Category: HE

Higher eductaion stories

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2012 Election Materials

 

This contains all of the election materials for the UCU left candidates running in the 2012 NEC, Trustee and General Secretary Elections full details here.

click here to download

 

Mark Campbell for General Secretary Election leaflet. Paper copies of this leaflet can be requested via email from jeaden@tesco.net (click the thumbnail for the online version.)

 

 

Angie McConnell, UCU left candidate for Vice President has her election leaflet available online now to download and distribute. Download here and online version here.

 

Jelena Timotijevic, UCU left candidate for UK elected HE member, has her election leaflet available online now to download and distribute. Download here and online version here.

 

Elizabeth Lawrence, UCU left candidate for North East NEC member, Higher Education, leaflet available now to download and distribute. Download available here and online version here.

 

Umit Yildiz, UCU left candidate for nationally elected FE member, leaflet available now to download and distribute. Download available from here and online version here.

 

 

Alan Whitaker, UCU left candidate for trustee of the union has his election leaflet available online now to download and distribute. Download here and online version here.

 

Gavin Reid, UCU left candidate for NEC, North East, (HE) has his election leaflet available online now to download and distribute. Download here and online version here.

 

Graham Mustin, UCU left candidate for NEC, North East, (FE) has his election leaflet available online now to download and distribute. Download here and online version here.

Veronica Killen

 

Veronica Killen, UCU left candidate for NEC, North East, (HE) has her election leaflet available online now to download and distribute. Download here and online version here.

 

Regine Pilling, UCU left candidate for NEC, Casually Employed Members, (FE) has her election leaflet available online now to download and distribute. Download here and online version here.

 

Lesley McGorrigan, UCU left candidate for NEC, UK Elected HE (Academic Related) has her election leaflet available online now to download and distribute. Download here and online version here.

 

Mandy Brown, UCU left candidate for NEC, FE, London and the East has her election leaflet available online now to download and distribute. Download here and online version here.

Sean Vernell

 

Sean Vernell, UCU left candidate for NEC, FE, London and the East has his election leaflet available online now to download and distribute. Download here and online version here.

Mark Campbell

 

Mark Campbell, UCU left candidate for NEC, HE, London and the East has his election leaflet available online now to download and distribute. Download here and online version here.

 

 

Jim Wolfreys, UCU left candidate for NEC, HE, London and the East has his election leaflet available online now to download and distribute. Download here and online version here.

 

Jane Hardy, UCU left candidate for NEC, HE, has her election leaflet available online now to download and distribute. Download here and online version here.

 

Jenny Sutton, UCU left candidate for NEC, FE, has her election leaflet available online now to download and distribute. Download here and online version here.

 

Richard McEwan, UCU left candidate for NEC, FE, has his election leaflet available online now to download and distribute. Download here and online version here.

 

Marion Hersh, UCU left candidate for NEC, representative of women (HE), has her election leaflet available online now to download and distribute. Download here and online version here.

 

Darren Bradshaw

 

Darren Bradshaw, UCU left candidate for NEC, for the North West (FE), has his election leaflet available online now to download and distribute. Download here and online version here.

Alison Lord

 

Alison Lord, UCU left candidate for NEC, representative of women (FE), has her election leaflet available online now to download and distribute. Download here and online version here.

 

A generic national flyer for the upcoming elections can be found here.

All leaflets flyers and other downloadable election content will appear here as it is created.

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Pensions dispute resources for branch meetings

UCU Left has put together briefing papers for all the relevant pension scheme disputes – these are available here as downloads so you can use them in branch meetings and discussions with members in your branch.

UPDATED 30th Jan 2012:

There is a TPS dispute FAQ online here.

This is the most recent model motion for branches and regions to use in support of the NEC’s decision of 20th January.

This is a flyer to use in support of the model motions and the NEC.

 

Detailed Statement on what the changes in the ‘Heads of Agreement’ document (which most of the teaching unions have NOT signed) would mean for UCU members in the TPS (Teachers Pension Scheme).

Response from NEC members to the General Secretary’s report of January 10th on TPS

Model Motions for branches to use in the week before the NEC on January 20th

USS document on the shift to CARE can be found here.

 

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Don’t give up the pensions fight

The government’s “final offer” is no improvement. There is no extra money on offer. The government still wants public sector workers to work longer, pay more and get less. They haven’t moved on core issues:

* Fifty percent rise in pension contributions.
* Normal pension age to rise to the state retirement age. Retirement at 68 for those 34 and under.
* Pensions indexed at CPI instead of RPI. A cut for all existing pensioners.

We agree with those union general secretaries who are against accepting this offer. We ask all union general secretaries, if it was right to strike against these proposals on November 30th how it can be right to accept them now? Ordinary trade union members have demonstrated their determination to resist these unfair and unnecessary changes; we call on our trade union leaders reject the Government’s bullying tactics and reject their unacceptable offer.

Alex Kenny – NUT Executive member (Inner London)
Andrew Baisley – Camden NUT branch secretary
Dave Harvey – NUT Executive member (Outer London)
Martin Powell-Davis – NUT Executive member (Inner London)
Mark Campbell – UCU Executive member
Liz Lawrence – UCU Executive member
Sean Vernell – UCU Executive member
Loraine Monk – UCU Executive member
Christine Vie – UCU Executive member
David Armstrong – UCU Executive member
Guy Stoate – UCU Executive member

Sign the statement here: http://bit.ly/sVyIla
View the signatories here: http://bit.ly/rJ8SGJ

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N30 – Fantastic Day

 
Highlights of the SERTUC rally in london.
 
Just a quick note to say congratulations to all on a fantastic and historic day yesterday. Reports show very strong support for the strike in colleges and universities, and big turnouts for the local rallies where attendance exceeded all expectations – 4,000 in Bradford, 15,000 in Birmingham, 10,000 Leeds, 30,000 in Manchester and up to 50,000 in London. The list of monster rallies could go on. Schools, offices, colleges and universities were either closed or virtually deserted.
 
There were also walkouts by some electricians and construction workers at power stations and elsewhere, prison officers at Wakefield, and in places firefighters joined the rallies angry at not being included in the action.
 
Wherever the question of escalation and ‘name the day’ were raised, they got a fantastic reception because they match the huge anger that exists in the class, especially after the kick in the gut delivered by Osborne the day before the strike. Tomorrow’s NEC will be considering the outcome from yesterday’s strike and a report from the TPS meeting taking place today.
 
We did very well yesterday in getting a number of UCU Left supporters onto the various local and regional platforms, partly a testament to the roles we play in UCU but also to the prominence UCU, and UCU Left, has had within the labour movement in taking a lead in the fight over pensions.
 
The UCU Left leaflets and pamphlets also went down very well. Some supporters have now sold dozens of “Another education is possible” and in the wake of yesterday’s events we should re-double our efforts to get this very good publication into the hands of UCU members and other education workers’ and students’ hands as well.
  
In the wake of yesterday’s historic and transformative success what about organising ‘What Next’ meetings in your college or university jointly with other campus unions, students and others?
 
What about using the day as a springboard for a campaign against the HE White Paper where this has not got off the ground yet, involving students, links to campaigns emerging among academics, and others, perhaps a public meeting, teach-ins and so on?
 
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Another Education is Possible

“The challenges that we face in our colleges and universities are immense. These are likely to intensify as the recovery of the global economy falters and a plunge into a second recession is highly likely.

The attacks that we face are part and parcel of a supposed solution whereby austerity has been foisted on working class people rather than those who caused the crisis in the first place. We are looking to build the strongest and most united fight to defend jobs and education. But we also believe that another education is possible – one which is free, open to all and determined by a thirst for knowledge and learning and not the diktats of the market.”

UCU left has created a publication which touches on a wide variety of the issues facing further, adult and higher education today, it’s been available in hard copy since November 30th, and is available online as a Pdf here, and as and ePub here.