UCU

More cuts at UK universities

The universities of Winchester, Surrey, and Queen Mary have added themselves to the list of higher education institutions claiming financial deficits leading to job losses and course closures. We have already had proposed cuts and restructures at other universities, each claiming shortfalls due to decreases in student numbers. The University of Winchester has claimed it has a £6 million deficit. It plans to cut, amongst other things, its English language programme and make cuts to psychology, acting and various apprenticeships. So far 40 job cuts are planned. At the University of Surrey there...

Defend right to bad posters

On 20 February security staff at Queen Mary University in London, acting under instruction from the management, broke into the offices of the University of College Union (UCU) to remove two posters. One, produced by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, highlighted the slogan “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”. The other , produced by the UCU, called for a Gaza ceasefire. Management claimed the posters were causing a “chilling effect on freedom of speech” on campus. The union branch’s defence of “From the river to the sea…” (presumably the real target) is a statement in favour of...

Stop cuts at Goldsmiths

A ballot of members of the University and College Union (UCU) at Goldsmiths, University of London, ending on 28 March, has been called to fight the threatened cut of 130 full-time equivalent posts, in reality, up to a third of all academic jobs at the college. This is probably the worst in a wave of cuts affecting many universities across the UK. Higher education bosses point to factors including: a drop in both UK and EU students and a tailing off of non-EU students, a freeze on UK tuition fees, and a lack of funding for arts and humanities. Mismanagement The Goldsmiths union knows that...

Goldsmiths UCU ballots against cuts

Members of the University and College Union (UCU) at Goldsmiths, University of London have begun a ballot for industrial action to fight a devastating programme of cuts which threatens 130 full-time equivalent posts, in reality, up to a third of all academic jobs. Such cuts will leave the college unrecognisable. It may not even survive. The cuts, laughably called “transformation” by the college bosses, have been caused by a shortfall in student numbers and what they call the “decline of certain subjects” — the arts and humanities on which Goldsmiths built its reputation. The responsibility for...

Grady scrapes back in

Jo Grady, incumbent General Secretary of the University and College Union (UCU), has scraped back into office with a majority of fewer than 200 votes after transfers. Turnout was 15% — 5,000 fewer members voting than in 2019. Heavily criticised after undemocratically pausing last year’s strikes, Jo Grady gained barely a third of first preferences, with 5,990 votes out of 17,131. Ewan McGaughey, an independent candidate who gained a profile thanks to his crowdfunded legal challenge to cuts to USS pensions, came second with 4,724 first preferences. He likely picked up votes from right-wing...

Students organise against cuts

University bosses across the country are making serious cuts, but students and university workers are fighting back. Universities charge international students extortionate rates, and have come to rely on those inflated tuition fees. The Tories have recently strengthened the hostile environment, abolishing visas for dependants of international postgraduate students. This has particularly affected Nigerian students . So some universities have not enough high-fee-paying students. University and College Union (UCU) members at Aberdeen will strike for six days in March after threats to the Foreign...

Oust Grady, vote for democracy

Ballots slipped through letterboxes for education workers in the University and College Union (UCU) from 25 January. Incumbent Jo Grady is being challenged for general secretary (GS), and there are elections for the National Executive (NEC) members and for the union vice-president (who becomes president after two years). Voting closes 1 March. In online hustings this week Grady admitted her term had not been easy, blaming the difficulties on having to implement an industrial strategy that was not of her design (despite implementation being her actual job). Given how often she undermined...

Back Vicky Blake for UCU GS

On 13 November, Vicky Blake announced her candidacy for General Secretary of the University and College Union. Other candidates so far are Jo Grady (re-standing), Saira Weiner from the UCU Left/SWP, and Euan McGaughey, a law academic who brought a legal case over pension misevaluation. Vicky, a former Vice President and President of the union, is standing as an independent. She has a background in fighting casualisation, has recently championed solidarity with Ukrainian trade unionists, and has been a consistent left critic of the leadership and defender of union democracy. The ballot opens on...

UCU ballot closes 3 November

At the start of October the University and College Union (UCU) reached an agreement with Universities UK (UUK) to reverse a 35% cut made to the Universities Superannuation Scheme pension. The pension scheme covers around 400,000 current and retired academic and academic-related staff, mostly in those universities established prior to 1992. The agreement involves benefit restoration to pre-April 2022 levels by Monday 1 April 2024. £15 to £17 billion will be restored to the fund and there will be one-off pension payment of around £900m to help make good the money members have lost since April...

UCU re-ballots amidst ferment

After a summer of confusion over strategy and unacceptable delays to a national re-ballot of members in the long-running University and College Union (UCU) dispute over pay and conditions, 42 branches struck in the week from 25 September. The week was originally planned to be a national strike. An emergency meeting of the union’s Higher Education Committee decided to allow branches to opt out. That left 42 to fight on, many in pursuit of local fights against punitive deductions of pay for the Marking and Assessment Boycott (MAB). The MAB ended in September when the industrial action mandate...

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