Tag: events

Launch the Fightback Across Post-16 Education

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Image shows a line drawing of raised fists, and details of the event

Campaign rally organised by the UCU Solidarity Movement

6:30pm Thursday 1st July 2021

The fight against job cuts at Liverpool and Leicester universities has reached a crucial stage. After recent strikes, members of both branches are now taking part in marking and assessment boycotts as part of their campaigns. Management at Liverpool have announced that they are imposing 100% pay docking on all staff who participate.

Meanwhile, there is now a real prospect of a fightback that can unite the entire union membership in defending the whole post-16 education sector.

Strike ballots over pay and conditions in 20 FE colleges are ongoing. And the decisions from Congress and sector conferences mean that universities are relaunching the Four Fights dispute and preparing for a fight in defence of USS pensions.

On 2nd July, the HE Committee will discuss how to implement this mandate. UCU’s policy is to launch industrial action ballots across pre- and post-92 HE as well as FE, at a time when members in prisons and in Adult Community Education are standing up against cuts.

We are on the verge of a potential co-ordinated struggle for the future of the post-16 sector, in which we can lead the trade union movement to defend education. We now need to organise to ensure we can deliver united cross-sectoral action.

The UCU Solidarity Movement has therefore called a rally on Thursday 1st July to highlight these issues and other initiatives such as the campaign in Defence of the Arts, as well as providing an opportunity for UCU branches to build solidarity for local disputes.

Speakers include:

  • Vicky Blake – UCU President
  • Ant O’Hanlon – University of Liverpool UCU
  • Deepa Driver – USS Pensions Negotiator
  • Jane Inskip – Vice Chair of Novus branch – prison education
  • Robyn Orfitelli – University of Sheffield UCU
  • Sean Vernell – UCU NEC and Vice Chair of the Further Education Committee
  • Tanveer Ahmed – Royal College of Art UCU
  • Donny Gluckstein – EIS FELA – Scottish further education
  • Plus speakers from Liverpool and Leicester UCU branches

Please circulate this notice among colleagues, share the details on social media, and ensure your branch is well represented at the rally.

We are planning a Twitter Storm between 1:00pm and 2:00pm on Thursday to publicise the Rally. Please be prepared to tweet and quote retweet messages on your Twitter. Use the hashtag #UCUFightsBack and include the signup link in your scheduled tweets.

This event is for all across post-16 education. If you would like to help build the event or get involved in the UCU Solidarity Movement, please join our next planning meeting at 6pm on Wednesday 30th June.

Staff – Student Solidarity Rally UCU Chester

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Chester Town Hall – 12pm Saturday 24th July 2021

Chester University management are intending to make staff redundant at the end of July, at a time when it is extremely difficult to find secure employment in higher education. The number of staff at risk is relatively small, and their jobs could easily be saved, but management won’t budge.

The demonstration has been called to “reclaim the university” and show university management that staff and students are united in their resistance.

Chester 24 07 21 b.jpg

All UCU branches in the northwest should aim to send delegates to the demo and show our support for UCU Chester. Trains depart from Liverpool Central at 10:55am and from Manchester Piccadilli (via Crew) at 10:31am. Bring your branch banner.

Twitter Storm: please schedule your Tweets in support of the Chester branch to post at the time of the protest, 12:00-1:00pm on Saturday 24th July. Use these hashtags in your Tweets: #reclaimouruniversity #noredundancieschester, and remember to tag in the UCU Chester branch: @ChesterUcu

UNITE THE FIGHTS! UCU Solidarity Movement Rally

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Illustration of a group of people holding UCU and UCU Solidarity Movement banners created by Anthony Bradbury, Imperial College. Augmented with logos from universities and colleges that have been in dispute.

6.00pm Monday 20th September 2021

  • Uniting the Fights – Vicky Blake (UCU President)
  • The Fight for Safe Campuses – Marian Mayer (UCU University of Bournemouth)
  • Striking Back in FE – Margot Hill (UCU Croydon College)
  • Winning at Liverpool – Jo McNeill (UCU University of Liverpool)
  • How to Get the Vote Out – James Richards (UCU Heriot-Watt University)
  • Plus reports from Monday’s Special HEC

Colleagues will be aware that last week’s Higher Education Sector Conference voted for an immediate strike ballot in defence of USS pensions and also over the 4Fights.

Our union is now on an emergency campaign footing. With several disputes already taking place over jobs and pay in HE, branches across the four regions must now prepare for strike ballots that bring together pre- and post-92 branches across the HE sector. The same issues are central to disputes across the UCU. Members in 15 Further Education Colleges are due to begin strike action on 28th September over pay, workloads and redundancies.

We have called this meeting to help provide us with the tools and examples we need to win. Now more than ever we need to draw together the issues and build solidarity for UCU branches taking action now. Victories in these disputes can only help win the ballots to come over USS and the 4Fights.

  • 6.00pm Monday 20th September

Please share these details with your members and help make Monday’s meeting a success.

Building The Action We Need To Win: Student-Staff Assembly

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Image shows poster for Student Staff Assembly, including sessions and speakers

12-3pm Saturday 29th January 2022

Hosted by the UCU Solidarity Movement

The strikes have been called: Now let’s build the fight to win on USS & Four Fights.

We now know the shape of the action called by our unions leadership in the two HE disputes.

There are lots of debates about how to best take the fights forward, but we all know that we have to make the action that’s been called as successful and hard hitting as possible.

We need to build unity – between staff and students – centred on the 2nd March student day of action. We also need to build unity between branches and between UCU and the rest of the movement.

We also need to build solidarity for brilliant branches like Goldsmiths UCU that are involved in crucial local battles.

Meanwhile, it’s right for us to discuss how best we can win these fights and what action can best achieve this.

Come along to Saturday’s Student-Staff Assembly. Bring other activists and bring your own ideas and arguments.

12:00-1.30pm Session 1: Pay Justice, Pensions & Resisting Marketisation

  • Chair: Peta Bulmer (University of Liverpool UCU)
  • Speakers: Vicky Blake (UCU President), Sara Bafo (Goldsmiths SU President), Akansha Mehta & Grace Will (Goldsmiths UCU), Sky Morrison (Liverpool student), Emma Rose (NEU NEC), Stephen Reicher (University of St. Andrews and iSAGE)

1.30-3:00pm Session 2: Building Solidarity & Fighting Precarity

  • Chair: Nathan Francois (RCA UCU)
  • Speakers: Juliana Ojinnaka (Chair, UCU Black Members’ Committee), Columbia University (USA) strikers, Rhian Keyse (Chair, UCU Anti-Casualisation Committee), Rania Obead (Sudanese Uprising Support Group), Rep from student Red Square Movement, Sharifah Rahman (Leeds University student)

Each of these plenary sessions will provide plenty of opportunity for discussion from the floor.