Our General Secretary @DrJoGrady is kicking off her keynote speech to Congress 🧵
"It’s wonderful to be here in Glasgow, a city with such glorious traditions of working class militancy and radical internationalism." ✊
#ucuTOGETHER
"From the Colton Weavers who were murdered fighting against wage cuts in the 18th century to the Women’s Peace Crusade activists who took a stand against the slaughter of WW1.
And, more recently, the heroes who stopped an immigration raid in Pollokshields just two years ago." ✊
UCU Congress 2023 is underway with an opening address from our President @janetfarrarUCU:
"It’s been quite a year to be UCU’s first Goth President. The biggest ever FE strikes in England with the prospect of even bigger action to come."
"I have to take the time to say how very proud I am of my own branch at The Manchester College. They have had a renewed energy over the last year or so, a huge upsurge in membership and are fighting back against the terrible pay we have in FE." ✊
Mar 29, 2023 • 7 tweets • 4 min read
31,853 UCU members have voted overwhelmingly across all surveys to have a say on the employers' proposals.
Thank you to everyone who voted, we now move on to the branch delegate meeting today, and higher education committee tomorrow.
The results in full:
🧵
#ucuRISING
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Q: Do you support UCU members being formally consulted on the proposals that have been reached with UCEA on pay, ending zero hour contracts, workloads, casualisation and closing equality pay gaps?
We have moved the employer on a range of issues. We will continue to move them in the coming weeks, but the thing that will get this dispute over the line is a massive YES vote in the reballot.
Here we set out where we are on a range of issues.
#ucuRISING
Casualisation - it wasn’t being discussed on a sectoral level. It is now. We will change our sector. Vote YES.
🚨BREAKING: UCEA, the group representing uni bosses, has confirmed it is doubling down on real-terms pay cuts, refusing to even acknowledge casualisation & offering vague gestures on inequality & workload.
They are refusing to seriously negotiate.
(THREAD)
#OneOfUsAllOfUs
UCEA's chief exec has written to our general secretary @DrJoGrady. In it, he lays out the employers' 'offer'
📉 Yet another real-terms pay cut, insultingly packaged as a "pay uplift"
❌Lip-service to pay gaps and spiralling workload
❗️Not a single mention of casualisation
Aug 31, 2021 • 10 tweets • 3 min read
URGENT USS PENSIONS NEWS:
Today @UniversitiesUK voted to push ahead with its plans to cut thousands of pounds from the retirement benefits of university staff in the USS pension scheme
1/
The employer body voted for their package of cuts ahead of agreeing to fully consider UCU's alternative proposals and calls for a month's extension so that staff and universities could be properly consulted
2/
Jul 20, 2021 • 6 tweets • 2 min read
🧵Today, government cuts to arts and humanities courses were confirmed by @officestudents
These courses face a 50% cut to their subsidies, which will make many unviable, forcing them to close
Here are the courses that are effected:
Performing arts
Music
Drama
Dance
Art
1/
Design studies
Cinematics and photography
Information services
Publishing
Journalism
Media studies
Clothing production
Footwear production
2/
Jul 20, 2021 • 6 tweets • 3 min read
UPDATE ON HE PAY NEGOTIATIONS: 🧵
Higher Education negotiators from UCU, @unitetheunion, and @unisontheunion met @UCEA1 in the first of two dispute resolution meetings over the current pay bargaining round.
1/
We were disappointed that @UCEA1 did not bring an improved offer, despite our consistent communications on areas which are lacking.
2/
May 13, 2021 • 11 tweets • 7 min read
Whilst the government pretends to care about views being supressed on campus, @uniofleicester is trying to sack staff whose research threatens management
THREAD 👇
.@ronald_hartz is at risk because his research "displays profound questioning" of "mainstream management thinking".
UCU has written to Prime Minister Boris Johnson* to urge him to make online learning universities' default position, protect students' education and stop any further damage to community health. ucu.org.uk/article/11029/… 1/
UCU general secretary @DrJoGrady: ‘Given the rapidly changing situation & increasing outbreaks, it is time for swift action and to move the majority of universities’ work online. We are not prepared to take chances with health & safety of students, staff or local communities 2/
Sep 28, 2020 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
Asked about students potentially being locked down over Christmas, @DrJoGrady said that the immediate concern has to be October, not Christmas.
She says students locked down at @ManMetUni are not being tested and second and third years there will still have in-person teaching. Difficult to see how that can help bring the virus under control.
Sep 27, 2020 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
Speaking to @SkyNews, UCU general secretary @DrJoGrady says the chaos is a result of encouraging students back to university without sufficient measures in place.
She says that without basic things like track and trace or proper testing, it is no surprise we are seeing what is happening now and students have been let down.
Sep 25, 2020 • 7 tweets • 2 min read
BREAKING NEWS Manchester Metropolitan University has told around 1,700 students to self-isolate for a fortnight with immediate effect after Covid outbreaks in halls of residence. manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-m…
UCU general secretary @DrJoGrady said: ‘This is the latest catastrophe in a week where wholly predictable – and predicted – Covid outbreaks have caused havoc on campuses across the UK. 2/
Sep 25, 2020 • 7 tweets • 2 min read
UCU president Vicky Blake @zenscara said: “It’s a horrible thing to be told, people are terrified. We are operating in the context of redundancy announcements. It makes it feel very difficult to put your head above the parapet." theguardian.com/education/2020… 1/
One academic at a Russell Group university, who asked not to be named, said her university had dismissed her concerns about infecting her partner, who has type 1 diabetes and is therefore at an increased risk from #coronavirus. 2/
Sep 25, 2020 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
UCU's @DrJoGrady writes in @theipaper that students must not be the scapegoats of a government-created crisis.
The outbreaks of Covid seen on campuses were caused by the government and universities insisting campuses were 'Covid-secure'.
inews.co.uk/opinion/commen…
Last month UCU called on politicians & universities to abandon any wider reopening of campuses until a UK-wide test and trace system was in place. But students were sold the lie that they could return to open campuses.
Sep 21, 2020 • 8 tweets • 3 min read
Today we were warned that if the current rate of infection is not halted, the UK could be facing around 50,000 new #Covid cases a day by mid-October, leading to 200 deaths a day a month later. news.sky.com/video/coronavi… 1/
Last month, UCU called upon government politicians and university leaders to abandon plans to precipitously re-open university campuses and resume in person teaching. theguardian.com/world/2020/aug… 2/
Sep 20, 2020 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
This week @DrJoGrady emailed members with new health & safety advice. Branches were also emailed with template letters which members can use to challenge line managers & employer's about plans/instructions regarding in-person work. Pls check your inbox & contact your branch.
If you are worried about the work you are being asked to do & unsure how to act, contact your branch ASAP - they can help. The template legal letters will need to be adapted for your institution and your specific circumstances, but your branch will be able to help you do this.
