A debate is currently underway about how democracy in UCU should work, with some members arguing that more use should be made of e-ballots. This is UCU Left’s view.
Union democracy as principle and necessity
For trade unions democracy is …
2023: The year our side breaks through or another missed opportunity?
Twenty twenty-two will be remembered as the year that organised labour returned. More strike days have been lost since the summer than any time since 2011. Perhaps more importantly than the numbers is the attempt to coordinate the action across …
The Cost Of Living Crisis is Biting Now – Escalate to Win
#NoCapitulation
The General Secretary has followed up the video she released last week, in which she questioned the HEC’s decisions on industrial action, with a proposal of her own. In a glossy document, she sets out a timetable for limited …
For action that can win – shut down the campuses!
After weeks of silence and prevarication, the General Secretary has finally announced the decisions on industrial action taken by the Higher Education Committee (HEC).
We welcome the news that the marking and assessment boycott (MAB) is to be notified to …
How many times must members be surveyed before they are permitted to fight?
Branch reps in mandated UCU branches were astonished to read yet another email on Monday from HQ asking them whether or not members were ready to launch a marking and assessment boycott. They were asked to respond in 24 hours.…
How do we build the Marking Boycott?
UCU members urgently need to discuss how to implement the marking and assessment boycott called by the union. The General Secretary wrote to reps in Four Fights branches with a mandate saying that the action would be called, and …
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) …
Branches criticise the General Secretary’s strategy for the HE disputes
UCU Left report on the Branch Delegate Meetings, 12 November
The two Branch Delegates’ Meetings (BDMs) took place on Friday. These had been called after the ballot results on USS and the Four Fights campaigns had been released and over …
Meeting – COP26: How can unions respond to the climate emergency?

Join our next online participatory UCU Left meeting, co-hosted with Campaign Against Climate Change
Monday 18th October, 6.15pm
Register: https://bit.ly/UCUL-CACC
The COP26 summit will not bring about the radical change necessary to address the climate emergency. It is going to …
SHESC Voting Advice from Two USS Negotiators
Vote against motion 1 and amendment 3A1
Vote for motions 2 and amendment 2 A1, 3, 4, 5
Vote for remission of motion 6 (or against if not remitted)
Reasons to oppose B4: exploring conditional indexation
- A conditional indexation scheme