The Friday email: 13 February 2026

Southampton Solent University: strike action over pensions

Solent UCU members took one day of strike action on Monday 9 February, and will be taking strike action again on Tuesday 17 February, in their fight to defend staff pensions. You can read coverage in BBC News.

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. Solent's support staff have already had these changes imposed on them, and were moved out of the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS).

New Deal for FE: decisions from the further education committee

A special meeting of UCU's further education committee (FEC) took place on Friday 6 February where elected representatives made a number of decisions about the New Deal for FE campaign.

FEC has determined that branches will now decide what further strike action they wish to take at a time that best suits them. To support this, UCU centrally will coordinate branches that wish to take strike action on the same day(s). UCU will organise a parliamentary lobby. To give striking branches the space to come together, further branch briefings will be organised. You can click here for the full update.

Disputes at universities across the UK

University of Essex: Essex management announced plans to cut 400 jobs and to close the Southend campus. These decisions have devastating consequences for staff, students, and the city--see report in The Guardian. Seven days of strike action started on Thursday 12 February. You can watch UCU's short film (on YouTube, BlueSky or Facebook), in which Essex staff and students explain why so many people are coming together to defend education and their community.

Northumbria University: Northumbria is hit with ten days of strike action from Thursday 12 February in a fight to save staff pensions. The dispute is over management's decision to force staff out of the Teacher's Pension Scheme (TPS), by freezing the pay of any staff member who tries to stay in it. So far, 29 MPs have signed a motion condemning the university's actions, North East Mayor Kim McGuinness and local councillors have written to management over the pension attack, and a petition has over 1,000 signatures.

University of Strathclyde: Strathclyde UCU members have backed industrial action in a dispute about job cuts and the failure of management to rule out compulsory redundancies. On a turnout of 58%, 80% of those voting backed strike action. Strathclyde management claims they need to make cuts of £35m over two years, with around 70 people currently affected, and more announcements expected. The cuts are focused across three out of four faculties with the Institute of Education the most affected.

Durham University: Durham UCU members have backed strike action in a fight to protect working conditions and job security. The vote comes after the university slashed hundreds of jobs to make £20m of budget cuts, refused to put in place any workload agreements for staff who remain, ran roughshod over the collective agreements that exist to resolve disputes, and rebuffed all attempts to negotiate over working conditions and job security.

London Metropolitan University: London Met UCU's dispute over 120 redundancies continues, with an industrial action ballot due to open on 20 February and close on 12 March. Students and staff at London Met have also organised a petition to the university's board of governors regarding the proposed compulsory redundancies. You can sign the petition here.

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

Truro and Penwith College: strike action

Truro and Penwith UCU members will strike on Monday 23 February in an escalating dispute over low pay and poor working conditions. The union has already called three days of strike action since the start of the year (Wednesday 14 to Friday 16 January) after college management imposed a pay award of just 2%, only half that recommended by employer body Association of Colleges (AoC).

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 click here to read an update on the election; candidates' election addresses are available on the UCU elections webpage.

UCU Congress 2026

UCU's annual Congress will be held at Harrogate Convention Centre from Wednesday 27-Friday 29 May. This will include meetings of the higher education and further education sector conferences (HESC and FESC) on Thursday 28 May.

Members who are considering attending Congress for the first time are invited to the Introduction to Congress briefing, which takes place online on Monday 9 March, 12:30-13:30. You can register for this briefing here.

More information on the Congress timetable and practical arrangements can be found on the UCU Congress webpage.

Parliamentary event on prison educators' experience, Tuesday 3 March

UCU will be presenting two new important reports on prison education at a parliamentary event in March. One of the reports explores the mental health of prison educators across the UK, and the other explores the experiences of Black prison educators. Both are based on surveys and interviews to which UCU members have contributed. The event will take place on Tuesday 3 March at 17:30 in Westminster. If you are a UCU prison education member and would like to attend, please write to the UCU politics mailbox.

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 Tuesday 3 March. Registration for the conference will open by mid-March.

Support the NION Women Collective Letter

The NION (Not In Our Name) Women Collective has launched an open letter demonstrating the breadth of support for trans women among cis women. The letter affirms solidarity with the trans community and calls for inclusion, dignity and equality for all. To date, more than 80,000 people have signed, reflecting significant and growing backing across the UK. Members who wish to read the letter or add their name can do so here. Please consider sharing within your networks to help broaden its reach.

Ukraine solidarity

Tuesday 24 February 2026 marks the fourth anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. To mark the occasion, Ukraine Solidarity Campaign (USC) and others have organised a demonstration meeting in central London on Saturday 21 February at 14:00. Please attend in UCU gear if you are able. USC have also organised a fundraiser for life-saving aid requested by Ukrainian trade unions whose members are serving their communities at or near the front.

UCU statement: High Court rules government's proscription of Palestine Action unlawful

The High Court has ruled that the government's proscription of Palestine Action was unlawful. You can click here to read UCU's full statement and UCU's previous statement dated 9 July 2025.