The Friday email: 6 June 2025

Newcastle demonstration, Wednesday 11 June

Newcastle University management is attempting to achieve millions of pounds worth in savings from job cuts which is devastating for staff, students and the local community. Newcastle University UCU branch has scheduled a further 30 days of strikes, beginning on Friday 6 June, which follows on from strike action taken in March.

On Wednesday 11 June, all roads lead to a Stop The Cuts demonstration which will begin with speeches outside the Newcastle City Council Civic Centre from 12:30, and is followed by a march to Grey's Monument.

All UCU members are encouraged to make arrangements to join the Newcastle demonstration. Please contact your local branch to confirm reimbursement of travel costs. In order to support local branch treasurers, for any travel costs they pay out to members attending the Newcastle demonstration, 25% of these travel costs will be covered by UCU head office.

You can also play your part by:

• sharing posts and information across social media
• spreading the word amongst colleagues and friends to encourage as many people as possible to attend the Newcastle demo
• signing the Newcastle University UCU petition.

New Deal for FE: vote NOW in the electronic consultation

At UCU Congress 2025, further education delegates voted to ballot UCU members at further education colleges in England for strike action. The industrial action ballot will be in support of delivering a New Deal for FE, and will involve a statutory, postal ballot.

Before the statutory, postal ballot takes place, FE England members are consulted in an electronic ballot to assess member support for any strike action. This electronic ballot opened on Thursday 22 May and will close on Friday 20 June.

Eligible UCU members from participating England FE branches should have already received an electronic ballot at their preferred email address. If you are a full UCU FE member and have not received your electronic ballot, you can request a replacement now until Friday 13 June at 12 noon.

Full information about this electronic consultation is available on this page. For the avoidance of doubt, this electronic consultation is for members from participating England FE branches only, and is not for members in higher education.

Academic boycott of Brunel University over mass redundancies

UCU has declared an academic boycott of Brunel University London in response to the institution's continued pursuit of mass redundancies. The boycott has begun on Tuesday 15 April 2025, unless the university withdraws the threat of compulsory redundancies, provides transparent financial information, enters collective conciliation talks through Acas, and reinstates those already involuntarily dismissed.

UCU is asking members, supporters, and the international academic community to observe the boycott by:

• not applying for jobs at Brunel
• not attending or organising academic or other conferences at the university
• not giving talks or lectures at Brunel
• not accepting visiting appointments at Brunel
• not contributing to academic journals edited at or produced by the university
• not taking on roles as external examiners for Brunel's taught courses.

For the latest developments please see the Brunel University UCU branch website.

Stop the Cuts! Disputes at UK universities

We are asking everyone to continue to sign and share UCU's Stop the Cuts petition.

University of Edinburgh UCU members will be striking on 20 June, and then on 8-12 September. Action short of strike (ASOS) will commence from Friday 20 June. The dispute is over management's plans to cut £140m from the university's budget and the refusal to rule out compulsory redundancies. This week saw the university principal questioned by the Education Committee in the Scottish Parliament where he admitted that the university is not in deficit. Information on donating to the branch hardship and fighting fund here.

University of Nottingham UCU members are facing mass redundancies over two phases of drastic restructuring. During the first phase, at least 258 professional services staff are currently under threat with several thousand employees in related redundancy pools. The second phase from September onwards is likely to involve a similar number of academic staff. Management has refused to rule out compulsory redundancies; Nottingham UCU branch maintain that this is not just about the funding crisis in HE but exacerbated by management's poor decisions involving unnecessary expensive purchases of land and property. An industrial action ballot opened on 30 May and is closing on 30 June.

Management at University of Surrey is planning to employ all future professional services staff through a subsidiary, which offers worse pay, pensions and conditions, and risks creating a two-tier workforce as well as threatening the strength of sector-wide pension schemes. Please sign this petition, which calls on Surrey management to halt the proposal, protect existing staff and start discussions on bringing current subsidiary employees into direct university employment.

University of Derby is going through mass redundancies following a voluntary scheme. UCU remains in consultation but the branch have set up a petition, and you can add your signature here. You can also click here to read latest coverage in BBC News.

Bournemouth University UCU members will strike on 11, 12, 23 and 24 June in response to job cuts and compulsory redundancies resulting from an organisational restructure. You can send messages of support and solidarity to the branch via here.

University of Plymouth announced up to 200 jobs at risk with over 100 of these jobs being academic roles. Job losses will impact arts, humanities, business, science and engineering, as well as health particularly the social work and nursing programmes. You can show your support by signing this petition.

Liverpool Hope University intends to axe 39 staff. The threatened cuts will fall on the faculties of education and social sciences, creative arts and humanities, and human and digital sciences. Management claims it needs to make the cuts due to its own predicted deficit, with staff set to go as soon as November 2025.

University of Bradford UCU members voted overwhelmingly (82%) to back strike action on a turnout of 57%. The dispute is over plans to slash £16m from the budget in cuts that will see hundreds of jobs go and multiple courses close.

University of Liverpool UCU professional services members were balloted in a dispute over management's refusal to reach agreement over on-site attendance. On a turnout of 68.5%, 80.3% voted Yes to strike action and 91.9% voted Yes to action short of a strike (ASOS).

Durham University UCU members have voted to take three additional days of strike action in their ongoing dispute over the university's refusal to rule out compulsory redundancies. The strikes will take place on 13, 14 and 19 June.

Leeds Trinity University were investigated by the Office for Students (OfS) and in a report, published last week, were fined for failures of management and governance. For the full story and comment from UCU click here.

University of Lincoln UCU branch has been balloting members for industrial action, following the failure of management to rule out compulsory redundancies. The University has announced up to 285 potential redundancies, including the closure of the UK's only Equality, Diversity and Inclusion institute. This is on top of the 200+ jobs that went via voluntary means last year.

Kingston University UCU branch is also balloting members over the university's failure to commit to avoid compulsory redundancies. This involves closure of humanities and courses in criminology, politics and sociology.

Newcastle University UCU members are re-balloting over massive redundancies. University of Bristol's CALD (Centre for Academic Language and Development) is balloting over job cuts.

Finally, please support many other branches where UCU members in higher education are also defending jobs and education.

Industrial action and ballots at further education colleges

Havant and South Downs College UCU members will engage in three days of strike action (13, 18 19 June) following their recent successful ballot UCU members. They will be taking action alongside colleagues from our sister union, NEU, in defence of job cuts and compulsory redundancies. We also encourage UCU members across the country to sign this petition in solidarity.

Meanwhile, Cheshire College South and West (CCSW) UCU members are currently balloting over low pay, and Truro and Penwith College UCU members are balloting over job cuts and redundancies.

Climate and ecological emergency events

Greening education: transform your workplace

An event hosted by National Education Union (NEU) and UCU at the Mechanics Institute Manchester, Saturday 14 June (10:00-15:30). Join fellow education professionals, union allies and climate educators for a dynamic, hands-on event focused on making our schools and colleges and universities greener, fairer, and fit for the future. Click here to register.

How can we protect workers from air pollution and other climate risks?

Wednesday 18 June (10:00-12:30), in-person at UCU head office and online. The seminar is part of an ongoing programme in the 2025 TUC Year of Climate Action to provide guidance and resources for unions on how to respond to this challenge. Click here to register.

Hot work, safe work: what union reps need to know

Wednesday 18 June (14:00), online.  With rising summer temperatures, heat is becoming a serious health and safety issue on the job. Shelly Asquith, TUC health and safety policy officer and Miranda Irwin, coordinator at Heat Strike will discuss what reps can do to organise for safer, cooler workplaces. Click here to register.

The re-education of Malcolm X: from incarceration to education

UCU prison educators undertake the most challenging of all teaching roles in post-16 education. Their unwavering drive, belief and commitment to transforming lives through rehabilitation and education in the most demanding environments is truly commendable.

This week, we shine a light on the incredible work Black prison educators carry out across UCU to re-educate, rehabilitate and push for reform across prison education. You can view artwork created by prison education students, inspired by Malcolm X's journey here.

We also share thoughts, reflections and opinions from UCU Black prison educators on how education and art can uplift and inspire prison students on their own personal journeys.

Justice for Sheku Bayoh: vigil at public inquiry, 12 June

The public inquiry into Sheku Bayoh's death in police custody in 2015 recommences in Edinburgh on Thursday 12 June. The family have asked for continuing support as they attend the inquiry. Please support the vigil outside the inquiry at Capital House, Festival Square, Edinburgh on Thursday 12 June (from 08:45). Individuals can also request tickets to attend the inquiry on 12 and 13 June to support the Bayoh family.