The Friday email: 16 January 2026

New Deal for FE: three days of strike action

This week, seventeen further education colleges in England took part in three days of strike action (14-January 2026) in the dispute over FE pay and conditions.

You can click here to follow plenty of action and here for more information about UCU's New Deal for FE campaign.

Meanwhile, over 30 FE colleges have already settled their disputes after winning pay awards, for example: Kirklees College, Sheffield College, Lancaster and Morecambe College, and Myerscough College. This is down to the hard work of many UCU reps and staff.

Disputes at universities across the UK

A number of universities across the UK are balloting for industrial action:

• Aberdeen, Heriot-Watt, Stirling and Strathclyde universities in Scotland, over job cuts and the threat of compulsory redundancies
• Durham University, over management's refusal to engage over untenable workloads and worsening job insecurity
• University of Leicester, where members are re-balloting over management's plans to close or merge several subjects, such as modern languages, film, chemistry, geography and geology.
• Northumbria University, over management's plan to push staff to leave the Teachers' Pension Scheme (TPS)
• University of Essex, over plans to close the Southend campus and axe 200 academic jobs and 200 professional services jobs.

New UCU parliamentary group 

We took members' voices straight to Westminster this week at the first meeting of the new UCU cross-party parliamentary group. MPs and peers heard directly from general secretary Jo Grady about the pressures facing staff in higher, further, prison and adult education and were united in their determination to work to advance your interests in Westminster.

The union spelled out the impact of falling pay, insecure contracts and chronic underfunding, and made clear that politicians must act to fix a broken system. This is just the start. UCU's political work will help us build political pressure to win fair pay, secure jobs and a properly funded education system.

Defend HE pensions: write to your MP

Please take a moment to write to your MP using UCU's tool, asking them to sign our new Early Day Motion (EDM) 2479, tabled by Rachel Maskell MP our parliamentary group chair, on the defence of defined benefit pensions in higher education.

Post-16 white paper on education and skills

UCU has published a new briefing for members on the Post-16 white paper on education and skills. The briefing highlights the key recommendations in the white paper and UCU's response.

Strike ballot launched at New City College in unfair dismissal dispute

Staff at New City College in east London will be balloted for strike action in their fight against the unfair dismissal of a member of staff. Wojtek Dmochowski, an ESOL teacher at the college and UCU branch rep, was sanctioned for his trade union activity supporting a dispute at the BSix College in Hackney and subsequently dismissed in September. A website and petition have been launched calling on the college to think again and reinstate Wojtek.

USS pensions conditional indexation update

Please click here for the USS conditional indexation (CI) January 2026 update, specifically USS has published a second report on CI and UCU's Superannuation Working Group (SWG) has organised two webinars (Wednesday 11 February 2026 and Wednesday 25 February 2026) to assist members in understanding and having input into this important issue. You can find more information here and contact the UCU pensions mailbox for queries.

UCU elections 2026 and hustings

Nominations for UCU officer and national executive committee (NEC) positions, and the North West further education casual vacancy were closed. A full list of candidates can be found on the UCU election webpage. Postal ballots for all contested elections are expected to open on Friday 30 January 2026 and close on Monday 2 March 2026.

Candidates for the positions of UCU vice-president (further education) and by-election vice-president (higher education) will take part in an online hustings on Thursday 12 February, 16:30-18:00. Click here to register for the hustings. Members can also submit questions to the candidates via this separate form.

UCU Cradle to Grave conference

The annual 'From Cradle to Grave' conference, which will take place on Saturday 21 March, brings together UCU members, academics, practitioners, sector representatives and politicians to discuss the major issues facing post-16 education. The theme of this year's conference is 'Fighting for an education for all' and will include plenary sessions on the implications of the post-16 education and skills white paper and on defending academic freedom and professional autonomy, as well as breakout sessions on artificial intelligence, green skills and international solidarity.

The conference will run as a hybrid event, with options to attend in person in Manchester or online via Zoom. We expect spaces to attend in-person to fill up quickly so register as soon as possible to secure your place. The deadline to register is Friday 6 March; the conference is free to attend. We appreciate rail costs can be expensive, and therefore for those traveling outside Manchester with tickets costing over £20 we can reimburse 25% of your ticket, up to a maximum of £50.

TUC Year of Climate Action and UCU workshops

The Trades Union Congress (TUC) voted to back a Year of Climate Action, beginning in autumn 2025. As part of this, UCU is delivering two online workshops, bringing together members across education unions to exchange knowledge on sustainability and how workers can, through their roles and trade unions, advocate and organise for the integration of sustainability into all learning. You can register for the following:

• Embedding climate education in the curriculum: Wednesday 4 February, 15:30-17:00
• Decolonising and decarbonising education: Wednesday 4 March, 15:30-17:00

Exploring experiences of (peri)menopause and career trajectories in business and management schools

Are you experiencing peri-menopause or menopause and are working in a higher education business and management school? Your experiences are invaluable to research examining how peri-menopause and menopause influence career trajectories in such academic settings. To take part in the study, please complete the online questionnaire. For more information contact Mandy Lim at Lancaster University.

Survey of members' experience of racism

UCU is committed to ensuring that all members work in an environment that is free from discrimination and racism. This survey is designed to understand your experiences with racism in the union and your workplace. Your feedback will help us address these issues and work toward a more inclusive and equitable environment for everyone. Participation is voluntary, and your responses will be kept confidential. The survey will be live for the next four weeks.

UCU equality research conference

UCU's equality research conference will take place on Friday 15 May 2026 with an in-person and hybrid delivery. The conference is now open for papers; papers can be sent using this link. Deadline is Monday 2 February 2026. Registration for the conference will open by mid-March.

Sudan Solidarity Conference

This hybrid conference, which will take place on Saturday 17 January, brings together activists, trade unionists, academics, community organisers, and members of the Sudanese diaspora to build concrete international solidarity with those resisting war, genocide, and dictatorship. Speakers include UCU president Maria Chondrogianni. Click here for more information.

Holocaust Memorial Day 2026 webinar

The Holocaust Memorial Day 2026 webinar will take place on Tuesday 27 January 2026, 13:00-14:00 on Zoom. The speaker will be Professor Eve Rosenhaft from University of Liverpool.

The webinar examines the genocide of Europe's Roma under the Nazis and their collaborators. Between the mid-1930s and 1945, Romani people faced internment, forced labour, sterilisation, deportation and mass murder, rooted in long-standing antigypsyism and institutional racism. Despite survivor efforts to challenge denial, this history remains less researched and recognised than the Shoah. The talk explores what is known, the gaps that remain, and the lessons for today. Please click here to register.