raised concerns about the failure of the university to disclose legally required information in the current redundancy consultation that could put as many as 398 academic staff at risk. UCU also criticised the vice-chancellor for enjoying another bumper pay rise as the university prepares to make savage job cuts. The branch has consulted members, with overwhelming support in favour of resisting cuts to jobs. Portsmouth UCU will be meeting next week to consider further action
• Sheffield Hallam University: a strike ballot has opened on Monday 15 April. The university has said 225 academic jobs will be axed, with up to 80 staff facing compulsory redundancy. Around 140 experienced academics have already left following the opening of a voluntary severance scheme in December 2023 and the university is now ploughing ahead with further compulsory job losses
• University of Winchester: an industrial action ballot opens on Tuesday 23 April over proposed job cuts of up to 40 jobs and detrimental changes to the workload allocation model. The loss of jobs and potential closure of high-profile units will have devastating consequences for both staff and students.

Update on unreasonable salary deductions following 2023 marking and assessment boycott

Following participation in the marking and assessment boycott (MAB) in the higher education pay and working conditions dispute in 2023, many UCU members suffered unreasonable and disproportionate deductions from their salary. We wanted to assist as many members as possible in taking claims to recover unreasonable deductions and this work is ongoing. Those members who have provided information for assessment will have heard from us, or will do so soon. It is still possible to have your own circumstances examined in terms of the potential for a successful claim. Please click this page for more information and an update with regard to the judgment on the case of Secretary of State for Business and Trade v Mercer. 

Current industrial disputes and wins

UCU is determined to resist the waves of job cuts and attacks on working conditions taking place in post-16 education throughout the UK. You can click here for a list of current industrial disputes and find out how you can extend your solidarity, and you can click here for a list of wins that UCU members have achieved over the last two years. Both lists are updated continually so please check back regularly.

UCU videos on prison education and adult and community education

UCU has released a new series of short videos in which members share their stories. Please watch and forward to your colleagues:

• Pauline Rafferty on her work and the prison education sector
• David Filer from Adult and Community Education Service Coventry
• Nick Gilbert from Morley College on his experiences in ACE
• ACE at Morley College.

Changes to immigration requirements

From April 2024, a number of changes to immigration requirements will come into force. These include changes to earnings thresholds for those applying for new skilled worker and family visas, as well as updates to SOC (Standard Occupational Classification) codes and rules on supplemental work.

UCU's immigration lawyers, Bindmans, have prepared a summary of these changes for members which can be found here. You can find more information about resources and support for migrant members--and the latest news about the activity of the UCU migrant members' standing committee (MMSC)--on our website here.

Sustainable Development Goals teach-in

Join us to celebrate the impact of the 2024 SDG teach-in campaign and reflect on our achievements! The webinar will celebrate the brilliant work from educators who pledged to embed the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) across all forms of training, learning and education, as well as looking at how we can improve on and continue to do this work. All educators and students involved are welcome to attend.

Equality research conference, 17 May

UCU's equality research conference 2024 is a one-day hybrid event for academics and activists conducting research in equality. The conference will explore how people across (and within) equality groups have experienced or are experiencing actions and discourse around discrimination and equality. The conference is free of charge and open to members and non-members.

It will take place on Friday 17 May (10:30-16:30) at the University of Manchester and online. Click here to register; registration deadline is Monday 29 April.

UCU's LGBT+ work

UCU LGBT+ will be hosting two webinars in May: on LGBT+ migrants (Tuesday 7 May), and on International LGBT+ (Wednesday 8 May). These will be live at 16:00-17:30 on Zoom; click here to register.

UCU LGBT+ is looking to engage in some research work about LGBT+ lives, issues and experiences within post-school education, both at FE and HE levels. If you are interested in helping realise this project, please complete this form before Wednesday 22 May.

UCU continuing professional development workshops

Join us this month for the following 90-minute online interactive workshops that are free and open to all UCU members:

• Democratising education--UCU Green New Deal: Thursday 25 April, 16:30-18:00
• Menopause is a workplace issue: Tuesday 30 April, 14:00-15:30

Please look out for our Monday CPD email with details of all the online workshops running this term.

Ceasefire NOW!

UCU joins with many others in Palestine, the UK, and beyond to reiterate the demands for an immediate ceasefire, the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, unrestricted access to humanitarian aid, and the lifting of the siege of Gaza. We have a webpage that collates in one place all of our information, resources and events for UCU members and branches.

Organising for Power's core fundamentals

Organising For Power's core fundamentals is a skills-based training course open to organisers worldwide from 17:00 to 19:30 each Tuesday from 7 May to 11 June 2024. The course covers: workplace leader identification; semantics; structured organising conversations; charting; and structure tests. Hear from lead trainer Jane McAlevey about why you should sign up.

Participating UCU members will be placed into groups and meet up weekly to work through the course. Please click here to register; the registration deadline is Friday 26 April at 14:00.

We are deeply saddened to learn that Jane McAlevey has stopped all work and is in end of life care at home. The 2024 Organising for Power course will go ahead in accordance to her wishes.

Political fund: right to give a withdrawal notice

A notice to members in Great Britain who joined UCU on or after 1 March 2018 is issued today in respect of the union's political fund. More information about the political fund can be found here