The Friday email: 20 September 2024

A New Deal for FE update

Please click, sign and share this petition calling on our employers to agree a New Deal for FE. Staff in further education (FE) have suffered some of the worst real terms pay cuts in the education sector. One of the reasons is the current broken model of pay negotiations where the outcomes of national talks are not binding and FE colleges are not required to implement recommended pay rises.

We need a fully funded settlement that all colleges must implement. Read more about why we need national bargaining in FE in England here.

We hosted a New Deal for FE UCU Live last night and you can watch a recording of the event here. We discussed key aspects of the campaign and how everyone could get involved and play their part in driving forward the change we urgently need. We will send out more details about an upcoming FE parliamentary event to take place on Wednesday 23 October.

Share our campaign materials and promote our FE and prison education campaigns: 

• A New Deal for FE campaign video
• A New Deal for FE poster
• A New Deal for FE leaflet 
• Prison education: unlocking futures video
• Prison education: unlocking futures poster.

You can also read an article published in FE week written by Josh Spears, English lecturer at Darlington College. Finally, check out these messages from Natalie Bennett (Green Party) [X/Twitter], David Hunter (UCU vice-president FE) [X/Twitter], as well as UCU members from Redbridge Institute [X/Twitter], Richmond upon Thames College [Instagram], Kingston College [Instagram], and London South East Colleges [Instagram]. 

Strike action at Education Training Collective

This week UCU members at Education Training Collective on Teesside took part in strike action on Wednesday 18 September. Members at ETC have now taken thirteen days of industrial action in a long-running dispute over low pay.

Update on higher education pay and working conditions negotiations

Negotiations on the 2024/25 pay claim were concluded. UCU and the other campus unions received the final offer from Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA). A branch delegate meeting (BDM) will take place on Tuesday 24 September, before the elected representatives on UCU's higher education committee (HEC) meet on Friday 27 September to determine the next steps. Click here for a fuller update from general secretary Jo Grady.

Reclaim Higher Education updates

Please support the following university branches where UCU members are continuing to defend jobs and education:

• University of Hull: a strike ballot over job cuts opened at Hull on 2 September and will close on 27 September; management at University of Hull launched a formal consultation to make up to 127 staff compulsory redundant
• University of Kent: a strike ballot opened on 2 September and will close on 4 October; Kent UCU is in dispute over the employer's failure to rule out compulsory redundancies as well as the employer's failure to guarantee that no staff will suffer detriment to their workload
• Open University: OU has begun a collective consultation on proposals to fire and rehire a group of OU associate lecturers if they do not 'agree' to have their working hours and pay reduced. Those fired and rehired would have the pay cut over a year earlier than those who 'agree', and would also lose out on compensation payments. This outrageous treatment of academics is risking OU's unique social mission, and we must not allow HE to normalise use of this discredited business practice. Please support OU associate lecturers by signing this petition
• Sheffield Hallam University: strike action planned for 23-26 September has been suspended in the light of an improved offer from SHU's executive board. SHU UCU members will be voting on whether to accept or reject the offer. Click here for the latest news on SHU's dispute.

Equality groups conference 2024

UCU's annual equality conference is an opportunity to discuss and agree strategies to progress equality issues at work. The 2024 conference will be held from 28 to 30 November at Conference Aston in a hybrid format.

The conference will hold five separate half-day conferences for Black, disabled, LGBT+, migrant and women members, with a joint plenary session for all equality strands. For more information and registration, please use this link which will take you to the main equality groups conference page. Registration deadline is 28 October at 18:00.

Scottish higher education policy conference

UCU Scotland is hosting a conference on Scottish higher education policy, entitled 'Scottish higher education in 2024: what next?' The conference will be held at the University of Edinburgh on Wednesday 30 October. Themes include academic freedom and the IHRA definition of antisemitism; higher education funding in Scotland; housing; race and higher education; university governance; the UCU Scotland Green Network; and fair work. Click here for more details including keynote speakers and registration.

Climate and ecological emergency meeting

UCU's annual meeting on climate and ecological emergency will take place on Zoom on Thursday 14 November (11:00-16:00) and you can find full details including registration here. Registration deadline is Thursday 7 November at 17:00

Training programme on branch leadership

'Branch leaders: a strategic approach to branch building' is a residential course designed for those who wish to take on a branch leadership role. The course concentrates on techniques and strategies for developing a sustainable branch with active member involvement. It will also look at how to negotiate/consult with management, develop collective agreements, and communication with members.

The residential course will take place on 30 September, 1 and 2 October 2024 and then on 28 and 29 November 2024, at the GFTU Quorn Grange Hotel in Loughborough.

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 are very concerned by the sharp rise in antisemitism and Islamophobia across the UK and beyond since October. We restate our unwavering opposition to all forms of antisemitism and Islamophobia--hate has no place on our campuses or in our society. UCU also has a dedicated 'Ceasefire Now' web area where you can find information and resources.

Azerbaijan: authorities must immediately release Dr Gubad Ibadoghlu

Campaigners, including a number of UK MPs, are continuing to call for the unconditional release of Dr Gubad Ibadoghlu, who is currently detained under indefinite house arrest in Azerbaijan. The Magnitsky Justice Campaign has produced a new letter calling for the authorities in Azerbaijan to conduct a fair and transparent review of all charges against Dr Ibadoghlu, to provide Dr Ibadoghlu with appropriate medical facilities and medication sufficient for long-term treatment of his various medical conditions, and to ensure his immediate and unconditional release. You can view and sign the letter here.