UNITE dispute means NEC is paralysed by its inability to instruct the General Secretary to settle the dispute and fails to look outwards.
Unlike the first meeting of the HEC which dealt with all business, the first meeting of the …
Report of UCU Congress 2024
UCU Congress met in the context of a snap General Election having just been called. Many are desperate to see the back of the Conservatives, as 14 years of Tory governments has been marked by austerity, increased marketisation and a …
Strategy, democracy and the GS election
UCU General Secretary-incumbent Jo Grady has made a number of claims in her election campaign.
In particular, she says that were she re-elected she would treat her strategy, as outlined in her manifesto, as being ‘endorsed’ by members, and expect …
In-person Congress returns: democracy, debate and catharsis
For the first time since 2019, UCU came together in-person, in its annual Congress: a three-day union policy conference with delegates from every branch. The meeting included two days of general union policy-making, ‘Congress’, and one day of sector conferences …
UCU Left Pre Congress Meeting
UCU’s annual Congress takes place at a crucial time for the union and with its leadership under increasing scrutiny.
As we gather in Glasgow, Higher Education branches will probably still be participating in a UK-wide marking and assessment boycott, with …
UCU Left voting advice for the 19 April Special Higher Education Sector Conference
We might agree with the sentiments of motion HE1 (‘Solidarity, struggle and reconciliation’), but the assumption that disagreement per se is damaging is wrong, and patronising to reps. Debate is the lifeblood of a democratic union. All industrial action requires …
UCU Left recommendations on USS SHESC voting
| Motion | Recommendation | ||
| 1 | SWG report and recommendations | HEC | Remit, because the last bullet point is potentially unconstitutional and could be used to silence negotiators Oppose if not remitted* |
| 2 | Call for indefinite strike action | Sheffield | Against, in favour of later |
UCU must call the marking boycott now – there is no time to waste!
In the ballot for industrial action, union members in their tens of thousands voted overwhelmingly for strike action and ASOS (including a marking boycott). When members were asked, “should we fight on?”, they voted YES.
Now, in an historic vote, …
Seize the Time, Don’t Abandon the Fight
We all know we are in the fight of our lives.
But the General Secretary’s ‘new plan of action for the four fights dispute’ is a radical-sounding document that abandons the Four Fights dispute until a year’s time, and pulls …
Democracy Now! How can members control our disputes?
The issue of union democracy has again become important in the context of UCU’s higher education disputes.
Many members are wondering how the Higher Education Committee (HEC) could blatantly ignore the views expressed at the previous Branch Delegate Meeting (BDM) …