UCU Left is committed to building a democratic, accountable campaigning union which aims to mobilise and involve members in defending and improving our pay and conditions and defending progressive principles of education.
Posts
- HEC REPORT 30TH April 2021
Report on the HEC covering pay, pensions and motions on Leicester UCU and student number caps - Prepare for action and throw out SWG so-called ‘principles’
You should have received an email from the General Secretary including five principles agreed by a majority of the USS SWG (Superannuation Working Group). Our current position, as determined by the December HE Sector Conference (HESC) is to• defend defined benefits (DB)• negotiate to protect member benefits at the lowest possible contributions• work with or put …Continue reading “Prepare for action and throw out SWG so-called ‘principles’”
- Congress 2021: Motion Prioritisation Recommendations
In this post we offer a suggested list of priority motions that your branch or region might like to consider when you respond to the UCU Congress and HESC 2021 prioritisation consultation. We found the process of identifying motions that should be prioritised problematic for various reasons. Fundamentally, we believe that if branches and regions have submitted motions in good faith they should …Continue reading “Congress 2021: Motion Prioritisation Recommendations”
- FE fights back 2: Vote YES to strike end the Pay Cuts and worsening conditions
A national consultative ballot involving all UCU FE members will take place from 19th April over pay and conditions. It is the first national ballot involving all English colleges in five years. UCU’s Further Education Committee is recommending members to vote YES to take strike action. Lecturers and support staff in the sector have seen their wages cut in …Continue reading “FE fights back 2: Vote YES to strike end the Pay Cuts and worsening conditions”
- UCU Left statement on NEC election results
The results of elections to the NEC were announced on Monday 8th March. They show impressive gains for UCU Left in the composition of the new NEC. Of the 30 seats filled at this election, UCU Left supporters won half of them. This is despite the groupings within UCU shifting to add a third campaigning group …Continue reading “UCU Left statement on NEC election results”
- We stopped the USS Contributions increase in 2018 – mass action can win again
USS Valuation Statement Do you want to increase what you pay to 13.6 – 18.6% for a pension that is already in surplus? If not, prepare for action USS has finally released its valuation proposals, giving a total cost of 42.1 – 56.2%. This means member contributions of 13.6 – 18.6%. Accompanying this are increasing employer …Continue reading “We stopped the USS Contributions increase in 2018 – mass action can win again”
- Further Education Committee (FEC) Report 26 FebruaryThe meeting began with a 1 minute silence for Donna Coleman, a longstanding UCU member at Burnley College. She died last month after contracting Covid. She was just 42 years old. This was a painful reminder of what is at stake. Condolences to her friends, family and colleagues. Read UCU’s report. 8 March The FEC met …
Continue reading “Further Education Committee (FEC) Report 26 February”
- HEC Report 26 FebruaryToo slow, too timid and too obstructive HEC met on 26 February amid over a dozen universities making redundancies and victimising trade union activists. However, the resistance of members in branches means employers are not getting their own way. Branches are winning ballots and taking action. Striking members at UEL were supported by over 200 activists …
- The Fight for Trans Rights
Note on terminology: this article will use the term trans throughout as an umbrella term referring to a range of trans, nonbinary, genderqueer and gender non-conforming identities (as many trans-led organisations such as Gendered Intelligence do). We will use other terms alongside trans when we are discussing a specific identity within the trans* community. In 2020 … - How do we build a fighting union that can win?UCU’s interim Congress took place in the context of a public health crisis where our employers and government are playing fast and loose with our health and using the pandemic to cut costs through sacking staff, including UCU members. But these attacks have been greeted by our members with stiff resistance. At this moment of time …
Continue reading “How do we build a fighting union that can win?”