The Friday email: 6 September 2024

New strike dates at five colleges in North East England

Staff at Bede Sixth Form College, NETA Training Group, Stockton Riverside College, The Skills Academy, and Redcar and Cleveland College--all part of Education Training Collective (ETC)--will strike next week in a long-running dispute over low pay. The full strike days are 10, 11, 12 and 18 September.

UCU campaigns in further education and prisons

It is now time to get back into campaign mode and build our exciting New Deal for FE and prison education campaigns. We have sent campaign materials to UCU reps at your workplace and you can also download copies to help promote the campaigns: 

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

Over the next few weeks, we will be building the campaigns towards a national rally and lobby of UK parliament in the autumn, and we need every member to play a part in these important events. Click here for the full update from general secretary Jo Grady.

Update on higher education pay and working conditions negotiations

The Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA) and the five trade unions (EIS, GMB, UCU, UNISON and Unite) met in two dispute resolution meetings on 19 and 22 August . Click here for the joint statement issued on 23 August.

Reclaim Higher Education updates

UCU confirmed that no staff at Goldsmiths, University of London, would face compulsory redundancy in the 2024/25 academic year, as it reached an agreement that ended the long-running dispute over brutal job cuts. It also brought an end to the marking and assessment boycott and the global academic boycott, and staff would no longer begin indefinite strike action from September. 

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 Friday 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
• Leeds Beckett University: LBU UCU members are currently voting in an industrial action ballot in a dispute with management over job cuts; the ballot will close on 13 September 
• Sheffield Hallam University: SHU UCU members will strike from 23 to 26 September in defence of jobs and working conditions.

UCU 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.

UCU at TUC Congress 2024

The 156th TUC annual Congress will be held in Brighton on 8-11 September. UCU has submitted two motions:

• Motion 64: Education is the engine of national renewal
• Motion 70: Prison education

Motion 70 in particular supports our national prison education campaign and calls for much-needed change to the sector.

Artificial intelligence survey

Artificial intelligence technologies are already being used within higher and further education impacting on your working lives and the education of students. It is crucial we shape the impact of these technologies on education in a way that works for both staff and students, mitigating the risks they could pose.

UCU's Future of Work in Post-16 Education Working Group is considering the threats and opportunities of these technologies and needs to understand how members and branches are approaching them. Please complete this survey, which will help the working group understand from members' perspective the uses, benefits and threats of AI-driven education technologies.

UCU 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. Click here for more information and to register (deadline is 23 September).

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.

Cuts to winter fuel allowance

Act now to stop cuts to winter fuel allowance for pensioners. Write to your MP to ask them to vote against regulations on 10 September and urge them to support the early day motion on Social Fund Winter Fuel Payment Regulations 2024. You can also sign the petition by Age UK.

UCU nominated trustee position on USS board

Please click here for the advertisement carried in the Sunday Times and other publications inviting applications for UCU nominated trustee position on USS board. If you are interested, please email the Trustees Appointment mailbox for the application form, role profile and other relevant papers. The closing date for applications is 15 September 2024.