In the news this week: 10 July 2015

UCU condemns budget

The first solely Conservative budget in almost 20 years will see the poorest families 'unequivocally worse off', warned the respected Institute for Fiscal Studies think-tank this week. The chancellor's second budget speech of the year included pledges to axe student grants and increase university fees.

UCU reiterated its opposition to any rise in tuition fees and its support for maintenance grants. Sally Hunt said grants were crucial for many students and that the change would act as a 'disincentive to participation,' adding that the loans were unlikely to be repaid in full.

UCU wins award for campaigning work

UCU took home the top campaigning prize for its work on the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act at the TUC Communication Awards this week. The judging panel, which included Daily Mirror journalist Ros Wynne-Jones and former cabinet minister Peter Hain, praised the union's campaign against the Act's Prevent Duty for its 'clear objectives and strategies', and said UCU secured some impressive media hits for such a small budget.

Sally Hunt said the award recognised the hard work of UCU's team and the key legislative concessions the union won. However, she warned that the Prevent Duty still posed a threat to academics and that UCU would redouble its efforts to campaign against its implementation.

Academics warn future of UK universities at risk from marketisation

Over 100 academics wrote to the Guardian this week warning that UK universities could justifiably claim to have an outstanding international reputation, generating multiple direct and indirect benefits for society, and delivering training and education for core professions. But these attributes were being undermined by the forces of marketisation.

Bradford College staff on second strike in redundancy row

Staff at Bradford College took part in a second one-day strike on Thursday following the college's refusal to rule out compulsory redundancies. UCU members also handed over a 1500-strong petition opposing redundancies to college governors at a meeting of the corporation. Regional official Julie Kelley said that the college needed to look at 'every possible alternative to cutting frontline education services'.

UCU members at Birmingham University back strike action

UCU members at Birmingham University have voted for strike action in a dispute over 80 potential redundancies, and new requirements for securing grant income. Over three-quarters of members who voted backed taking action to oppose job losses in the Neuroscience and Pharmacology and Engineering departments.

Branch president, Dr Roland Brandstaetter, told the Birmingham Mail: 'Despite repeated attempts from our side making suggestions to avoid compulsory redundancies, the university is going ahead.'

Summer reads

Ahead of the summer break, Academics, administrators and senior sector figures give Times Higher Education two holiday tomes: a new must-read and a classic to revisit. Sally Hunt suggests No Mean Fighter - the autobiography of Scottish socialist Harry McShane - which takes in poverty at the start of the 20^th century, the First World War and hunger marches. From this year, she suggests a TUC report that highlights how the growth of insecure work has heavily impacted on women.