The Friday email: 10 May 2024

Reclaim Higher Education updates

The UK higher education sector is facing unprecedented threats and attacks. Yesterday evening UCU launched its Reclaim Higher Education (Reclaim HE) campaign. You can view a recording of the live launch event here.

This week UCU has also published two new reports:

• 'Academic freedom in the digital university' by Chavan Kissoon and Terence Karran (University of Lincoln): more than eight in 10 (82%) UK academics say universities' excessive use of digital technologies has harmed academic freedom
• 'Assessing the costs of removing undergraduate tuition fees across the UK' by London Economics: a levy of around 1% on employer national insurance contributions for graduates could support the scrapping of tuition fees at no cost to the Exchequer.

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

• Goldsmiths, University of London: a marking boycott began on Friday 19 April in a fight to stop the sacking of more than one in six academic staff
• University of Huddersfield: UCU vows to fight University of Huddersfield job cuts. Nearly 200 jobs are under threat as reported in BBC News
• University of Kent: 58 staff are at risk of redundancy along with course closures; Kent UCU members have backed strike action in defence of jobs
• University of Lincoln: a strike ballot will open on Tuesday 14 May; university management is targeting over 220 employees, including one in ten academic staff
• Middlesex University: UCU members are in favour of taking action over management's failure to consult over structural changes and refusal to commit to no redundancies
• University of Portsmouth: the university failed to disclose legally required information in the redundancy consultation that could put as many as 398 academic staff at risk
• Sheffield Hallam University: a strike ballot will close on Tuesday 14 May. The university has said 225 academic jobs will be axed, with up to 80 staff facing compulsory redundancy
• University of Surrey: management has announced 45 professional services and academic staff are at risk of redundancy
• University of Winchester: a ballot for industrial action will close on Tuesday 14 May, over job cuts of up to 40 jobs and detrimental changes to the workload allocation model.

A new deal for further education updates

Staff at five colleges in the North East (Education Training Collective) will strike on 16 and 22 May in a long running dispute. The action will target the college group's open day unless an acceptable offer is made.

College staff want end to 'traumatic' Ofsted inspections: our report based on the survey results of over 1,000 further education college members in England found most want Ofsted inspections abolished.

Prison education campaign news

Click here for the latest prison education campaign news. If you are attending UCU Congress in Bournemouth, please come along to the prison education fringe at lunchtime on Wednesday 29 May.

Redbridge Institute of Adult Education update

Members of UCU at Redbridge Institute of Adult Education (RIAE) in East London have called on the Institute to improve working conditions. The union is calling for management at the Institute, which is run by Redbridge Council, to agree to: a cost of living increase; allow hourly paid tutors to move to full-time/fractional contracts; immediately end the use of gig-economy style casual worker arrangements; maintain existing pension arrangements for all learning support assistants. Click here for the full update.

Education for sustainable development webinar, 22 May

SOS-UK are inviting all UCU members to an Education for sustainable development (ESD) webinar on Wednesday 22 May (15:00-16:00) to celebrate 10 years of Responsible Futures (RF).

The event will include a panel discussion and case study presentations on ESD from participating RF institutions as well as the launch of the first ever RF impact report.

Ceasefire NOW!

UCU members across the country took part in solidarity activities as part of May Day for Palestine, reiterating our demands for an immediate ceasefire, return of hostages and urgent unrestricted provision of humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people in Gaza.

The union has also issued a statement of solidarity with the thousands of university students and staff who are protesting on campuses across the globe, criticising brutal police responses to encampments at some US institutions. Freedom of speech and freedom of assembly are fundamental human rights and civil liberties which must be upheld.

UCU also has a dedicated 'Ceasefire Now' web area where you can find downloads, information and resources.

TUC project on Black women's experiences of workplace sexual harassment

UCU is working alongside sister unions to identify and tackle sexual harassment, misconduct and violence in our individual unions, and across the wider trade union movement. Any woman who self-identifies as Black is invited to participate in this survey (deadline: Saturday 15 June), which will bring Black women union members together to share experiences.

UCU's LGBT+ work

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.

Prides 2024: are you interested in helping or staffing a stall at Prides this year? UCU wants to hear from you. 

Personal Independence Payments consultation

The government is consulting on changes to the Personal Independence Payments (PIP) scheme as part of its 'Modernising Support' Green Paper where it proposes to remove the principle of ongoing financial support for disability related costs. This is a further attack on disabled people and an erosion of disability rights and we encourage you to respond to the consultation, which will close on Monday 22 July, as well as signing the current petition organised by Scope.