Nina Doran

Nina Doran for North West FE

Our sectors have been increasingly devalued; it is vital that we work to protect members’ pay, terms and conditions in an environment where workload is increasingly challenging.

The Post 16 Sector used to have a well paid workforce, with a diverse curriculum and our professionalism was respected. This is very much a possibility if we use our collective strength to raise awareness, organise and mobilise members on the basics of union membership.

TU roles

  • UCU activist (15+ years) including roles as Branch Chair, Branch Secretary, Health & Safety and Union Learning Rep. 
  • Previously on North West Regional Committee, and served as Assistant Regional Secretary and Secretary
  • 2 terms on NEC

Campaigning, negotiating and organising

As FE reps we need to be energetic and able to verbalise clearly the options we have as teachers and union members via campaigning on issues and organising events; this way we build hope, optimism, camaraderie and recruit new members.

Pay: We are all too aware of how our pay has devalued and the unacceptable pay inequality within our sector. At branch level I have been active in fighting for fair pay, negotiating with management and gaining wins for the last 10 years. I understand the work required, how to develop branch organisation and to effectively engage members as well as local councillors and MPs to build our profile.  Moreover, we set up fundraising events to support members facing hardship, particularly our casualised staff.

Workload and H&S: Through negotiations we removed the worst aspects of an Observation of Teaching and Learning. We also succeeded in ensuring the employer complied with the maximum numbers allowed in classrooms that had previously created risks, and workload issues for our members. Increasingly staff are forced to take sick leave due to stress, this is an absolute blight on our sector and we must redouble our efforts to challenge the unsafe working environments due to workload and bullying

Equality: the rhetoric from recent Conservative governments, the race riots this summer and the rise of Reform, emphasise the need for UCU to do everything it can to protect equality. We must stand with our black, migrant, LGBTQ+, disabled and women member’s. As regional delegate I was active in doubling the reps for disability and Health & Safety. I have volunteered for a Domestic Abuse Organisation in Liverpool for 25+ years.

If elected to NEC, I hope to bring the dynamism and vibrancy of well-organised local disputes to the UK-wide level of FE work. Members need hope, optimism and strategies that can win in leadership, this is why I align with UCU Left.