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.
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- Solidarity with the UNITE strikers: UCU Left statement on the UNITE dispute and the NEC (2nd May)It is now over a year since UNITE declared a dispute with their employer, UCU. The branch is currently taking an unprecedented 20 days of strike action, due to the GS and her senior management team failing to resolve the dispute. This is wholly unacceptable and has clearly brought the union into disrepute. One would’ve thought …
- Register for UCU Congress 2025
Registration for UCU Congress 2025 closes in just over a week (23rd April), and this year it will feel quite different as it is the first hybrid Congress. It is vital that we make sure as many members are registered as possible so they can participate in vital debates and votes on how UCU resists attacks … - The right win majority of seats in UCU NEC electionsThis year’s UCU election is a setback for all those wanting to see a fighting and more democratic union. The elections saw the right-wing and their new allies the Commons faction win a majority on the NEC. The elections saw one of the lowest turnouts in UCU national elections. We hope this analysis is useful and …
Continue reading “The right win majority of seats in UCU NEC elections”
- Only a nationwide strike can stem the carnage in UK higher education
Article by Rhiannon Lockley, candidate for UCU Vice President, in Times Higher Eduction on 13 February 2025 Limiting industrial action to defensive branch battles on redundancy is not enough. We need to politically challenge the HE funding model, says Rhiannon Lockley. UK higher education’s funding crisis has been developing for 15 years. When the coalition government …Continue reading “Only a nationwide strike can stem the carnage in UK higher education”
- Welcome! (NEC Elections 2025)NEC Elections 2025 “Only a nationwide strike can stem the carnage in UK higher education“Read the article by UCU Left’s Vice Presidential candidate, Rhiannon Lockley, in the THE Vice Presidential, Treasurer, Trustee & NEC Elections 2025 – Turn the tide on despair: Vote for hope – Vote for resistance Our candidates Posts
- HEC votes for a ballot – and a campaign to save the sector
The fight is on to save Higher Education. UCU’s Higher Education Committee (HEC) met on Thursday 12 December to consider what the union should do in the light of the financial crisis hitting our sector. Tens of thousands of members face losing their jobs. Last year the union had no UK-wide campaign. Branches were left to …Continue reading “HEC votes for a ballot – and a campaign to save the sector”
- November NEC: UCU Left ReportUCU’s National Executive Committee (NEC) met on Friday for the first time since the general election, in the midst of turmoil in UK and international politics and crises in post-16 education. This was the first time the union’s elected leadership has had an opportunity to focus upon strategies to defend post 16 education. NEC was also …
- Building a national UCU HE campaign in 2024
The UCU’s Higher Education Committee met on Friday 27 September to decide on next steps in the 2024 national pay and related claim…
In the immediate term, HEC voted overwhelmingly to keep the dispute over pay alive. There was a recognition that we have both a major opportunity — to put pressure on the new Labour Government — and a major threat — a spiral of sectoral decline — to address.
- Report from FEC 26th September 2024The FEC met for the first time this academic year. The FEC considered how to advance the New Deal for FE as part of our England pay claim. This follows the election of a Labour government in the General Election and the decision not to extend the 5.5% pay award for teachers to FE workers. Staff …
- Organising to win under a Labour government
Although the General Election was less than two months ago, it feels much longer since the Tories were decimated and Labour won a landslide election victory, albeit on a lower turnout than in 2019. Within that period, we have seen a fascist and far right resurgence on our streets, the continuing slaughter of Palestinians and an …Continue reading “Organising to win under a Labour government”