The Friday email: 13 June 2025

Stop the Cuts national demonstration at Newcastle

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 scheduled a further 30 days of strikes, which began on Friday 6 June, following strike action taken in March.

On Wednesday 11 June, a Stop the Cuts national demonstration was held in Newcastle city centre. A big thank you to all the branches and members across the country who attended. We encourage all UCU members to sign 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 will close on Friday 20 June so get voting as soon as possible.

Eligible UCU members from participating England FE branches should have already received an electronic ballot at their preferred email address. Look out for an email with the subject 'IMPORTANT: UCU New Deal for FE consultative ballot'. Note that it is no longer possible to request a replacement electronic ballot.

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. 

Education Committee inquiry into university finances

On 12 June, the UK parliament's Education Committee launched a new inquiry into the financial viability of universities as they face the challenges of rising costs and falling numbers of international students after years of tuition fee freezes.

Responding to the announcement, UCU general secretary Jo Grady said: 'With vice-chancellors axing courses, limiting student provision and slashing thousands of jobs, universities are in crisis and this inquiry couldn't come soon enough [...] Our submission will set out what's gone wrong and how the system can be fixed'. Click here for the full statement. UCU has been relentlessly lobbying parliamentarians for urgent government intervention and this new inquiry is one of the results of our sustained campaigning efforts. The union's work will continue.

Stop the Cuts! Disputes at UK universities

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

Bournemouth University UCU members were on strike on Wednesday 11 and Thursday 12 June, and will resume industrial action on Monday 23 and Tuesday 24 June, in opposition to management's plans to cut academic and professional services staff. The walkout follows an overwhelming vote in favour of strike action on a turnout of 78%.

University of Lincoln UCU members have voted to take industrial action in a dispute over plans to threaten nearly 300 staff with redundancy. An overwhelming 86% of UCU members who voted backed strike action in a ballot that had a turnout of 61%.

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.

Durham University UCU members 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 took place on 13 and 14 June and will resume on 19 June.

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. An industrial action ballot will close on 30 June.

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. An industrial action ballot will open imminently.

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.

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.

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.

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. The industrial action ballot at University of Bristol's CALD (Centre for Academic Language and Development) over job cuts will close shortly.

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 are engaging in three days of strike action (13, 18 19 June) following their recent successful ballot UCU members. They are 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.

At Truro & Penwith College, a statutory ballot closed this week. On a turnout of 52.17%, 82% of UCU members voted in favour of taking industrial action in their fight against compulsory redundancies. The employer has been informed and the branch will be meeting to discuss what action they may wish to take following this decisive result.

We are anticipating results from Cheshire College South and West (CCSW) UCU, where members are balloting over low pay. Strike ballots will also be opening at Warrington and Vale Royal College and INTO Manchester.

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.

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.

Casual vacancies on UCU's national executive committee

Nominations are now open for two casual vacancies on the national executive committee (NEC): one HE UK-elected member; one HE geographically-elected member (North East). The nomination deadline is Thursday 10 July at 17:00.

More information about this election, including branch circular and nomination form, can be found here.

CDBU draft code of ethical university governance

The Council for the Defence of British Universities (CDBU) is currently consulting over its draft code of ethical university governance. It is intended to sit alongside the Committee of University Chairs' (CUC) code and aims to provide more relevant help to current and future governors as they enact their role within the institution. CDBU is interested in views on their draft code and their consultation is open until Thursday 31 July.

Malcolm X centenary: leading by example

Malcolm X's leadership reached far and wide and influenced countless individuals, communities, and global movements. Last week, we shone a light on the incredible work Black 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.

This week Ekau Agha, a prison educator and researcher at HMP Pentonville, reflects on Malcolm X's connection with Yuri Kochiyama.