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The Friday email: 7 November 2025

7 November 2025

Two concurrent industrial action ballots

At present there are two major national, statutory industrial action ballots in UCU:

These industrial action ballots are conducted by the independent election scrutineer Civica Election Services as postal votes, as required by law.

Ballot eligible UCU members should have received postal ballot packs at their preferred mailing address. The postal ballot pack looks like this (pink, with UCU and Civica Election Services branding). Members must then return their vote by post to Civica Election Services using the pre-paid envelope, like these two UCU members are doing (with thanks to University of Glasgow UCU). 

Please note that there is no online option to vote as that is not permitted by law.

IMPORTANT: New Deal for FE further education industrial action ballot is closing soon

In further education (England FE), UCU is conducting an industrial action ballot involving almost 100 UCU branches. 

Thursday 13 November is the last 'safe' date to post the ballot and it is fast approaching. If you have a postal ballot in hand, please vote as soon as possible.

If you have not received a FE postal ballot, you can request a replacement via this form--please note that this form is for FE only and will close on Wednesday 12 November (23:59).

If you have already voted, please click here to let UCU know; this will be an enormous help with UCU's 'get the vote out' activities--again this form is for FE only.

We are the University: higher education industrial action ballot

In UK higher education, UCU is conducting an industrial action ballot involving 137 universities/higher education institutions (corresponding to 145 UCU branches).

Wednesday 26 November is the last 'safe' date to post the ballot. If you have a postal ballot in hand, please vote as soon as possible.

If you have not received a HE postal ballot, you can request a replacement via this form--please note that this form is for HE only and will close on Sunday 23 November (23:59).

If you have already voted, please click here to let UCU know; this will be an enormous help with UCU's 'get the vote out' activities--again this form is for HE only.

Finally, you can watch a recording of the latest UCU Live on the HE ballot (6 November), and our short film on Briony, a lecturer at Bangor University (see below).

    Briony: a Bangor story

    In this short film, Briony shares her story as a lecturer at Bangor University: the pressures, passion, and personal cost behind the job.

    We shine a light on the reality of teaching in UK higher education, where staff are overworked, undervalued, and fighting for a fairer future.

    As UCU members across UK universities cast their ballots, Briony's story is a reminder of why We are the University. Vote YES to protect jobs, workloads, and the quality of education itself.

    Stop the Cuts: disputes at UK universities

    Lancaster University: Lancaster UCU will begin industrial action on Monday 10 November. Management is attempting to axe over 400 staff by the end of this academic year (Friday 31 July 2026) including over 200 academics. In total around one in four staff are up for the chop. Despite this, the university is pushing ahead with plans to open a campus in India and refuses to set out how many millions of pounds this will cost.

    University of Dundee: Dundee UCU will take five days of strike action beginning on Monday 10 November. Next week's strike marks the first-year anniversary of the then university principal surprising staff by emailing with the announcement of a £30million deficit and the possibility of compulsory redundancies. To mark the anniversary, on Thursday 13 November the campus trade unions will be holding a rally in Dundee.

    Southampton Solent University: UCU will be balloting members at Southampton Solent University imminently over plans to force all its staff onto inferior pension schemes. Solent management plans to move all staff to a wholly owned subsidiary company, forcing staff out of TPS and LGPS pensions and onto an inferior local defined contribution (DC) pension scheme. Staff who refuse the transfer will have their contracts terminated without notice or redundancy pay, mirroring the most egregious fire and rehire practices, such as those seen at P&O. If Solent management succeeds it will set a dangerous precedent, which could undermine standards across the entire HE sector.

    University of Nottingham: Nottingham UCU members will begin 22 further days of action throughout November and December. The ongoing dispute concerns job losses where 95 support and academic related staff remain at risk despite hundreds going under VSS. Nottingham management has made their aims clear for 'phase 2' which will impact academic staff. UCU estimates a further 200 jobs could be on the line. Messages of solidarity can be sent here and you can also make donations to their local strike fund.

    University of Sheffield and Sheffield Hallam University: a combined 28 days of strike action will hit Sheffield in disputes over job cuts at Sheffield and Sheffield Hallam universities. Please click here to read the full story.

    University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI): UHI UCU members employed directly by the university started the first of four days of strike action on Thursday 30 October. The university has threatened sixteen staff with redundancy in the latest of many rounds of cuts over the past few years. You can support the branch by signing this petition.

    University of Leicester demonstration, 12 November

    Leicester UCU members will begin a further two weeks of strikes from 10 November in their fight against redundancies. This follows three weeks of strikes that began in late September. Management have told staff in six areas (geography, geology and the environment; education; chemistry; modern languages; history; film studies) that their jobs are at risk as they seek to cut staffing budget by £11m. Hundreds of professional services staff have also been told they face a review that may lead to job losses. You can send messages of solidarity to the branch, and click here to make donations to their strike fund.

    On Wednesday 12 November a demonstration will be held in Leicester; assemble 11:00-12:00 at De Montfort Square on New Walk, march to Victoria Park for rally. All UCU members are encouraged to join. 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 this demonstration, 25% of these costs will be covered by UCU head office. It would help the organisers if you could let them know you are coming.

    UK officer and NEC elections 2025-26

    Nominations for UCU officer and national executive committee (NEC) members are now open.

    More information about these elections, including all the necessary guidance and forms, can be found on the UCU website. The closing date for nominations is Tuesday 11 November (17:00).

    In addition, one casual vacancy exists on national executive committee (NEC) for a geographically elected member (North West) from the further education sector. Nominations for that casual vacancy must be received by Friday 14 November.

    United States: defend Tom Alter

    The recent UCU/EI international conference on academic freedom highlighted the increasing attacks on academic staff around the world, including in the United States.

    One of the those cases is that of US history professor, Tom Alter, who has recently been sacked by Texas State University. Tom was fired for remarks he made at a socialist conference in his capacity as a private citizen. Please sign the statement calling for Tom Alter's reinstatement.

    UCU equality group conferences 2025

    This year each of UCU's equality groups will have a one-day hybrid conference. The venue will be UCU head office, and the online platform will be Zoom. Those joining remotely will be able to participate fully in the conference, including voting on motions and attending workshops. When registering for the event delegates must select if they wish to attend the conference/s in-person or remotely.

    The days of the conferences are outlined below (all from 11:00-16:00):

    This year the equality groups conference will have a broad theme of 'Organising against division: building inclusive workplaces, resisting reactionary politics'. To register please use this link, which will take you to the main equality groups conference page.

    Fobzu webinar on HE in the West Bank

    UCU members may be interested in the following webinar: 'Academic life under occupation: escalating attacks on HE in the West Bank'. Click here to register for the online event, hosted by Fobzu, on Tuesday 11 November (16:00-17:00).

    TUC day of workplace climate action, 14 November

    UCU will be hosting open CPD sessions for attendees from the tertiary education sector. We will be running 'Decarbonise and decolonise' (10:30-12:00), and 'Connecting with industry and the local community for climate justice' (13:00-14:30). To attend please email Tracy Walsh. 

    The courses are open to members and non-members, including colleagues represented by other trades unions, as a contribution to the international day of workplace action. Civil society events will be taking place on 15 November to coincide with COP30 in Brazil, beginning a year of climate action. We encourage all members to look out for more details on the UCU website and to speak to colleagues and promote their awareness of the day.

    Scotland's Climate March, 15 November

    Coinciding with COP30, please join the Trade Union and Just Transition block on Scotland's Climate March, supported by Friends of the Earth Scotland on Saturday 15 November. Assemble at Glasgow Green at 11:00 for a 12 noon departure. Click here for more information on how to donate or become a steward for the march.

    Last updated: 7 November 2025