The Friday email: 08 March 2019

Celebrate International Women's Day

UCU members are marking International Women's Day 2019 with a fantastic range of events in college and university workplaces including:

• University of Northampton UCU are marking the day with a 'Women's Place Is In her Union' UCU stall and drop-in as well as a lunch time meeting with guest speakers. 
• Loughborough University UCU and Unison are holding a screening of our special film and discussion on the issues women face in the workplace 
• University of Liverpool UCU are holding a networking lunch with speaker and campaigner Audrey White and later supporting the women's strike event and Sudanese Women's demonstration.
• Newcastle College UCU are running a range of events with the college today including singing, drumming and celebrating campaigns on period poverty and against gender violence. 
• UCU West Midlands are holding a social event this evening.

Please download and display our new gender equality campaign poster. 

Love Our Colleges: help keep the pressure on

We're keeping the pressure on government to increase funding and pay in colleges, and here are three things you can do to help. First, email your MP and ask them to attend the upcoming debate on further education funding on Tuesday 2 April. Second, ahead of next Wednesday's spring budget statement, sign this petition calling on the Chancellor to increase college funding. Third, tweet your support for the campaign using the #loveourcolleges hashtag - ideally with a picture which shows why colleges and their staff deserve more!

In the news

This week Vicky Blake wins union presidency, twenty year wait for Scottish universities, Newcastle College UCU celebrate expansion of free sanitary products initiative and University of Surrey staff say controversial plans to axe jobs are unjustified.
Read all about it here.

UCU general secretary election - nominations open

Nominations are now open for the position of general secretary of the University and College Union.This a full-time, salaried position as the union's chief executive, with a five year term of office. Nominations close at 5:00pm on 8 April 2019. Further information can be found here. 

March on UN anti-racism day: 16 March

Saturday 16 March is UN international day of action against racism and UCU members will be joining demonstrations in London, Glasgow and Cardiff. The London event assembles 12 noon, Park Lane, near Dorchester Hotel, W1K 1QA, nearest tube Hyde Park Corner and will march to Whitehall.

The union has condemned racist abuse by the far right hate group Generation Identity against our vice-president Nita Sanghera and you can read the UCU statement here.