UCU Wales

UCU Cymru represents members in both higher and further education in Wales

LATEST

• Wales Congress 2013 took place in Cardiff on Saturday, 2 March. The keynote Speaker was Leighton Andrews AM, Minister for Education & Skills -  download his speaker notes (.pdf) [63kb].

• Briony Knibbs and the Branch Committee at Gower College Swansea have set up a petition lobbying the Welsh Assembly to stop the abuse of casual contracts in FE. They are aiming to get over a thousand signatures. Sign here.

• UCU Cymru has produced a leaflet about UCU and part time hourly paid workers:  You can view the document here: (.pdf) [438kb]

• UCU Cymru Organising Strategy 2012/13  download it here (.pdf) [173kb]

The Welsh Government and its executive determine how much funding colleges receive each year. Because of changes to the HE funding mechanism the funding follows the student and therefore universities are very dependent on the student numbers allocated by the Higher Education Funding Council in their FEE planning policy. Both funding mechanisms have to be funded by the  budget available to the Welsh Government.

Education policy is a DEVOLVED matter and UCU Cymru spend a significant amount of time and energy ensuring that all politicians are aware of the issues which affect UCU members in both sectors in Wales.

Every college of further education and every university has a branch of UCU with branch officers who are trained to provide advice on the policies and procedures operated by your employer.

See the UCU politics monthly for the latest news.

UCU Cymru consultations

Recent consultation responses include:

•  UCU Cymru response to the review of ITT in Wales, Mar 13 (.pdf) [277kb]
•  UCU Cymru response to the Wales TUC Silk Commission, Feb 13 (.pdf) [175kb]
•  UCU Cymru response to the future delivery of education services in Wales, Feb 13 (.pdf) [89kb]

Click through for all HE responses, FE responses, and cross-sectoral submissions.

Higher education in Wales

The main policy focus of UCU Wales is to ensure that higher education is high on the agenda of the Welsh government and that strategic developments are beneficial to staff and the universities.

April 2013: We are currently awaiting a statement from the Government on the future direction of HE policy in Wales, the funding allocations announced ijn Spring 2013 have been determined in line with the priorities laid down in For Our Future.

Key information:

• HE pay and salaries
• HE conditions of employment

Further education in Wales

March 2013: Update on Common Contract

It was decided that the newsletter providing an update on the FE Common Contract should be issued by the Further Education Joint Trade Unions involved in negotiations with Colegau Cymru:
 JTU Wales newsletter: All Wales Contract negotations update, Mar 13 (.pdf) [353kb]

Key information:

• FE pay in Wales
• FE agreements in Wales

UCU Cymru manifesto

This manifesto aims to set out a realistic view of the developments that Wales UCU Cymru feels are an important and integral part of achieving a 'One Wales' country, a 'learning' country, a country of real social inclusion.

The manifesto is not just aimed at the politicians of all hues, or the funding agencies, or the employers' representatives, but, more importantly, it is for the general public, the real investors in the future of a prosperous Wales.

•  Education for life - The UCU vision for education in Wales, Sep 09 (.pdf) [524kb]

• Wales regional office

• If you do have any queries please e-mail Karen Williams