The Friday email: 6 February 2026

University of Essex: job cuts and Southend campus closure

University of Essex management has announced plans to cut 400 jobs and to close the Southend campus. These decisions will have devastating consequences for staff, students, and the city--see report in The Guardian.

Seven days of strike action will start from Thursday 12 February. There was a rally in Southend on Thursday 5 February where UCU joined forces with UNISON (as shown in the photo), and there will be another in Colchester on 12 February. Please come and support Essex UCU.

You can also watch UCU's short film (on YouTube, BlueSky or Facebook), in which staff and students explain why so many people across Essex are coming together to defend education and their community.

New Deal for FE: next steps

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 look back on some of the action.

The elected representatives on UCU's further education committee (FEC) determined that, after the strike action, UCU would send out a survey to eligible members in striking branches seeking their views on the next steps. The survey closed on Monday 2 February at 12 noon; thanks to all the members who participated. The responses to the survey would inform the decisions of the special FEC meeting.

Disputes at universities across the UK

Southampton Solent University: Solent UCU members will be taking two days of strike action (9 and 17 February), in their fight to defend staff pensions. A recent ballot saw an overwhelming 93% of members backing strike action on a 72% turnout. University management plans to move academic staff into employment through a sham subsidiary company, forcing them out of the Teachers' Pension Scheme (TPS). Staff who refuse this will be given notice without pay. Support staff colleagues have already had these changes imposed on them, and were moved out of the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS).

London Metropolitan University: London Met's dispute over 120 redundancies continues: jobs, livelihoods, and educational provision remain under threat, and visible collective action is essential. Join the UCU branch at 09:00 on Monday 9 February at Holloway Road for leafletting, music, and speeches with a clear message to the governors: halt the cuts. At 13:00 there will be a demonstration to show management that staff and students are united. Bring colleagues, students, and supporters.

Finally, we are anticipating industrial action ballot results from Durham and Strathclyde universities soon. Ballots are ongoing at Aberdeen, Heriot-Watt, Leicester, Stirling universities--if you are at one of those four universities and have not voted yet, please send in your postal ballot as soon as possible.

You can click here for developments at other institutions in dispute such as Northumbria and Sheffield, and click here to see recent wins and resolutions.

UCU elections 2026

Postal ballots for UCU's officer and national executive committee (NEC) elections open on Friday 30 January, closing on Monday 2 March. You can find more information within UCU circular 2199. Candidates' election addresses are available on the UCU elections webpage.

USS pensions updates: conditional indexation, valuation changes and financial planning

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 (11 February and 25 February) 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.

In addition, following UCU proposals in March 2025, the USS trustee board recently confirmed that it was minded to adopt a number of UCU's proposals, subject to further engagement and consultation later this year. We believe that these changes will add further protection to members' pensions and were achieved through the solidarity action of UCU members. You can find more information on the changes here.

Finally, a USS pensions review webinar will take place on Wednesday 11 March (15:00). UCU, with our partners Quilter Financial Advisers (QFA), are offering a webinar for members in USS with information on basic financial planning and saving for retirement. To attend this event please click here to register. If this date is not convenient, please email QFA with your contact details and they can arrange a free initial appointment for you with a financial adviser.

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 events

The Trades Union Congress (TUC) voted to back a Year of Climate Action, beginning in autumn 2025. You can register for the following workshop organised by UCU:

• Decolonising and decarbonising education: Wednesday 4 March, 15:30-17:00.

On Saturday 14 March there will also be a Climate and Nature Education Festival held at Regents High School, London NW1 1RX. You can join hundreds of educators and activists from across the education sector, for a day of critical discussion on organising for a just transition.

UCU equality research conference

UCU's equality research conference will take place on Friday 15 May in a hybrid format (online or in-person). The conference is now open for papers; papers can be sent using this link. Deadline is Monday 23 February. Registration for the conference will open by mid-March.

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 one more week.