The Friday email: 4 July 2025

Newcastle University: no compulsory redundancies

On Friday evening last week, Newcastle University UCU announced that the branch voted to accept an offer from management that confirmed no compulsory redundancies this year, and that there would be no 'workforce resizing' that threatened 150 jobs next academic year. The long-running dispute has now been settled after Newcastle University UCU members took 44 days of strike action over a period of four months with very significant support from students, other trade unions, and the general public.

Adult and community education campaign briefing, 10 July

UCU is intending to launch a major new campaign on adult and community education (ACE) in July. Join us for the online ACE campaign briefing meeting on YouTube, which is scheduled for Thursday 10 July (18:00-19:00). The briefing will be recorded so you can catch up later.

New Deal for FE update

In the New Deal for FE consultative ballot that closed on Friday 20 June, the response from England FE members to the question 'Are you prepared to take strike action to secure an above inflation pay rise, binding national bargaining structures and a national workload agreement?' was very clear, with 86.1% of members voting YES.

The further education committee (FEC) has met on Friday 4 July to consider the results in detail and decide on the next steps in UCU's campaign for a New Deal for FE. We will communicate FEC's decisions as soon as we can.

Prison education: tell your MP to address the crisis

Prison education provision in England is in a perilous state. We are asking all UCU members to email your MP and request that they sign EDM (early day motion) 1542 on prison education insourcing, which calls on the UK government to explore the options for insourcing all such provision under an effectively resourced, publicly owned national prison education system. We have provided an email tool here. Please remember to include your full name and postal address at the end of the email as MPs may reject messages missing this information.

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 Nottingham staff are facing mass redundancies. During the first phase of restructuring, at least 258 professional services staff are under threat. The second phase from September onwards is likely to involve a similar number of academic staff. An industrial action ballot closed on Monday 30 June, on a turnout of 63%, over 72% voted for strike action and over 84% voted for action short of a strike (ASOS). See coverage on BBC News.

University of Dundee management has confirmed that redundancy notice has been formerly withdrawn. This means that, in the short term, there will be no compulsory redundancies related to the recovery plan. Redundancies at the Leverhulme Research Centre for Forensic Science and Educational Assistive Technology remain under review, but more positive language is being used by senior management, giving University of Dundee UCU hope for a positive resolution.

University of Bradford UCU members were on strike on Monday 30 June, and will strike for 9 more days over plans to slash hundreds of jobs and close multiple courses. Click here for the full strike schedule. The dispute is over £16m of cuts that management wants to force through. The university has so far failed to set out precisely where all the cuts will fall, but 230 professional service staff and a further 230 or so academics are already at risk.

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. Liverpool Hope University UCU members have been voting in an industrial action ballot which will be closing very soon.

University of Bristol: following the overwhelming vote for strike action by UCU members in Bristol's Centre for Academic Languages and Development (CALD), 21 days of strike action kicks off on Wednesday 9 July. Bristol UCU's position is that these staff are very much needed at the university, and the cuts are financially unnecessary, increase casualisation and impact workload. They urge the university to end the dispute by taking compulsory redundancies off the table and focusing on the many viable alternative proposals. Donations can be made to the Bristol UCU local hardship fund and you can also show support by signing and sharing this petition.

University of Lincoln UCU members have been on strike on Friday 4 July. They 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%.

Lancaster University management is threatening to make deep cuts by axing over 200 academics, equating to almost one in five of the academic workforce. Overall, university management intends to get rid of 400 FTE staff by July 2026. Management argues it is making the staffing cuts because it wants to axe over £35m per annum. It has refused to rule out compulsory redundancies and is putting every single department and area of work at risk, leaving no part of the university unaffected.

University of Edinburgh UCU members took strike action last week, as their employer refuses to rule out compulsory redundancies. Their next strike days will be in September. You can support UCU Edinburgh colleagues by donating to their hardship and fighting fund.

Finally, please support many other branches, such as universities of Bournemouth, Derby, Plymouth and Surrey where UCU members in higher education are also defending jobs and education.

FE colleges: update on action and ballots

Staff at Cheshire College South and West (CCSW) will take industrial action for four days in a dispute over pay. Staff across the three CCSW campuses in Crewe, Ellesmere Port and Chester will down tools on Monday 7 July and again on Thursday 21, Friday 22 and Tuesday 26 August.

Warrington and Vale Royal College is set to axe 19 staff. Jobs set to go include every IT teacher as well English and maths support workers. The college claims it needs to reduce staff costs even though student numbers are forecast to increase by 10% next year. In meetings with staff and UCU, a senior manager described the support roles as being a 'luxury' the college could no longer afford and admitted their removal was a 'calculated risk' in respect of student outcomes.

UCU members at Myerscough College in Lancashire are campaigning against plans to close the Witton Park campus in Blackburn, which have put 19 jobs at risk. The campaign has already won the support of the local council and the local MP, who has tabled an early day motion (EDM) in Parliament. UCU members are encouraged to sign and share the petition, and to ask their own MP to sign EDM 1464.

Save the Skills Academy: protect UCU members' jobs, protect vulnerable learners

The Education Training Collective (ETC) must urgently reverse its decision to close the Skills Academy in Billingham. UCU is calling on ETC to protect this vital provision for vulnerable learners and guarantee the jobs of the dedicated staff who support them. Please see here for UCU's press release and sign and share this vital petition.

Academic boycott of Brunel University over mass redundancies

UCU declared an academic boycott of Brunel University London in response to the institution's continued pursuit of mass redundancies. The boycott began on Tuesday 15 April; Brunel UCU demands that 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.

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.

Students Organising for Sustainability (SOS-UK) training session

Students Organising for Sustainability (SOS-UK) is hosting a divestment, reinvestment, and ethical finance training session for UCU members, to take place online on Tuesday 8 July. This is your opportunity to gain the skills and knowledge needed to campaign effectively and influence how your institution manages its investments. Click here for more information and registration.

USS conditional indexation interim report, June 2025

Members may be aware that UCU, through our superannuation working group (SWG), has been engaged with Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) and Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA) for some time to investigate Conditional Indexation. As part of this work, USS has just published an interim report and you can find the report on the USS website or download it directly here. You can also click here for information on the UCEA website.

UCU's pensions official (USS), Dooley Harte, has written a brief explainer which you can read 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.

UCU and Pride 2025

UCU is organising for presence at a number of LGBT+ Pride 2025 events. If you are interested in volunteering to help, please complete this form.