UCU Congress 2026
The Labour government is in turmoil, the war in the Middle East rages on, and Tommy Robinson has once again attempted to mobilise the far right onto the streets. All of this is not separate from the crisis facing post-16 education. These reflect the wider political priorities where public services have been undermined, inequality deepened, and divisions are used to deflect attention from economic failures. Defending post-16 education cannot be separated from wider political struggles. National strategies for industrial action, including access to hardship support for strikers, are essential. But resistance must also link workplace struggles with anti-racist, anti-war, and social justice campaigns capable of challenging the political priorities driving the crisis.
Congress Notes 2026
Congress bulletin (Day 1 & 2) – HESC bulletin – FESC bulletin
Posts
- France & Spain – Students and workers fight back.
Stop the repression – spread the resistance! In France and Spain, thousands of workers & students have taken to the streets against the underfunding of schools and the lack of affordable housing. In France, the movement was sparked by school students, with over 400 schools being shut down. The police have viciously attacked them and arrested …Continue reading “France & Spain – Students and workers fight back. “
- Organise now for the nationally aggregated ballot FEC Report Back – 25th September In May, branch delegates at FESC voted to launch a nationally aggregated ballot over pay, workload and national binding bargaining. This report focuses on how the campaign is progressing with the ballot being launched this term, and the key next steps we need to take now. Pay, workload and national binding …
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- No shortcuts without industrial action
Dundee and Edinburgh UCU branches strike for five weeks of co-ordinated strike action By Carlo Morelli, UCU Dundee rep Dundee UCU in their second of five weeks of strike action have now been joined by Edinburgh UCU, in their own five weeks of strikes. Both union branches are striking against threatened compulsory redundancies, as Scottish Higher Education … - UCU’s Equality Conference – here’s why you should goYou will have received an email invitation to UCU’s Equality Conference in Newcastle, Thursday 26th to Saturday 28th November. We strongly encourage members to attend in order to shape the discussions and learn from others. Women’s rights, disability rights, trans rights, migrant rights and minority ethnic people are all under attack within the our institutions, society and …
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- UCU NEC by-election – Summer 2026UCU’s NEC elections decide the lay leadership of our union. NEC decisions affect how we deal with employers; which member issues we prioritise allocation of union resources to; how, if and when members are provided legal support; and what fighting fund support members who participate in strikes and marking boycotts receive. It’s vital that members have …
- Vote reject the offer, yes to industrial action!This week you should have received your electronic ballot over pay (email sent on 21st July) More than ever, we need a coordinated fight to save the HE sector. Some members have asked why we should focus on the UK-wide pay ballot when branches are facing compulsory redundancies and job losses? The two issues are connected, the …
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- Report of Higher Education Committee – 26 June 2026The newly constituted Higher Education Committee met at the end of last month, based on the last round of NEC elections. We are all too keenly aware of the crisis facing HE with increasing numbers of universities facing threats of hundreds of compulsory redundancies and pension loss and slashing, cuts and closures, as well as the …
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- FEC defending member’s democratic decisionsThe Further Education Committee (FEC) met on Friday for its first meeting since the new committee was elected. Members could reasonably have expected the meeting to focus on implementing the decisions taken at the Further Education Sector Conference (FESC) in May. Instead, the committee was presented with proposals that abandoned those democratically agreed decisions and attempted …
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- UCU Congress: delegates vote for national action – now fight to implement Congress decisions
Congress is the annual supreme decision-making body of UCU. For two days delegates from across UCU’s sectors debate together, and then there is one day where FE and HE divide into separate sector conferences. Congress is crucial to the union’s democracy as members, voted by their branches from across the country come together to debate and … - UCU Left Congress caucus
UCU Congress 2026 Congress is next week – it is a key point in the year when members get together and decide on what the national union should be doing. Congress must rise to the multiple challenges we face and vote for national strategies and action that can defend and protect post-16 education. With the recent …