Building Solidarity
Winning the MAB

Open meeting for all members, reps and supporters

6:30pm Thursday 11th May

Registration link: https://bit.ly/UCUSM_public

Come to this meeting to hear from branches in the frontline. Help us build solidarity and strengthen the MAB.

Themes

• How has the MAB been developing across HE?

• How best to coordinate the action?

• What strategy do we need to win?

Speakers include SOAS, Queen Margaret, Nottingham and Brighton UCU branches.

The Marking and Assessment Boycott is beginning to bite.

Universities are beginning to realise that students may not progress or graduate. They are considering mitigation with estimated grades. But that means reaching agreements with professional bodies to permit students on accredited courses to pass. See above.

Employers are turning nasty. Blatantly disproportionate and punitive deductions are now threatened across several employers in order to try to scare people from participating.

Union members face threats of pay deductions that range from 1 week to 10, and from 0% to 100%.

This is double-edged.

On the one hand, it means that the UCEA 'united front' is in disarray. Universities that went through the MAB last year, like Queen Mary and Ulster, learned that threats can backfire. In the first place, members simply do not disclose whether they are participating or not. Members are motivated by the scale of the inflation pay cut we all face — a 15% real-terms cut, or 55 calendar days of MAB at 100%!

But it also means that some colleagues are facing savage attacks. In the first place, salary sharing and targeted approaches, and declining to disclose information, are basic defence mechanisms. But this is not enough.

Branches are planning strike action to resist. At SOAS, members face a 100% pay cut over 5 weeks, and are moving towards hard-hitting strikes. Other branches are likely to follow.

Meanwhile, the spectre of restructuring and redundancies has returned to our sector. Over 100 redundancies are threatened at the University of Brighton, with many union activists in redundancy pools. We have to win this fight.

The stakes are extremely high. Come to this meeting to discuss the way forward.

Please share the details widely in your branch and with other UCU activists. Please make sure your branch is represented at this important meeting.

Successes of the marking and assessment boycott in HE branches summer 2022

The following 31 UCU branches took part in a marking and assessment boycott this summer:

Anglia Ruskin, Bath Spa, Bedfordshire, Bournemouth, Brighton, Bristol, Cambridge, Durham, Edinburgh, Exeter, Glasgow, Gloucestershire, Heriot Watt, IDS at Sussex, Loughborough, Kings College London, Kingston, Leeds, Leeds Beckett, Manchester, Napier, Nottingham, Oxford, Queen Mary University of London, Sheffield, SOAS, Sunderland, Sussex, University of the Arts London, Ulster, York.

UCU branches taking part in the Marking and Assessment Boycott this last term have achieved a remarkable success – often against management intransigence – in forcing concessions from local employers.

44 branches were mandated to take part.  31 then voted to boycott.  Lengthy delays meant staff at many universities had finished all or most of their marking by the time boycotts were authorised.  With small numbers in each branch willing and able to carry it out, there were real fears of a negligible impact, with participants hit by 100% pay deductions.  QMUL have had 100% deductions. However, the boycott has achieved significant successes.

The wins

• 9 branches won commitments to convert HPL / casual contracts to permanent / minimum length / fractional contracts. Ulster won an end to zero hours contracts. Nottingham won reduced use of outsourced temporary contracts.  Sussex won paid holidays, training and sick for temps. Heriot Watt won contract reviews for all HPLs on request.

• 12 branches won work groups on discrimination/pay gaps.

• 10 branches won action to cut stress and overwork.  Sussex, Durham, Nottingham gained overtime pay and/or credit for admin roles.  Newcastle won a reduction of hours to 37pw.

• 23 branches negotiated non-consolidated pay top-ups.  Sussex, Durham, Brighton won an increase in F/T staff on time-limited contracts.  Leeds & Heriot Watt won pay grade reviews.

• 12 branches secured positive joint statements from management on USS pension benefits.

• 11 branches forced USS governance reform.

• 8 branches won the principle of equal covenant support for UCU & UUK proposals to USS.

• Activists developed a ‘Twin to Win’ strategy. Boycotting branches were put under extreme pressure by SMTs using union-breaking tactics and intimidation.  Each boycotting branch was matched with others which didn’t reach the threshold. 

• Big donations - upwards of £5k in several cases - helped twinned boycotting members feel they were covered if pay was docked and created a sense of mutual support.

• The boycott helped branches to rebuild engagement and solidarity.  Twinned branches attended each others’ meetings, forming links and developing strategies. 

The impact of this boycott shows how effective united action can achieve significant results.  Please share this information with your branch.  We hope that UCU leadership will now promote and publicise these successes.  They carry important lessons for the next crucial stage of our disputes over USS and the Four Fights.

QMUL and Goldsmiths are still boycotting and need our support.  See below to donate and send messages of solidarity.

• Goldsmiths Strike / Hardship Fund     Contact

• Queen Mary Strike / Hardship Fund    Contact

* Please note that this information was correct to the best of our knowledge at the time of circulation, but we are currently preparing some corrections and will update the information once these are complete.

Previous events

Building Solidarity & Resistance

Thursday 26 May, 6pm on Zoom > Register

It is time for everyone to rally to support of the Union. Our disputes over Four Fights and the USS pension scheme are at a crossroads.

A new rank and file coordination is developing out of necessity. Branches who are boycotting are working together to support each other and coordinate tactics.

Every union activist must now see their priority as raising solidarity and twinning for branches taking action.

At the same time, Higher Education is beginning to see evidence of a crisis of student recruitment this summer. This is on top of a wave of redundancies at Goldsmiths, which began its marking boycott earlier in the term.

• De Montfort University has announced 56 redundancies

• Roehampton University has notified 226 staff that they are ‘at risk’

• Wolverhampton University has announced the ‘suspension’ of schools and programmes, and a mass VS scheme

We need to build solidarity with all branches taking action and/or facing redundancies. Whether you are in the eye of a storm or simply wish to offer solidarity please come to this meeting to help us chart the way ahead.

Click here to download the image above as a PDF which you can print on A4 paper for use on picket lines.

We will be holding a Twitter Storm for Nina between 10am and 11am on Monday 28th March. Make sure your branch activists take part!

UK-wide strike meeting III

6pm Wednesday 16th March

Our disputes received a huge boost last week with news of the fantastic victory at the Royal College of Arts (RCA) - a monumental deal providing a route to permanency for staff at one of the HE sector’s most casualised workplaces.

Ahead of the third phase of strike action and the launch of reballots, the UCU Solidarity Movement is reconvening a UK-Wide Strike Organising Meeting to discuss how branch reps and activists can best build the strikes and build an effective GTVO campaign.

Members face a massive assault on living conditions. Action on casualisation can't wait if members are losing their jobs. Workloads are out of control. Insecure jobs help create and reinforce the gender and race pay gaps.

Meanwhile, from 1 April members in the USS pension scheme face catastrophic cuts of 30-40% in future pensions.

Our members are furious. We need to lead them - to make the strikes count and build the reballot campaign.

The new ballots open on 16th March, the same day as the start of the next phase of strikes at Goldsmiths. Join us that same evening - to discuss the lessons of the victory at RCA, to learn from colleagues about what worked in the last phase of action, and to share best practice from GTVO campaigns.

Building our fightback – UK-wide Strike Organising Meeting III

6pm Wednesday 16th March

• Register:

• Facebook:

• Mailing list: http://eepurl.com/g_kb2X

Register now for this online event and join our mailing list to keep up to date with further events and activities.

UK-wide strike meeting II

Strategies to win: after the union's Higher Education Committee - where next?

6pm Thursday 3 March

At our last UK-wide strike meeting, attended by nearly 200 UCU members from 50 different branches, we agreed to hold a recall meeting on 3rd March. When this meeting takes place, staff at UK universities will have taken up to 10 days of strike action and ASOS over cuts to pensions and over the Four Fights campaign.

Meanwhile, UCU members at Goldsmiths and the Royal College of Art are intensifying their strike action against job losses. All this takes place against the background of an escalating assault on living standards, with other trade unions now starting ballots over pay.

We have taken part in teach-outs and marches and stood alongside our students and colleagues from Unison and other unions on the picket lines.

But, with managements refusing to accept the union's demands over pensions and showing no sign of budging on the other issues, we have serious questions to address, such as:

• What further strike action should UCU call?

• How do we implement ASOS?

• How do we respond to pay docking threats?

Register now for this online event and invite others from your branch to take part. Join our mailing list to keep up to date with further information.

• Register:

• Mailing list:

THE FIGHT IS ON: STRATEGIES TO WIN

UK-Wide Strike Meeting

6pm Monday 21st February

This coming Monday, branches involved in the Four Fights will join those already on strike over USS.

Meanwhile, there is excellent news from City University of London, where Unison members are due to join the UCU on strike on Monday. Management offered security guards a bonus to work on the 21st and 22nd. After staff rejected the bribe, City announced on Thursday that it will close on both days.

We are pleased to confirm that a City Unison rep will join the speakers at our UK-wide online strike meeting next Monday evening. We also hope to hear from the students who have now occupied four University of Sheffield buildings in solidarity with us.

This meeting is the place to be for UCU strikers, activists and students and others who want to build support for our action.

We need that action to be effective, well supported and successful. This event provides a forum to take stock, and to address important debates. How do we fight threatened pay deductions over ASOS? In the USS dispute, the employers will soon decide whether or not to accept the UCU proposals. Do members have enough say on industrial action strategy? How best to strengthen links between activists and branches? How best to win?

Opening speakers:

• Vicky Blake (UCU President)

• Tara Povey (Goldsmiths UCU)

• Mike Rosen (author/Goldsmiths UCU)

• Juliana Ojinnaka (Chair UCU Black Members Committee)

• Cecilia Wee (RCA UCU)

• Jess Edwards (NEC, National Education Union)

• Jordy Lea (City Uni of London Unison rep)

Register here:

Please note that the Corona Contract network also has an important meeting next Wednesday 23 February at 6pm, at which striking branches will discuss reports and vote on proposals for the next stage of the dispute. We hope that you can also promote and attend this event.

Building The Action We Need To Win: Student Staff Assembly

12-3pm Saturday 29th January

Hosted by the UCU Solidarity Movement

The strikes have been called: Now let’s build the fight to win on USS & Four Fights.

We now know the shape of the action called by our unions leadership in the two HE disputes.

There are lots of debates about how to best take the fights forward, but we all know that we have to make the action that’s been called as successful and hard hitting as possible.

We need to build unity - between staff and students - centred on the 2nd March student day of action. We also need to build unity between branches and between UCU and the rest of the movement.

We also need to build solidarity for brilliant branches like Goldsmiths UCU that are involved in crucial local battles.

Meanwhile, it’s right for us to discuss how best we can win these fights and what action can best achieve this.

Come along to Saturday’s Student-Staff Assembly. Bring other activists and bring your own ideas and arguments.

12:00-1.30pm Session 1: Pay Justice, Pensions & Resisting Marketisation

• Chair: Peta Bulmer (University of Liverpool UCU)

• Speakers: Vicky Blake (UCU President), Sara Bafo (Goldsmiths SU President), Akansha Mehta & Grace Will (Goldsmiths UCU), Sky Morrison (Liverpool student), Emma Rose (NEU NEC), Stephen Reicher (University of St. Andrews and iSAGE)

1.30-3:00pm Session 2: Building Solidarity & Fighting Precarity

• Chair: Nathan Francois (RCA UCU)

• Speakers: Juliana Ojinnaka (Chair, UCU Black Members' Committee), Columbia University (USA) strikers, Rhian Keyse (Chair, UCU Anti-Casualisation Committee), Rania Obead (Sudanese Uprising Support Group), Rep from student Red Square Movement, Sharifah Rahman (Leeds University student)

Each of these plenary sessions will provide plenty of opportunity for discussion from the floor.

Register for the Assembly here:

Facebook event here:

#Goldstrike: A Fight for All Our Futures

Solidarity Rally for UCU Goldsmiths

7pm Thursday 9th December

Register at: https://bit.ly/GoldStrikeSolidarity

Goldsmiths Senior Management Team (SMT) is planning mass staff redundancies across departments this term, including 52 jobs this year: 20 academics in English & Creative Writing and History, and 32 professional services staff, as part of a wider scheme of redundancies to be rolled out over two years. These cuts risk causing chaos and harming student experience.

Senior management claim these cuts are required due to a deal that was struck with Lloyds Bank and NatWest bank, negotiated by the consultancy firm KPMG, committing to £4million of staff cuts this year followed by £2million next year.

In response to the threat of mass redundancies, Goldsmiths UCU members have been taking 15 days of strike action, 23rd November 23rd - 13th December.

As the first three days of national strikes over USS and Four Fights come to an end, and the new ballots begin in branches which fell short of the threshold, we need to build the maximum possible support for the fight at Goldsmiths.

The Goldsmiths dispute is nothing less than a battle for the future of Higher Education. We cannot allow the banks to decide how our universities should be run and which courses should be funded. This meeting will hear from staff who face redundancy and discuss the magnificent campaign that activists have organised in defence of their jobs.

Speakers:

• Mike Rosen (Author, lecturer at Goldsmiths)

• Tara Povey (Joint President, Goldsmiths UCU)

• Paula Ktorides (professional staff member at Goldsmiths facing redundancy)

• Jon Trickett (MP)

• Larissa Kennedy (President, NUS)

• Vicky Blake (President, UCU)

• Peta Bulmer (President, University of Liverpool UCU)

Register at: https://bit.ly/GoldStrikeSolidarity

Share on facebook: https://fb.me/e/20pAcaZfH

You can also find out more and support the strike fund here: https://goldsmithsucu.org/donations/strikefund/

Get The Vote Out Special II: Sharing Best Practice

UCU Solidarity Movement Reballot Workshop

6pm Wednesday 15th December

This is a re-run of our GTVO workshop, aimed at branches taking part in the USS / Four Fights reballot over the winter break. This meeting will hear from UCU branches that passed the threshold in the ballot, and activists will share experiences of building GTVO teams, energising reps and members, and planning effective campaigns.

We will discuss how best to utilise tools such as ThruText, phone banking and Mailmerge, and how to provide opportunities for members to ask questions and raise concerns, as well as working with students and other campus trade unions.

Online on Zoom in place of our usual Wednesday organising meeting:

• Direct joining link: http://bit.ly/6pmWednesdays

Please share these details widely and ensure your GTVO team are informed about the event.

Join the UNISON, UNITE and UCU Solidarity Rally:

Fighting to Defend our Pensions at Dundee University

12:30pm Friday 22nd October

You are invited to an online rally for solidarity with the strikes at Dundee University to defend the University of Dundee Superannuation Scheme staff pensions. Don’t let management steal our retirement!

Speakers include:

• Christina McAnea, UNISON General Secretary

• Jo Grady, UCU General Secretary

• Roz Foyer, STUC President

Register in advance:

UNITE THE FIGHTS! UCU Solidarity Movement Rally

6.00pm Monday 20th September

• Uniting the Fights - Vicky Blake (UCU President)

• The Fight for Safe Campuses - Marian Mayer (UCU University of Bournemouth)

• Striking Back in FE - Margot Hill (UCU Croydon College)

• Winning at Liverpool - Jo McNeill (UCU University of Liverpool)

• How to Get the Vote Out - James Richards (UCU Heriot-Watt University)

• Plus reports from Monday's Special HEC

Colleagues will be aware that last week’s Higher Education Sector Conference voted for an immediate strike ballot in defence of USS pensions and also over the 4Fights.

Our union is now on an emergency campaign footing. With several disputes already taking place over jobs and pay in HE, branches across the four regions must now prepare for strike ballots that bring together pre- and post-92 branches across the HE sector. The same issues are central to disputes across the UCU. Members in 15 Further Education Colleges are due to begin strike action on 28th September over pay, workloads and redundancies.

We have called this meeting to help provide us with the tools and examples we need to win. Now more than ever we need to draw together the issues and build solidarity for UCU branches taking action now. Victories in these disputes can only help win the ballots to come over USS and the 4Fights.

• 6.00pm Monday 20th September

• Register in advance:

• Share the details on facebook:

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

Please share these details with your members and help make Monday’s meeting a success.

Know Your Pension

Online pre-HESC meeting for activists, 18:30pm Thursday 2nd September

This meeting will tackle key issues on the USS pension debate as we prepare for potential action over pensions. This is an information briefing from the UCU Solidarity Movement aimed at Higher Education workers. It will consist of short presentations to help us understand what is happening to pensions and the various proposals from the employers. Topics include:

1. What is indexation and conditional indexation?

2. The UUK proposal

3. How is USS run and who are the different stakeholders?

4. Why are USS so difficult? What's in it for them?

5. Joint Expert Panel 1 and 2, they said, USS did

The meeting will be followed by a debate on 7th September in the run up to the HESC (UCU Higher Education Sector Committee).

• Register here:

• Facebook here:

Please share widely and make sure your branch is represented at the meeting

University of Liverpool UCU On Strike Again

Wednesday 4th - Saturday 14th August

UCU members at the University of Liverpool are continuing to fight against unjust compulsory redundancies. They have already had many successes: after 3 weeks of strike action and 4 weeks of marking and assessment boycott, the original 47 compulsory redundancies have been reduced to just 2 jobs. University management have refused to withdraw the final 2 redundancies, so UCU members will take further strike action for 11 days. The strike will cover the vital confirmation and clearing period, when universities try to recruit as many new students as possible: Wednesday 4th – Saturday 14th August.

Your support and solidarity are vital to Liverpool’s success. Your messages of solidarity and generous donations to the local strike fund have given their members the confidence and determination to keep fighting and stand together, knowing they are not alone in their battle. UCU members are not the only ones watching what happens at Liverpool. Other university and college employers want to make cuts, so what happens in this dispute will affect your employers’ confidence too.

Let’s make sure the message goes out from Liverpool loud and clear: the only acceptable number of compulsory redundancies is zero.

How can you support the UCU branch at the University of Liverpool?

Twitter Storm 9:00-10:00am Wednesday 4th August (the first day of the strike)

• Use your branch Twitter account to Tweet a message of solidarity for UCU Liverpool

• Encourage members of your branch to participate

• Schedule your tweets between 9:00-10:00am

• Remember to use these tags for Liverpool UCU: #FightForHealthJobs @ULivUCU2

• Use @LivUni if you want to tag in the university

 Solidarity Strike Rally 12:00pm Friday 6th August (online)

• Join UCU Liverpool for a mass solidarity rally

• Encourage members of your branch to participate

• Register here:

• Facebook here:

• Speakers include UCU general secretary Jo Grady, and activists from Sheffield, Goldsmiths and others

 Campus Protest 12:00pm Monday 9th August (in person)

• Bring your branch banner and join UCU Liverpool members for a protest on campus

• Encourage members of your branch to participate

• Meet at University Square (Liverpool L3 5RF) at 12:00pm

• This will take place the day before A-Level results are announced, and will be the last chance the university has to stop the strike on Results Day

 Solidarity for UCU Liverpool

• Send messages of solidarity to laut@liverpool.ac.uk

• Invite a Liverpool striker to your branch

• Pass a motion of solidarity in your branch

• Send a donation to the Liverpool strike fund at https://ulivucunews.org.uk/hardship-fund/

Staff - Student Solidarity Rally UCU Chester

Chester Town Hall - 12pm Saturday 24th July

Chester University management are intending to make staff redundant at the end of July, at a time when it is extremely difficult to find secure employment in higher education. The number of staff at risk is relatively small, and their jobs could easily be saved, but management won't budge.

The demonstration has been called to "reclaim the university" and show university management that staff and students are united in their resistance.

All UCU branches in the northwest should aim to send delegates to the demo and show our support for UCU Chester. Trains depart from Liverpool Central at 10:55am and from Manchester Piccadilli (via Crew) at 10:31am. Bring your branch banner.

Twitter Storm: please schedule your Tweets in support of the Chester branch to post at the time of the protest, 12:00-1:00pm on Saturday 24th July. Use these hashtags in your Tweets: #reclaimouruniversity #noredundancieschester, and remember to tag in the UCU Chester branch: @ChesterUcu

Unison members: Vote Yes to strike over pay!

Members of Unison in 48 universities are balloting for strike action this summer. After an extremely tough year for the staff who have made it possible for universities to keep functioning, they were offered an insulting 0% pay rise for the academic year 2020-2021. When consulted, they voted by 86% to reject it. Now the union is conducting a disaggregated industrial ballot and calling for members to vote yes for strike action.

Members of other campus unions including UCU should support our colleagues in Unison and the call for the pay rise they deserve. The ballot runs from 28th June - 10th August (England), 2nd - 27th August (Scotland), and 28th June - 13th September (Northern Ireland).

For more info, and to find out if Unison members in your institution are balloting, visit: https://www.unison.org.uk/at-work/education-services/about/higher-education/he-pay-2020/

Liverpool UCU March For Health Jobs

12:30pm Saturday 10th July

Meet at the famous Bombed Out Church, Berry Street, Liverpool city centre

This demonstration has been called by UCU University of Liverpool and TUC Liverpool, to highlight the fight for jobs in the city, including those at the university. Fire and Rehire fights, such as Manchester bus drivers, have been won by determined action. We need to build on these and other successful union actions throughout the trade union movement, and fight for all jobs.

At the University of Liverpool, 47 teachers and researchers in the Faculty of Health & Life Sciences were due to be made redundant this summer, but industrial action by UCU members has reduced this number to 21. We are determined to save every job, through strikes, working to contract, a marking & assessment boycott, and protests.

The solidarity shown by other trade unionists and activists has been crucial to building our members' confidence and supporting the campaign. We invite you to join us at this in-person, socially distanced demonstration through Liverpool, and help us to show the university that we will remain defiant.

Please wear a mask if you can, bring your union banners, home made placards and posters, and share this event widely with friends and colleagues.

Share the event on facebook

It's Our University! Archaeology and SLC Online Rally

11am Friday 9th July

It's Our University! On the 9th of July, we will digitally gather together with our friends from the School of Languages and Culture and supporters both local and global (ahead of the council meeting on the 12th) to help stop the sweeping attack on the Arts and Humanities perpetrated by the administration of the University of Sheffield, which is bringing about a rising wave of redundancies, underfunding and closures.

You can now watch the video of the rally online: https://fb.watch/6F6cA9eg7B/

Launch the Fightback Across Post-16 Education

Campaign rally organised by the UCU Solidarity Movement

6:30pm Thursday 1st July

The fight against job cuts at Liverpool and Leicester universities has reached a crucial stage. After recent strikes, members of both branches are now taking part in marking and assessment boycotts as part of their campaigns. Management at Liverpool have announced that they are imposing 100% pay docking on all staff who participate.

Meanwhile, there is now a real prospect of a fightback that can unite the entire union membership in defending the whole post-16 education sector.

Strike ballots over pay and conditions in 20 FE colleges are ongoing. And the decisions from Congress and sector conferences mean that universities are relaunching the Four Fights dispute and preparing for a fight in defence of USS pensions.

On 2nd July, the HE Committee will discuss how to implement this mandate. UCU’s policy is to launch industrial action ballots across pre- and post-92 HE as well as FE, at a time when members in prisons and in Adult Community Education are standing up against cuts.

We are on the verge of a potential co-ordinated struggle for the future of the post-16 sector, in which we can lead the trade union movement to defend education. We now need to organise to ensure we can deliver united cross-sectoral action.

The UCU Solidarity Movement has therefore called a rally on Thursday 1st July to highlight these issues and other initiatives such as the campaign in Defence of the Arts, as well as providing an opportunity for UCU branches to build solidarity for local disputes.

Speakers include:

• Vicky Blake - UCU President

• Ant O'Hanlon - University of Liverpool UCU

• Deepa Driver - USS Pensions Negotiator

• Jane Inskip - Vice Chair of Novus branch - prison education

• Robyn Orfitelli - University of Sheffield UCU

• Sean Vernell - UCU NEC and Vice Chair of the Further Education Committee

• Tanveer Ahmed - Royal College of Art UCU

• Donny Gluckstein - EIS FELA - Scottish further education

• Plus speakers from Liverpool and Leicester UCU branches

Please circulate this notice among colleagues, share the details on social media, and ensure your branch is well represented at the rally.

We are planning a Twitter Storm between 1:00pm and 2:00pm on Thursday to publicise the Rally. Please be prepared to tweet and quote retweet messages on your Twitter. Use the hashtag #UCUFightsBack and include the signup link https://bit.ly/2SGEiGA in your scheduled tweets.

This event is for all across post-16 education. If you would like to help build the event or get involved in the UCU Solidarity Movement, please join our next planning meeting at 6pm on Wednesday 30th June. Click this direct link to attend: http://bit.ly/6pmWednesdays

Overworked, Undervalued and Underpaid: Launch of FE pay and conditions ballots

10 FE colleges open their industrial action ballots on Monday 14th June in disputes over pay and conditions. Lunchtime protests have been called at 12:30pm on Tuesday 15th June.

• A physical socially-distanced rally will be held at City & Islington College at 12:30pm

• Speakers include Jo Grady, UCU General Secretary

• Register for the London Region zoom meeting to link up the protests

We have been through a lot in the last year. We moved mountains to ensure that our students get the education they deserve. In the last few weeks, we have been working even harder than usual at this time of year, to meet assessment deadlines.

Unfortunately, our going the extra mile to ensure that our students are awarded their qualifications has not been recognised. Management have cynically launched restructures, placed a number of our colleagues in redundancy pools, proposed new draconian observation policies, and cut our wages.

Why is it whenever managements fail to do their very well-paid jobs effectively, it is the front-line staff who are made to pay for their mistakes?

Show your solidarity with the FE UCU members by joining our live and online protest at 12:30pm on Tuesday 15th June. Please share details widely.

SOLIDARITY WITH UCU LIVERPOOL

UCU members at the University of Liverpool have completed three weeks of strike action against job cuts, ending 11th June. Their branch has now moved to a marking boycott (the university is deducting 100% pay from participants), and further strikes are anticipated. Your solidarity will be crucial in helping them to win the dispute!

These are the different ways you can help:

• Join the online Solidarity Rally at 1pm on Monday 5th July - see event here

• Join the March For Health Jobs at 12:30pm on Saturday 10th July - see event here

• Pass a solidarity motion in your branch: see model motion below

• Send them a message of solidarity from your branch: laut@liverpool.ac.uk

• Tag them in a Twitter post: @ULivUCU2 #FightForHealthJobs

• Invite a Liverpool striker to your branch meeting: laut@liverpool.ac.uk

• Make a donation to their strike fund: www.ulivucunews.org.uk/hardship-fund

Model motion: University of Liverpool industrial action

This branch notes:

• The disgraceful decision by the University of Liverpool to make Health and Life Science teachers and researchers redundant

• The detrimental effect this will have on student learning

• The devastating impact on staff of losing their jobs during the pandemic

• The determination of UCU Liverpool members to fight for their members

This branch further notes:

• Managers at other universities want to exploit the pandemic to make cuts

• This makes the battle for jobs at Liverpool a dispute of national importance

• It is in the interests of all workers, including us, that UCU Liverpool wins its dispute

This branch resolves:

• To send a message of solidarity to UCU University of Liverpool

• To donate X to their strike fund

• To invite a Liverpool striker to a branch meeting

• To actively support and publicise their strike days and events

Please edit the motion as required.

USS: Organising The Fight Back

6:00pm Tuesday 1st June - UCU Congress Fringe Meeting - all welcome

The UCU Solidarity Movement is organising a second meeting on USS during UCU Congress - all welcome, you need not be a delegate to congress.

The Higher Education Sector Conference will only have a limited time available for discussion, and will focus solely on the motions and amendments tabled for debate. The UCU Solidarity Movement meeting will allow for a wider discussion on USS, and allow members and HESC delegates to consider at greater depth how to develop the UCU's campaign to defend USS.

Speakers include:

• Sam Marsh - USS national negotiator

• Sarah Joss - Vice President Heriot Watt UCU

• Tim Wilson - UCU National Dispute Committee and Vice Chair Dundee UCU

• Marion Hersh - NEC and alternate negotiator

Candidates standing for election as USS negotiators are encouraged to join the meeting, to speak and/or field questions.

Register for the meeting

Share the facebook

Please share the event widely among your networks and on social media, and make sure your UCU branch is represented at the meeting.

Organising to Win - Support the Disputes!

6:00pm Thursday 27th May - UCU Congress Fringe Meeting - all welcome

Speakers include:

• Vicky Blake, UCU President, Ant O'Hanlon, Liverpool, Gabby Provan, Leicester, Brian Hamilton, UCU Prison Education, Margot Hill, Croydon College, FE, Federica Rossi, London South Bank University, Kevin Biderman, Royal College of Art, Umberto Albarella, Sheffield, Emma O'Dwyer, Kingston, and Tom Davenport, Aston

This Congress Fringe Meeting is called to raise solidarity for UCU branches in dispute over jobs, cuts, workloads, and health and safety. However, the best solidarity begins at home - we have to debate how we can unite the struggles to win. Fighting branch-by-branch is not sufficient.

The meeting will tackle issues such as winning ballots and taking industrial action during the pandemic, and explore the best ways to build solidarity for branches in dispute, to make sure they win!

Novus prison education strike

UCU members at 49 prisons and young offender institutions in England have won their ballot and have started taking strike action over health and safety.

Send urgent messages of solidarity to Brian Hamilton, branch chair of UCU Novus: barkinhouse@yahoo.co.uk

Rally: Defending jobs at the University of Liverpool

12pm Monday 10th May

The University of Liverpool is making 47 academic staff in Health and Life Sciences redundant in May 2021.

The rationale for these redundancies is based upon entirely bogus research metrics. The cuts are being driven by a cynical restructuring exercise under the cover of the pandemic. You can read more about the dispute here: www.hls47.co.uk

We are determined to stop this attack on jobs. The UCU branch voted by 90% in favour of industrial action. We will begin with action short of strike on 10th May, and three weeks of strike action will begin on 24th May, if the University does not take these redundancies off the table.

Join our rally to build solidarity and fight these cuts!

Speakers include:

• Vicky Blake, UCU National President

• Anthony O'Hanlon, University of Liverpool UCU

• Noreen O'Sullivan, Liverpool Hope University UCU

• Saira Weiner, Liverpool John Moores University UCU

• Kevin Biderman, Royal College of Art UCU

• John McDonnell, MP

• Chair: Jo McNeil, University of Liverpool UCU

The attack on jobs at Liverpool is part of a wave of cuts spreading through universities. What happens at Liverpool will affect the confidence of other employers to push through cuts, so building solidarity for UCU Liverpool really matters.

Show your solidarity with Liverpool:

• Pass a motion of solidarity in your branch

• Send messages of support from your branch to laut@liverpool.ac.uk

• Make a donation to the strike fund: www.ulivucunews.org.uk/hardship-fund

Liverpool UCU: You’ll Never March Alone

Save USS: Don't let them destroy our pension!

Emergency meeting: 11:30am Friday 23rd April

Our pensions are under attack again

Universities UK (UUK) have published their initial proposals for the future of USS. Their proposals include:

1. Reduce the defined benefits salary threshold from £60k to £40k, which will significantly reduce benefits.

2. Reduce accrual rate from 1/75 to 1/85, cutting the value of future pensions by 12%.

3. Reduce inflation proofing from 10% to 2.5%, which will rapidly reduce our pensions when inflation goes up.

There is no need for this

USS assets have increased to £80 billion, and the scheme is able to pay current benefits from lower than current contributions for 30-odd years. USS's claim that we must pay more, and receive less, is based on lies, and their attack on pensions now is worse than it was in 2018.

We have to be prepared to fight

Cuts always hit casualised members and lower paid members – those in the equality streams and younger members - the hardest. All of these changes are part of broader attempts to drive through the marketisation and privatisation of Higher Education.

We need to organise the fight back now

We can and we must win this battle. Industrial action will be needed again to stop the employers and USS, and to put political pressure on the Government and the Pension Regulator to protect our pensions. Attend this meeting of activists and join the fight back.

Speakers include:

• Sam Marsh - USS national negotiator

• Neil Davies - USS activist

• Vicky Blake - UCU President

• Sarah Joss - Vice President Heriot Watt UCU

• Megan Povey - Member of National Dispute Committee

• Carlo Morelli - UCU Scotland President

• Marion Hersh - NEC and alternate negotiator

• Tim Wilson - UCU National Dispute Committee and Vice Chair Dundee UCU

Please share details widely and help us to build the fight back

• Register for the event:

• Share the event on Facebook:

Fight to save our pensions! Fight for the future of higher education!

Read the UCU Solidarity Movement Statement on USS here

London Region FE Pay Ballot Launch Meeting

6:00pm Wednesday 21st April

Pay is a real concern for members in the sector. Our pay has been cut by 30% in the last decade. The gap between school teachers has widened year in year out throughout this period.

We have demonstrated on numerous occasions that when we fight, we can win significant increases in pay. In 2017/18 a number of colleges, as part of the FE fights back campaign, were successful in winning significant pay awards: CCCG 5%; Lambeth 3%; NCC 5%; Sandwell 6% over 2 years and Croydon 3%, to name a few. These successes can be repeated if we stand together.

This meeting is for all members in FE, to launch the ballot and build for the fight.

• Register for the event

• Share the event on Facebook

• Click here for more info about the dispute

Pay strikes to begin across all six Northern Ireland FE colleges

UCU has announced that all six FE colleges in Northern Ireland will be hit with one day of strike action on Wednesday 24 March followed by ASOS, unless staff concerns over pay and conditions of service are addressed.

This action follows a massive 88.7% vote for strike action, and 96% vote for ASOS.

More info here.

Please send urgent solidarity messages to Katherine Clarke: KClarke@ucu.org.uk

Strikes announced by EIS in Scottish FE colleges

EIS members in Scotland will begin strikes on Thursday 25 March if employers don’t back down from their plans to replace lecturers with instructors across Scottish FE colleges.

The physical and virtual pickets follow a 90% vote for action at the EIS-FELA conference.

Please send urgent messages of solidarity to the EIS-Fela salaries convenor, John Kelly: jgkellyeis@live.co.uk

Novus prison education strike

UCU members at 49 prisons and young offender institutions in England are voting for strike action over health and safety.

Their ballot closes on 9th April.

Send messages of support to Brian Hamilton: barkinhouse@yahoo.co.uk

North West Anti-Casualisation Campaign public meeting:

Ending the Plague of Casualisation in Higher Education

6pm Monday 29th March

This meeting is open to all workers in higher and further education and will address the following issues:

1. Anti-Cas 101 - your basic rights

2. Building a campaign against casualisation in your Branch and Region

3. National & Cross-Union: mitigating the impact of covid / what do we need from our unions?

Ballot for action over compulsory redundancies at the University of Liverpool

Members of UCU are currently balloting for action to prevent 47 compulsory redundancies in Health & Life Sciences. Their consultative ballot resulted in an 81% vote in support of strike action.

Their first strike rally will take place at 12pm on Tuesday 30th March

Register here:

-

Please send solidarity and donations to:

laut@liverpool.ac.uk

FE fights back 2: Vote YES to strike!

A consultative ballot involving all English FE members will start on 19th April over pay and conditions. This is the first national ballot involving all English colleges in five years. UCU’s FE Committee is recommending members vote YES to strike action. Read more info about the ballot here.

Send solidarity messages to Bernie Driscoll: bernie_driscoll@yahoo.com

Strikes announced at UCLAN

On Wednesday 24th and Thursday 25th March, UCU members at UCLAN (University of Central Lancashire) were planning to strike against compulsory redundancies. These strike days have been cancelled due to positive talks with management. However, if the threat of compulsory redundancies is not completely lifted, further strikes are planned after the Easter break, and action short of strike (ASOS) will begin on 12th April. This follows excellent ballot results with 79% of members in support of strikes, and 88% voting for ASOS.

Show your solidarity with @UCLanUCU on Twitter

For branch updates visit https://uclan.web.ucu.org.uk/

Pensions Fight Back

#DefendUSS #SaveUSS

4:30pm Sunday 14 March

The USS pension is under attack again. Join this important meeting to help build the fight back. USS is again seeking to impose a valuation of the scheme which pushes employers to withdraw their support for a defined benefit pension. USS’s reckless behaviour threatens to leave all the pensions risk with members in an underfunded poor quality defined contribution scheme. Individuals will be left on their own without the security of a collective defined benefit scheme. Don't let your retirement be stolen.

The event is co-hosted by UCU Solidarity Movement, SOAS UCU, SOAS Unison, University College London UCU, Heriot Watt UCU, Goldsmiths UCU, University of Liverpool UCU, Imperial UCU, Leeds University UCU, Sheffield University UCU, London Region UCU, UCU Scotland, and others.

There will be three sessions as follows:

The Nature of the "Crisis" - Why is USS Ltd attacking our pensions?

USS are intent on ensuring the scheme is too expensive to continue and either closing the scheme all together or leaving casualised and low paid staff with a poor quality pension in a two tiered scheme that will, as with earlier Career Average changes, be pushed onto the rest of the members shortly afterwards. The USS Defined Benefit scheme continues to have growing asset base (£80b currently) ability to pay current pensions out of existing returns on investment base without even touching member contributions or selling assets. As an open scheme it remains sustainable for all.

Speakers include: Deepa Driver (UCU USS negotiator) and Megan Povey (Leeds University).

Building a Campaign to Defend USS Pensions

A petition of complaint to USS signed by thousands of members, potential legal action against USS and lobbying politicians over the regulation of open defined benefit pension schemes are all part of the necessary approach to pressurise USS into changing their valuation. Discuss more here.

Speakers include: Marion Hersh (SWG member) and Neil Davies (Bristol University).

For an Effective Industrial Action Strategy - Lessons from 2018

In 2018 we forced USS and employers to back down and retain the Defined Benefit scheme. Now employers are claiming they agree with UCU over the failures of the 2020 valuation. However, it is too late to finally agree with our view. Action is needed to stop USS wrecking the scheme. Discuss more here;

Speakers include: Sean Wallis (UCL) and Vicky Blake (UCU President).

Please register and share these links with others:

• Register for the event

• Share the event on Facebook

UEL STRIKE RALLY

12:00pm Wednesday 10 March

UCU members at the University of East London (UEL) are continuing their battle against compulsory redundancies with their next wave of strikes. Show your solidarity at the strike rally, called to coincide with their next day of action.

Please register and share these links with others:

• Register for the event

• Share the event on Facebook

There will be a Twitter Storm (a frenzy of Twitter posts in a limited period of time in order to raise the profile of the dispute) between 8:30 and 9:30am on Monday 8 March, to coincide with International Women’s Day. Please schedule your tweets if you will be busy at that time!

You should use these tags in your tweets:

• #SaveUEL #Stopthecuts @UEL_news @ProfBroderick @AnulikaAjufo @garystew @Janette_Withey

• For more information, follow @SaveUEL on Twitter

Goldsmiths UCU Virtual Picket

10am-5pm every day, 1st – 5th March

Goldsmiths Rally

5pm Friday 5th March

Goldsmiths senior management wants to make £6 million worth of cuts to academic and professional staff. This means at least 120 jobs (probably far more) will be lost, leading to axed degree courses, increased workload and a worse student experience.

But Goldsmiths lecturers are fighting back! From Monday 1st to Friday 5th of March, we are asking you to tweet your support for Goldsmiths workers fighting for their livelihoods and students’ learning conditions! Use the hashtag #SaveGoldsmiths, tag @GoldsmithsUoL, the Warden Frances Corner (@FCorner), Goldsmiths University College Union (@goldsmithsucu) and Goldsmiths Justice for Workers (@CleanersFor). Let’s put the pressure on Goldsmiths to take these devastating job cuts off the table.

For more info, visit Goldsmiths on Facebook: https://fb.me/e/1anr0sqYR

Public Meeting - Cyfarfod Cyhoeddus

Thursday 4 March - 5.00pm - 6.30pm - Dydd Iau 4 Mawrth

Supported by Cardiff University UCU Executive Committee, London Region UCU Committee, Chair of UCU Wales Equality Committee.

Cefnogir gan Bwyllgor Gweithredu UCU Prifysgol Caerdydd, Pwyllgor UCU Rhanbarth Llundain, Cadeirydd Pwyllgor Cydraddoldeb UCU Cymru.

Speakers to include:

• Hilary Brown, campaigner and lawyer for the family of Mohamud Hassan

• Justice4Mohamud

• Shavanah Taj, TUC Wales/Cymru General Secretary

• Amarjite Singh, CWU Wales/Cymru Branch Secretary

• Vicky Blake, UCU President

• And reps from Penally refugee camp, BLM Cardiff, Wales/Cymru Equality reps, Cardiff Stand Up to Racism, and more

NO RETURN TO UNSAFE WORKING

UCU London Region FE Meeting

6:00pm Tuesday 2 March

Boris Johnson's announcement that schools and colleges will reopen to face-to-face teaching on March 8th is part of his plan to "reopen society".

Yet the risks of infection, hospitalisation, death or injury from Covid19 have not changed for those who work and study in Further Education. When SAGE scientists warn that Boris is planning for a further 30,000 deaths, and when infection rates among young people remain high, our FE colleges need a lot more work to be made safe.

Come to this meeting to discuss our rights to Health and Safety at Work, and what we can do to enforce them.

All welcome.

STOP THE JOB CUTS AT CHICHESTER FE COLLEGE!

National Online Public Meeting to Defend Further Education and jobs at Chichester College

6:30pm Wednesday 24 February

UCU members at Chichester College Group are being asked to vote on whether to take industrial action, as part of a dispute of over job cuts. The college wants to get rid of 10 full time equivalent jobs in Maths and English, 40% of that department.

It is not just about the jobs of Maths and English Tutors, but also the implications that technology could have as colleges seek to cut staffing costs and reduce teaching hours. Independent online study is being held up by many in the sector as the solution to chronic problems such as under investment.

Join UCU members at Chichester College for this online public meeting to discuss the future of Further Education and why a victory at Chichester would be a victory for all Further Education workers.

Chaired by Chichester College UCU Branch Chair, Phil Wilson, speakers include:

• Janet Farrar, UCU President-elect

• Sean Vernell, UCU FE Committee

• Michael Moran, UCU South East Regional Officer

• Andrew Harden, UCU Head of FE

• Margot Hill, UCU London Region Secretary

• Jean Evanson, Post 16 NEU Executive Member

There will also be a photo opportunity outside Chichester College at 12:00-1:00pm on Friday 26th February, and people are invited to bring their banners to the socially distanced event. Please get in touch if you would like to participate.

Birmingham City University UCU rally No return until it's safe!

12:30pm Thursday 25th February

Birmingham City University (BCU) UCU have been in dispute with failure to agree regarding on-site learning under COVID, and this January won their industrial ballot to take action. With Johnson announcing a return to on-site learning from 8th March, BCU UCU are rallying as we serve notice to remain online, to say "no return till a safe return!" Please join BCU UCU, General Secretary Jo Grady, President Vicky Blake, and a range of guest speakers at our lunchtime rally.

• Register to attend the meeting:

• 12:30pm Thursday 25th February

• No return until it's safe!

UEL SOLIDARITY STRIKE RALLY

12:30 Monday 22nd February

A rally in solidarity with UCU strikers fighting redundancies at the University of East London (UEL).

The UCU Solidarity Movement, the University East London UCU branch and the #SaveUEL Campaign invite you to join us on Monday 22nd February from 12:30 - 1:30pm.

This rally supports UEL staff striking on Monday 22nd and Tuesday 23rd February over plans to make five prominent academics redundant. We also highlight other important issues at the UEL community, including situations faced by students and other staff members. We invite the wider activist movements to join us in solidarity with the entire UEL collective.

This is urgent. UEL UCU do not take the decision to strike lightly. Strike action will cause disruption to the operations of the university, not least to UEL students whose education has already been affected by the pandemic. But we cannot let university management handpick colleagues for dismissal. The staff being made redundant include the UCU Branch Chair and Vice Chair, and it is our view that this is a blatant case of trade union victimisation.

Rally speakers include:

• Hosts: UCU chair Professor Gargi Bhattacharyya and UEL students

• Rokshana Fiaz, Mayor of Newham

• Unmesh Desai, AM, Labour Group

• Richard McEwan, UCU branch sec at New City College Poplar, and UCU NEC

• Anna Caffrey, Senior Lecturer in Public Health, and member of the UEL UCU committee

• Roddy Sloach, UCU rep at Imperial College London

• Monia Hussain, UEL Masters in Finance student from India

• Representative of Brighton UCU

• Amal Nur, runs grassroots UEL student organisation Mental Health Matters 2020

• Sarah Joss (Joss), vice-president of Heriot-Watt UCU

Please share the event widely with colleagues and friends.

The #SaveUEL Campaign has also organised a community forum for 4:30 where we can all workshop what comes next.

UCU UEL TWITTER STORM

Thank you to everyone who took part in the Twitter Storm on 16th February

We got #SaveUEL to number 4 in the UK Twitter rankings! Magnificent work!

For more info about the campaign, follow @SaveUEL on Twitter

Unite the fights - Defend education

UCU Congress Fringe Meeting - all welcome

6pm Monday 15th February

The UCU Solidarity Movement is hosting a Congress Fringe Meeting at 6pm on Monday 15th February. This event is not limited to Congress delegates, but open to all members of UCU and other unions in post-16 education. Please do therefore circulate information about this event to members of your branch, and share the details on social media.

• Register on Zoom here: http://bit.ly/UCUSMFringe

• More information here: https://fb.me/e/3cEJLmUh7

This meeting will draw together activists to discuss the lessons from successful disputes at Brighton and Heriot Watt, and build solidarity for the growing number of branches currently entering into dispute. Activists from several branches - including Chichester College and the universities of UEL, Dundee, Solent, Liverpool, LJMU, Leeds and Goldsmiths – have confirmed that they will update us on their respective campaigns. We will also hear about the current national strike ballot across Scottish FE colleges – a welcome response to one employer’s attempts to replace lecturers with teaching support staff.

Other confirmed speakers include Louise Regan from the National Education Union, who will explain how the NEU built mass meetings and utilised a collective approach to Section 44 legislation to ensure teachers were not forced back into unsafe schools in January. UCU president Vicky Blake will also address the meeting, and we will hear from activists from the #CoronaContracts anti-casualisation campaign.

UCU members in every branch have legitimate and urgent concerns about workloads, health and safety, and cuts to funding or jobs. It is time for our union to bring its resources to bear to promote a national response to attacks from our employers, and to unite the disputes of branches across the UK.

We hope you can join us to discuss this and more at our meeting on Monday.

• Register on Zoom here: http://bit.ly/UCUSMFringe

• More information: https://fb.me/e/3cEJLmUh7

UEL UCU TWITTER STORM

UCU members at the University of East London (UEL) are facing their redundancy hearings on Tuesday 16th February.

We can help to raise the profile of their campaign against redundancies by posting lots of messages of solidarity on Twitter within a limited time period. This raises the ranking of the posts and draws attention to the campaign more effectively than Tweeting at other times. The Twitter Storm will take place 8:30 - 9:30am on Tuesday 16th February.

Please check instructions for the UEL UCU Twitter Storm at https://bit.ly/SaveUEL

BRIGHTON UCU STRIKE RALLY

Fighting redundancies in education: lessons of the Brighton strike

12:00 Monday 8th February

Brighton’s dispute over compulsory redundancies was successfully resolved on Friday, just before a 5-day strike which was due to start on Monday 8th February.

As previously notified, Brighton UCU has invited all branches currently in dispute to co-host an online solidarity rally with the UCU Solidarity Movement at 12 noon on Monday.

This rally will go ahead as planned. It provides a chance to assess the fight against redundancies at Brighton, and from the growing list of other branches in dispute. As is evident from media reports, we also need to promote the building of links and solidarity to help us oppose attempts to push staff into an unsafe return to college and university campuses.

Speakers include:

• Vicky Blake (UCU President)

• Activists from other branches in dispute

• A British Gas striker (GMB)

• John McDonnell (MP)

• Bell Ribeiro-Addy (MP)

• Lloyd Russell-Moyle (MP)

The strike rally is being co-hosted by:

• UCU at University of Brighton

• UCU Solidarity Movement

• Unison at SOAS

• UCU at University College London

• UCU London Region

• People Before Profit

If your branch would like to co-host the event on Facebook, please get in touch.

Join the rally and share the details with workmates and on social media:

• Register here: http://bit.ly/Brighton8Feb

• Facebook event here: https://fb.me/e/1RdCEI36e

Please invite a Brighton striker to your next branch meeting, and donate to their strike fund (as individuals or branches) if you can:

• Brighton strike fund: www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/savebrightonitstaff

• Tweet your solidarity: @BrightonUCU #SaveBrightonITStaff

Help to organise this and other solidarity activities each Wednesday at 5:30pm:

• Join the meeting

• Meeting ID: 892 3253 2155

• Passcode: 080759

Solidarity, the heart of our unions

Emergency Conference - Defending Education Under Lockdown

Conference and Student-Staff Assembly II

10:00 - 13:00 Saturday 16th January

This Saturday (16th January), the UCU Solidarity Movement is holding its second UK-wide conference and student/staff assembly. We want to build resistance and organise solidarity for those fighting back. We hope and expect hundreds of campus activists to come together to discuss the way forward.

How best can we resist attacks by our employers? We will discuss issues raised by the new lockdown, such as HE staff being designated as ‘critical workers’ and leave for carers.

Speakers confirmed as attending include:

• Vicky Blake (UCU President)

• Larissa Kennedy (NUS President)

• Liz Stokoe (iSAGE)

• Helen O’Connor (GMB)

• Daniel Kebede (NEU Vice President)

• Kim Johnson (MP Liverpool Riverside)

• Deepa Driver (UCU NEC and National Negotiator - Pensions)

• Victoria Showumni (UCU NEC and Chair Black Members' Standing Committee)

Workshops include:

• Action During Lockdown: Striking and Making ASOS Bite

• The Fight for Health and Safety

• Using the Law Effectively

• Student Session: Plagued, Blamed, Forgotten: What’s Happened to our Education?

• Fighting Precarity and Casualisation

• Black Lives Matter and Fighting for Equality

• Taking Control of FE, ACE and Prison Education During Lockdown

The event is co-hosted by student, community and union branches including:

• People before Profit

• Brighton Student Solidarity Group

• UOM Rent Strike 2020

• CCCU In Revolt (Christ Church Canterbury University students)

• University of London Rent Strike

• SOAS UNISON

• Imperial College London UCU

• Liverpool John Moores University UCU

• University College London UCU

• University of Brighton UCU

• Heriot Watt UCU

• London region UCU

If your union branch or student organisation would like to co-host too, please contact us.

We ask that you share this publicity with your workmates and ask them to attend.

10.00am – 1.00pm, Saturday 16th January

Solidarity with UCU at the University of Brighton

Fightin’ Brighton: Fighting for our universities - students and staff together

Brighton University UCU strike rally co-hosted by UCU Solidarity Movement

12:00 Thursday 10th December

Brighton UCU ask you to support and join an online student and staff rally on Thursday 10th December. This participatory discussion, co-hosted by the UCU Solidarity Movement, aims to promote the diverse voices of current campaigns and strengthen the links between students and staff in the fight to defend our universities.

Speakers include:

• John McDonnell MP

• Vicky Blake, UCU President

• Mark Abel, UCU Brighton

• Nourhan Meddah, Cambridge student activist

• Adam Hansen, Northumbria UCU, who recently won a ballot for action against unsafe working conditions

• Speakers from SOAS Unison, who recently won a redundancy fight

• Speakers from UEL, currently balloting over redundancies

• Speakers from MMU, who have just won their consultative ballot over workloads and health and safety

• Brighton students

UCU Brighton needs your solidarity:

• Register to attend the solidarity rally

• Share the facebook solidarity rally event

Other things you and your union branch can do:

• Visit the Brighton UCU strike blog

• Tweet your messages of support @BrightonUCU

• Make a donation to the Brighton UCU Strike fund

Pickets Unite!

Brighton University and Rolls Royce strikers' virtual picket

08:30 Monday 7th December

Grand Parade picket 8:30-10:00. On Monday Brighton UCU will pioneer an experiment in picketing. In what we believe will be the first instance ever of digital secondary picketing, their real-world picket at the Grand Parade building will be Zoom-linked with the picket of Rolls Royce strikers in Barnoldswick, Lancashire, who are also battling redundancies.

We are calling on UCU members to join the picket in the real world if you can, but online if you cannot, and for students to come and demonstrate their support for the dispute. They are inviting delegations from UCU branches and other trade unions to join them in person or online to bring solidarity and, if possible, donations to their strike fund.

• Register to attend the virtual picket

• Share the facebook virtual picket event

• Make a donation to the Brighton UCU strike fund

UCU Solidarity Movement Activists Conference and Emergency Student - Staff Assembly

Saturday 28th November 2020

Over 150 staff and students attended this brilliant conference! More details including videos of the plenary sessions and workshops to follow.

Timetable

Opening Plenary: Covid, Crisis and Education

Workshops:

• From Rent Strikes to Protests: Building Student Fight Backs

• Striking Back Under Lockdown

• Safeguarding Our Pensions

• Fighting Casualisation

• FE Special Session

• Fighting racism & decolonising the curriculum

Final plenary: Students and Staff United: Emergency Student - Staff Assembly

Called by UCU Solidarity Movement

SOLIDARITY WITH UCU MEMBERS AT HERIOT WATT UNIVERSITY

Watch the inspiring speech by journalist and Heriot Watt alumnus Prof Gary Younge.

UCU members at Heriot Watt University in Edinburgh have voted overwhelmingly for strike action to resist the 130 threatened redundancies. On a magnificent 66% turn out, 77% voted for strike action, and 88% voted for action short of a strike.

The UCU Solidarity Movement need your support to build solidarity for the campaign at Heriot Watt. Here is what you can do to help.

• Ask your branch and its members to send an email to the VC of Heriot Watt, to show their support for UCU members. A model email can be found here. Please remind them to add ucu@hw.ac.uk to the address in order to send a copy to the branch, and don't forget to add their name at the bottom of the message (<<YOUR NAME>>). Download a Word version of the model letter here.

• Ask your branch and its members to demonstrate their solidarity with the UCU at Heriot Watt by donating money to their strike fund at GoFundMe. We need to make solidarity the heart of our unions.

• Help us build the UCU Solidarity Movement special meeting for Heriot Watt, which is taking place at 1pm on Thursday. Remind people to Click here to register.  Suggest your colleagues like the event on Facebook. All staff and students across the educational sector are welcome.

• Support the Lobby of the Scottish Parliament at 1pm on Thursday: Defend Jobs and Fund on-line learning. The protest has been called by the Staff-Student Scottish Assembly - united to defend post tertiary education. There will be a live feed into the Solidarity Movement meeting ( click here to register ).

We need to make solidarity the heart of our unions.

Emergency Student/Staff Assembly, 10th October 2020

Video of speeches

The Solidarity Movement hosted an Emergency Student / Staff Assembly for all four nations on Saturday 10th October. This event was aimed at linking students and trade union members across Further and Higher Education. Our colleagues, students and communities in and around colleges and universities are now in the front-line of dealing with the Covid-19 crisis.

The experience thus far of the HE sector in England and the devolved nations - covering at least 50 universities with Covid-19 outbreaks – shows the urgency of this initiative.

About UCU Solidarity Movement

The UCU Solidarity Movement began in May 2020 with activists from four UCU branches in Higher Education agreeing to co-operate in organising against threats to our jobs and wages. Since then, several other UCU branches, including four in Further Education, have been issued with Section 188 redundancy notices. At least two branches are likely to hold industrial action ballots in the near future. By early July 2020, we have organised two Solidarity Rallies, concurrent physical protests, and a National Activist Meeting.

Over 1300 UCU members and supporters registered for the two solidarity rallies we have already organised. The rally on Thursday 25th June agreed a statement (see link and below) which we urge you to sign and circulate calling on the UCU to ‘up its game’ and use the mass participatory model the NEU have developed to shape the campaigning and industrial strategy we so urgently need. 

Watch our video here:

Video produced by members from UCU branches at Imperial College London, Reading University, University
of Liverpool & SOAS

The two rallies – which we understand to be the biggest ever online events for UCU members – were organised by a relatively small number of activists who are simultaneously dealing with the immediate threat of job and / or wage cuts in their own institutions. There is no question that far greater numbers could be mobilised, and far more resources brought to bear, if our national union was to give the lead we so badly need.

The large numbers joining our zoom meetings show clearly that members are looking for a lead to deal with the difficult situation that they face and that we need to involve the maximum number of colleagues in developing a strategy to fight back. This website is a platform for branches and activists to show solidarity, share information and resources that build towards a robust and collective fight back.

UCU SOLIDARITY MOVEMENT
Statement 25th June 2020:

Emergency Student/Staff Assembly, 10th October 2020

UCU Solidarity Movement hosted an Emergency Student / Staff Assembly for all four nations on Saturday 10th October. This event was aimed at linking students and trade union members across Further and Higher Education. Our colleagues, students and communities in and around colleges and universities are now in the front-line of dealing with the Covid-19 crisis.

The experience thus far of the HE sector in England and the devolved nations - covering at least 50 universities with Covid-19 outbreaks – shows the urgency of this initiative.

About UCU Solidarity Movement

The UCU Solidarity Movement began in May 2020 with activists from four UCU branches in Higher Education agreeing to co-operate in organising against threats to our jobs and wages. Since then, several other UCU branches, including four in Further Education, have been issued with Section 188 redundancy notices. At least two branches are likely to hold industrial action ballots in the near future. By early July 2020, we have organised two Solidarity Rallies, concurrent physical protests, and a National Activist Meeting.

Over 1300 UCU members and supporters registered for the two solidarity rallies we have already organised. The rally on Thursday 25th June agreed a statement (see link and below) which we urge you to sign and circulate calling on the UCU to ‘up its game’ and use the mass participatory model the NEU have developed to shape the campaigning and industrial strategy we so urgently need. 

Watch our video here:

Video produced by members from UCU branches at Imperial College London, Reading University, University
of Liverpool & SOAS

The two rallies – which we understand to be the biggest ever online events for UCU members – were organised by a relatively small number of activists who are simultaneously dealing with the immediate threat of job and / or wage cuts in their own institutions. There is no question that far greater numbers could be mobilised, and far more resources brought to bear, if our national union was to give the lead we so badly need.

The large numbers joining our zoom meetings show clearly that members are looking for a lead to deal with the difficult situation that they face and that we need to involve the maximum number of colleagues in developing a strategy to fight back. This website is a platform for branches and activists to show solidarity, share information and resources that build towards a robust and collective fight back.

UCU SOLIDARITY MOVEMENT
Statement 25th June 2020:

Emergency Student/Staff Assembly, 10th October 2020

UCU Solidarity Movement hosted an Emergency Student / Staff Assembly for all four nations on Saturday 10th October. This event was aimed at linking students and trade union members across Further and Higher Education. Our colleagues, students and communities in and around colleges and universities are now in the front-line of dealing with the Covid-19 crisis.

The experience thus far of the HE sector in England and the devolved nations - covering at least 50 universities with Covid-19 outbreaks – shows the urgency of this initiative.

About UCU Solidarity Movement

The UCU Solidarity Movement began in May 2020 with activists from four UCU branches in Higher Education agreeing to co-operate in organising against threats to our jobs and wages. Since then, several other UCU branches, including four in Further Education, have been issued with Section 188 redundancy notices. At least two branches are likely to hold industrial action ballots in the near future. By early July 2020, we have organised two Solidarity Rallies, concurrent physical protests, and a National Activist Meeting.

Over 1300 UCU members and supporters registered for the two solidarity rallies we have already organised. The rally on Thursday 25th June agreed a statement (see link and below) which we urge you to sign and circulate calling on the UCU to ‘up its game’ and use the mass participatory model the NEU have developed to shape the campaigning and industrial strategy we so urgently need. 

Watch our video here:

Video produced by members from UCU branches at Imperial College London, Reading University, University
of Liverpool & SOAS

The two rallies – which we understand to be the biggest ever online events for UCU members – were organised by a relatively small number of activists who are simultaneously dealing with the immediate threat of job and / or wage cuts in their own institutions. There is no question that far greater numbers could be mobilised, and far more resources brought to bear, if our national union was to give the lead we so badly need.

The large numbers joining our zoom meetings show clearly that members are looking for a lead to deal with the difficult situation that they face and that we need to involve the maximum number of colleagues in developing a strategy to fight back. This website is a platform for branches and activists to show solidarity, share information and resources that build towards a robust and collective fight back.

UCU SOLIDARITY MOVEMENT
Statement 25th June 2020: