The Friday email: 13 September 2024

A New Deal for FE: sign the petition and join us for UCU Live

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. Part of the reason for this is the current broken model of pay negotiations where the outcomes of national talks are not binding and colleges are not required to implement recommended pay rises.

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

Join us for the New Deal for FE UCU Live event on Thursday 19 September (18:30-19:15). This UCU Live event will provide information about key aspects of the campaign and how people can get involved and play their part in driving forward the change we urgently need. You can take part on Facebook, YouTube or X/Twitter.

You can also download copies of our campaign materials to help promote our FE and prison education campaigns: 

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

Finally, please read an article published in FE week written by Josh Spears, English lecturer at Darlington College.

Strike action at Education Training Collective

This week UCU members at Education Training Collective on Teesside took part in three further days of strike action (10-12 September). Members at ETC have now taken twelve days of industrial action, with a further strike day planned (18 September).

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 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
• Sheffield Hallam University: strike action is planned for the first week of standard undergraduate teaching: Monday 23-Thursday 26 September. This is in response to job cuts and to defend the employment conditions of remaining staff. See branch website for more information about the ongoing dispute and sign SHU's Megaphone petition.

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.

Artificial intelligence survey for all members

UCU's Future of Work in Post-16 Education Working Group is considering the threats and opportunities of AI-driven technologies and needs to understand how members and branches are approaching them. Please complete this survey, which closes on Thursday 19 September, to help the working group understand from members' perspectives the uses, benefits and threats of these 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.

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.

With best wishes

Ed Bailey
UCU deputy head of campaigns