UCU

Universities dispute in danger: are local settlements the thin end of the wedge?

There is an appetite for a fight, but the union must urgently change tack, argue Counterfire UCU members
North West FE colleges 'organised, prepared and ready' to strike against poor pay

Jayne Gillies, UCU rep at Bury College, reports on the upcoming strike action at FE colleges in the North West after UCU members roundly rejected insulting pay offers
Critical moment in the universities dispute

With the disputes in higher education at a turning point, Counterfire UCU members discuss the state of the struggle and the tactics needed to win
University strikes: collectivise our anger

Employers in higher education have plenty of money but won’t spend it on their workforce. Only mass action will force them to concede, argue Counterfire UCU members
Glasgow students stand with UCU strikers

During a nationally-coordinated student strike, Glasgow University students picketed with striking staff in a show of resolute solidarity, reports Sophie Johnson
"They want to break us, but we're not broken": why UCU strikers are stepping up the fight

Alistair Cartwright reports from a vibrant rally of London UCU strikers in the second week of their renewed industrial action
When love strikes: Universities hit with Valentine's day picket lines

University workers are back on the picket lines for a second round of strike action to fight against pay and pension cuts, casualisation and inequality
Why students must support the UCU strikes

Glasgow University students Sophie Johnson and Doncho Atanassov argue that it’s more important than ever for students to show university managements that they are united with striking staff
Universities aren't corporations: Goldsmiths back on the picket lines

UCU members at Goldsmiths University of London are back on strike to reject planned redundancies and restructuring, reports John McGrath
UCU: The battle ahead in higher education

Counterfire UCU members analyse the state of the struggle in higher education ahead of a second round of strike action
Universities challenged as strikes escalate

Counterfire members in UCU argue the next steps for escalation in the UCU dispute and the need for political trade unionism
Manchester marches with striking lecturers

Hundreds rallied and marched through Manchester on the last day of the UCU strike in a big show of solidarity, reports Chris Neville
The fight has just begun: Day 3 of #UCUstrike

Counterfire reports on the third day of UCU strikes from university picket lines around the country
Picket lines and picket signs: Day 2 of #UCUstrike

Counterfire reports on the second day of UCU strikes from university picket lines around the country
Why we strike, how we win

Counterfire UCU members on the university strikes this week and the battle ahead
'We're at breaking point': University strikes kick off across the country

Counterfire reports on the first day of UCU strikes from university picket lines around the country
Going for gold: Striking staff and students stand strong at Goldsmiths

Goldsmiths strikers rallied defiantly as their strike entered its second week
Johnson: who is that unmasked man? – weekly briefing

Lindsey German on our benighted prime minister, the politics of migration and university strikes
Goldsmiths strikers: 'We're not going to let them destroy this university' - video

Striking staff at Goldsmiths, University of London tell Counterfire why they're striking and how you can support them
'We're fighting for the soul of Goldsmiths': three-week #GoldStrike starts with a bang

Goldsmiths UCU members started three weeks of strike action with a huge rally showing an overwhelming amount of support, reports Shabbir Lakha
UCU strikes are go: The battle in universities continues

UCU members at 58 universities are set to strike for three days in December. This is a pivotal moment in what has become an unprecedented conflict in UK higher education
Pickets, precarity and 'power to the people': The struggle intensifies at the Royal College of Art

Royal College of Art lecturers increase pressure for fighting back against attacks on terms and conditions of work in Higher and Further Education, reports Peter Bird
Time for action: The next steps in the UCU dispute

Following an overwhelming endorsement for strike action by UCU members in UK universities, there can be no room for prevarication
Glasgow: GMB strike braziers are on fire! - News from the Frontline

Counterfire’s weekly digest with the latest on strikes and workplace struggles
'Royal College of Burnout': why lecturers are striking

Ground report from one of the solidarity rallies in support of the FE colleges who've entered their second week of strike action
Lambeth College strike: ‘This is about people, not just about pay’

Further-education staff are striking for the sake of resources for education, while money is wasted on expensive consultants, reports Peter Bird.
Strikes win: Anatomy of the University of Liverpool victory - video

Counterfire's Unjum Mirza spoke to University of Liverpool UCU Vice President Jo McNeill about their recent victory which stopped compulsory redundancies
Liverpool University: a benchmark victory for HE and beyond - News from the Frontline

Counterfire's weekly digest with the latest on strikes and workplace struggles
College lecturers strike to defend further education

Further Education teachers in ten colleges walked out this week to demand pay parity, reports Sean Ledwith
Resist the attack on higher education pensions

Counterfire UCU members argue that we must have one clear demand for strike action - a rejection of the 2020 pension valuation
Unreasonable, unethical and unnecessary: the theft of university pensions - interview

Feyzi Ismail interviews Dr Deepa Driver, one of the UCU's national negotiators on pensions, about the attacks on university workers’ pensions and how they can be resisted
The HE fightback: Liverpool’s UCU militants have lessons for us all - News from the Frontline

Counterfire's weekly digest with the latest on strikes and workplace struggles
Covid and the campuses: can UCU turn anger into action?

Fighting back against attacks by employers in higher education requires coordinated action across the sector
Why University of Liverpool staff are striking and how you can help

Anthony O'Hanlon, one of the strikers at the University of Liverpool, spoke at a recent Counterfire event about the dispute and how you can show solidarity
Resisting ‘rank and yank’: UCU fights job cuts at Liverpool University

Ahead of a rally on Monday, UCU’s battle to save jobs at Liverpool University is a critical fight for the whole sector
Jobs saved, threats lifted: industrial action beats the bosses at Goldsmiths

Goldsmiths UCU members who are victorious after almost four months of industrial action show that when you fight you can win
Fighting job cuts in higher education

There is a national push in universities to restructure, cut jobs and weaken unions, but higher education workers are fighting back, reports Vladimir Unkovski-Korica
Goldsmiths UCU: leading the charge with words and action - Branch Solidarity Network bulletin February 2021

Branch Solidarity Network's February 2021 bulletin on the fightback at Goldsmiths University and the demands around workloads
Growing university staff revolt as Northumbria UCU votes to strike

Members of UCU at Northumbria University have voted to strike over health and safety amid a growing number of branches escalating disputes and balloting
Universities are a big part of driving infection rates

Staff and students at universities are taking on managements and the government amid sharply rising cases across campuses
Students and lecturers must unite and fight for people over profit

With the mounting crisis in universities over rising Covid cases, students and lecturers must agitate together for safe learning, argues Lucy Nichols
The Covid crisis in universities: voices from the frontline

The new term has seen universities plunged into Covid-chaos. John Westmoreland spoke to UCU activists about what’s happening and the action we need
Stop this madness: university campuses are not safe

Universities are risking student and staff lives by continuing the push to return students to unsafe campuses and maintain some face-to-face teaching
10 points against the unsafe return to campuses

Dragan Plavšić considers the growing opposition to universities re-opening as infection rates rise
Campuses and Coronavirus: students head to universities despite rising R rate - CounterBlast

As we head into a second wave, students and academic staff must put pressure on the government and university management to keep people safe, argues Lucy Nichols
The market crashes: from exam crisis to political crisis

University staff are pushing back against the callous actions of universities and the government putting staff and students at risk
The market crashes: Branch Solidarity Network Bulletin September 2020

Branch Solidarity Network's September bulletin on the return to universities and why face-to-face teaching isn't safe
Don't just fund but fight for the future of post-16 education

As the attacks on further and higher education workers increase, Counterfire UCU members outline the need for a better strategy on the ground
Goldsmiths marking boycott: casualised staff fight back

We repost Branch Solidarity Network's interview with two Goldsmiths staff members involved in the dispute and the BSN June 2020 bulletin
For a national fight to defend higher education

UCU members report on the fightback at universities under attack by management and have put forward a model motion to show solidarity
UCU members: reject the employers' derisory 'Four Fights' offer

We should not even be balloting on this, but focusing on the issues arising from the universities’ response to the Covid-19 crisis, argues Vladimir Unkovski-Korica
Confronting the crisis in universities

There is an urgent need for UCU to develop a national strategy over Covid-19, write Counterfire UCU members
Striking in the time of coronavirus: results and prospects of the universities dispute

After 22 days of industrial action this year, the University and College Union (UCU) will now contend with the coronavirus outbreak as well, argues Vladimir Unkovski-Korica.
The struggle for education: reports from the UCU strikes

We are into the third week of strikes. UCU negotiators are reporting that there has been progress but have counselled us to keep up the pressure. Here is a series of reports of the strikes from different parts of the country
Pickets out in force for first day of UCU strike

Reports from picket lines around the country on the first day of the UCU strike
Stop the cuts at Goldsmiths: the not–so-hidden costs of the higher education ‘market’

Des Freedman reports on students and staff rallying at Goldsmiths against cuts and how it links up with the UCU strike beginning this week
High stakes in UCU strike: another 14 days of action announced

Higher turnout likely than last year but the strike needs solidarity from the whole labour movement, argues Vladimir Unkovski-Korica
UCU: back to work but the struggle continues

The strike is over, but the militancy remains. Graham Kirkwood reports from Newcastle
Staff-student solidarity is being built in the UCU strike

Teach-outs are building staff-student solidarity and provide a model for a better university, writes Clare Burgess
The lecturers are fighting back: reports from UCU strike day 1

As lecturers at 60 universities around the country began eight days of strike action, Counterfire activists reported from picket lines on day one of the strike
It's the class question, stupid - election briefing 25 November

Lindsey German on class, leadership and this week's strikes
Confronting fear during a strike: why picket lines are important in industrial disputes

Ahead of the UCU strike, Vladimir Unkovski-Korica argues that mass unity creates strong bonds among strikers
University lecturers are gearing up for next week's strike

Preparations for the eight-day UCU strike starting 25 November are underway, reports Graham Kirkwood
Rees-Mogg: the ugly face of class privilege - daily election briefing 6 November

Lindsey German on the nasty party, Lid Dem mendacity and striking lecturers
University staff set to strike on pay and pensions

Now is the time to fight against the marketisation of universities, argues Des Freedman
‘Delays have dangerous ends’ – weekly briefing

Lindsey German on the perils of Labour timidity, global migration and local ballots
University unions build for an autumn of discontent

Industrial action is the only way to improve conditions in higher education
Jo Grady victory: all change at the top of UCU

Jo Grady has been elected General Secretary of UCU in a victory for the left, now the rank and file need to get organised argues Graham Kirkwood
Counterfire statement on UCU election for general secretary

Voting starts this week for a new general secretary for the UCU, following the resignation of Sally Hunt. Counterfire members in the union have agreed this statement:
UCU: we are the union

The annual UCU conference has begun and the leadership, unwilling to accept criticism, has acted anti-democratically and with contempt of its members reports Des Freedman
UCU pensions dispute: the battle is over, but the fight continues

UCU members recently voted to suspend industrial action; the action may be on pause but the dispute is far from over.
After Windrush: this racist government must go - Counterfire Freesheet May 2018

Windrush, May 68, Palestine, UCU strike, Marx and more - Counterfire freesheet edition 025, May 2018
University workers' statement on UCU ballot result

The strike is over: our fight is not
The case to vote 'no' in the UCU ballot and how we can win

As university workers vote in a ballot on UUK's latest offer, Lee Jones explains why they should vote no and how the campaign to reject the deal can win
Vote NO: university workers call to reject proposed deal

Lecturers and supporters met at a national activists meeting today to discuss the campaign to reject UUK's proposed deal
Reject the UUK deal: we need to fight now

In this open letter, university workers from across the country argue that we cannot accept the deal as it stands, and must fight for a No vote
Update on university pensions dispute

These motions, passed at various branches, offer a guide as to how we should approach the dispute at this critical moment
University strikes: employers’ retreat needs to be nailed down

As UUK returns with a further offer, Des Freedman takes a look at the immediate options facing university staff involved in the dispute
We're not going to take it any more - statement from precarious staff at the University of Kent

Following the UCU strike against pension cuts, precarious staff at the University of Kent release a statement demanding no pay cuts for strike action for already poorly paid staff
Time's up Theresa - Counterfire Freesheet March 2018

Brexit, Corbyn and the Labour right, gender pay gap, commodification of universities and more...
The government's stance on Salisbury is a big gamble - weekly briefing

Theresa May's Cold War revivalism is a high risk strategy for all of us, writes Alex Snowdon
Lecturers' strike: the rank and file have spoken, now we have to take the lead

Feyzi Ismail reports from outside UCU headquarters as the union’s Higher Education Committee votes to reject the employers’ derisory offer
Lecturers' strike update: no capitulation

Des Freedman and Vladimir Unkovski-Korica explain why the deal between UCU and UUK is bad one and should be rejected
Lecturers' strike update: together we can win

As the lecturers' stike enters its final week, a lecturer explains what we have achieved and what we still need to do
Lecturers' strike update: students at Reading University begin occupation

Joining a wave of student occupations that look set to escalate this week, students at Reading University have begun an occupation in solildarity with striking lecturers
Student Occupations Live #OccupyUUK

Live updates of students occupying university buildings in solidarity with striking lecturers. #UCUstrike #StrikeForUSS
The lecturers' strikes started in winter but are finishing in spring - weekly briefing

University staff and students have shown that committed and passionate resistance is possible and neccesary, finds Des Freedman
Lecturers' strike update: inside the occupation at Exeter University

Now on the third day of #ExeterOccupy in support of striking lecturers, Theseus Stefanatos and Alex Rafael Rose report on the action students are taking and why
Lecturers strike massive blow

The UCU strike is not just about pensions. It is an opportunity to fight for a new vision for Higher Education, argues Milly Williamson
Lecturers' strike: interview with a QMU striker

A UCU striker at Queen Mary University speaks to Katherine Connelly about the ongoing dispute
Lecturers' strike update: students occupy in Bristol, Exeter and Leicester

In solidarity with striking lecturers and opposing further marketisation of higher education, students begin occupying management offices reports Jack Sherwood
Lecturers' strike: Deepen the action, spread the support

As the strike continues, we must up the ante, argues Des Freedman
Against the marketisation of our education

Rather than calling for compensation for lost teaching time, students should stand in full solidarity with university and college staff
Lecturers' strike report: students show their support

On the 5th day of the UCU strike, picket lines stayed strong despite the weather and students came out in force to show their support
Europe: why retreat must not turn into defeat for the left - weekly briefing

Lindsey German analyses Jeremy Corbyn's speech on Brexit, as well as the importance of the UCU strike and the growing movement against the NRA in the US
What you can do to support the lecturers' strike

As the strike continues we must keep the pressure on, argues Chris Nineham
Lecturers' strike updates: Striking to win

As the UCU strike carries on into its 4th day, we put together some short reports from picket lines around the country
Bristol leads the way in supporting striking university staff - photos

After a huge mobilisation to support striking lecturers on the first day of the strike, Bristolians took to the streets again to show solidarity reports Jack Sherwood
Forget the Arctic conditions: our universities are on fire

The UCU strike has the potential to rebuild the campaign against the marketisation of our higher education, writes Des Freedman
Lecturers' strike day one: A bad day for the casino

University strikers across the country are reporting the most successful and well supported industrial action for years
'They think we are weak - they could not be more wrong': Goldsmiths kicks off against pension cuts

On the first day of this historic strike, Goldsmiths lecturers show they mean business and are fighting to win
Solidarity with striking lecturers - resolution

Resolution to submit at your Union branches/CLPs/elsewhere in solidarity with UCU members going on strike from Thursday
Why we strike: why lecturers need your support

As university staff are set to take strike action, two lecturers, Des Freedman and Vladimir Unkovski-Korica explain why you should support the strike
Biggest ever strike in higher education? UCU members prepare to defend pensions

As education workers get ready to strike, Des Freedman, a professor at Goldsmiths University, tells us what we can do to support them
University staff set to strike after ballot victory

University staff are set for 14 days of strike action after voting decisively for walkouts in opposition to attacks on their pensions reports Des Freedman
SOAS and the fight against precarity

Reporting the extent of precarity across the university sector in Britain is welcome but precarious work needs to end now, argues Carrie Benjamin
The assault on universities: the 2016 version

Ahead of the education protest called by the NUS and UCU on 19 November, Des Freedman and Feyzi Ismail explain why staff and students should join it
Lecturers' strike: fighting for fairness and the future

Higher education (HE) workers across the country took the first of two consecutive days' strike action in the campaign for fair pay. Graham Kirkwood reports
Challenging the pay and working conditions of hourly-paid and fractional staff

Staff at Queen Mary’s have launched an anticasualisation campaign demanding pay for all hours worked at London Living Wage and contract uniformity. Isabelle Leach reports
Pessimism and rage in the higher education pensions dispute

We have seven weeks in which to raise the temperature and to inject some hope into the battle to defend pensions says Des Freedman
Hands off our pensions!

Des Freedman, Brian Alleyne and Tom Henri on why staff at 69 universities have started a marking boycott to protest against proposed changes to pensions

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UCU

UCU

There is an appetite for a fight, but the union must urgently change tack, argue Counterfire UCU members

Jayne Gillies, UCU rep at Bury College, reports on the upcoming strike action at FE colleges in the North West after UCU members roundly rejected insulting pay offers

With the disputes in higher education at a turning point, Counterfire UCU members discuss the state of the struggle and the tactics needed to win

Employers in higher education have plenty of money but won’t spend it on their workforce. Only mass action will force them to concede, argue Counterfire UCU members

During a nationally-coordinated student strike, Glasgow University students picketed with striking staff in a show of resolute solidarity, reports Sophie Johnson

Alistair Cartwright reports from a vibrant rally of London UCU strikers in the second week of their renewed industrial action

University workers are back on the picket lines for a second round of strike action to fight against pay and pension cuts, casualisation and inequality

Glasgow University students Sophie Johnson and Doncho Atanassov argue that it’s more important than ever for students to show university managements that they are united with striking staff

UCU members at Goldsmiths University of London are back on strike to reject planned redundancies and restructuring, reports John McGrath

Counterfire UCU members analyse the state of the struggle in higher education ahead of a second round of strike action

Counterfire members in UCU argue the next steps for escalation in the UCU dispute and the need for political trade unionism

Hundreds rallied and marched through Manchester on the last day of the UCU strike in a big show of solidarity, reports Chris Neville

Counterfire reports on the third day of UCU strikes from university picket lines around the country

Counterfire reports on the second day of UCU strikes from university picket lines around the country

Counterfire UCU members on the university strikes this week and the battle ahead

Counterfire reports on the first day of UCU strikes from university picket lines around the country

Goldsmiths strikers rallied defiantly as their strike entered its second week

Lindsey German on our benighted prime minister, the politics of migration and university strikes

Striking staff at Goldsmiths, University of London tell Counterfire why they're striking and how you can support them

Goldsmiths UCU members started three weeks of strike action with a huge rally showing an overwhelming amount of support, reports Shabbir Lakha

UCU members at 58 universities are set to strike for three days in December. This is a pivotal moment in what has become an unprecedented conflict in UK higher education

Royal College of Art lecturers increase pressure for fighting back against attacks on terms and conditions of work in Higher and Further Education, reports Peter Bird

Following an overwhelming endorsement for strike action by UCU members in UK universities, there can be no room for prevarication

Counterfire’s weekly digest with the latest on strikes and workplace struggles

Ground report from one of the solidarity rallies in support of the FE colleges who've entered their second week of strike action

Further-education staff are striking for the sake of resources for education, while money is wasted on expensive consultants, reports Peter Bird.

Counterfire's Unjum Mirza spoke to University of Liverpool UCU Vice President Jo McNeill about their recent victory which stopped compulsory redundancies

Counterfire's weekly digest with the latest on strikes and workplace struggles

Further Education teachers in ten colleges walked out this week to demand pay parity, reports Sean Ledwith

Counterfire UCU members argue that we must have one clear demand for strike action - a rejection of the 2020 pension valuation

Feyzi Ismail interviews Dr Deepa Driver, one of the UCU's national negotiators on pensions, about the attacks on university workers’ pensions and how they can be resisted

Counterfire's weekly digest with the latest on strikes and workplace struggles

Fighting back against attacks by employers in higher education requires coordinated action across the sector

Anthony O'Hanlon, one of the strikers at the University of Liverpool, spoke at a recent Counterfire event about the dispute and how you can show solidarity

Ahead of a rally on Monday, UCU’s battle to save jobs at Liverpool University is a critical fight for the whole sector

Goldsmiths UCU members who are victorious after almost four months of industrial action show that when you fight you can win

There is a national push in universities to restructure, cut jobs and weaken unions, but higher education workers are fighting back, reports Vladimir Unkovski-Korica

Branch Solidarity Network's February 2021 bulletin on the fightback at Goldsmiths University and the demands around workloads

Members of UCU at Northumbria University have voted to strike over health and safety amid a growing number of branches escalating disputes and balloting

Staff and students at universities are taking on managements and the government amid sharply rising cases across campuses

With the mounting crisis in universities over rising Covid cases, students and lecturers must agitate together for safe learning, argues Lucy Nichols

The new term has seen universities plunged into Covid-chaos. John Westmoreland spoke to UCU activists about what’s happening and the action we need

Universities are risking student and staff lives by continuing the push to return students to unsafe campuses and maintain some face-to-face teaching

Dragan Plavšić considers the growing opposition to universities re-opening as infection rates rise

As we head into a second wave, students and academic staff must put pressure on the government and university management to keep people safe, argues Lucy Nichols

University staff are pushing back against the callous actions of universities and the government putting staff and students at risk

Branch Solidarity Network's September bulletin on the return to universities and why face-to-face teaching isn't safe

As the attacks on further and higher education workers increase, Counterfire UCU members outline the need for a better strategy on the ground

We repost Branch Solidarity Network's interview with two Goldsmiths staff members involved in the dispute and the BSN June 2020 bulletin

UCU members report on the fightback at universities under attack by management and have put forward a model motion to show solidarity

We should not even be balloting on this, but focusing on the issues arising from the universities’ response to the Covid-19 crisis, argues Vladimir Unkovski-Korica

There is an urgent need for UCU to develop a national strategy over Covid-19, write Counterfire UCU members

After 22 days of industrial action this year, the University and College Union (UCU) will now contend with the coronavirus outbreak as well, argues Vladimir Unkovski-Korica.

We are into the third week of strikes. UCU negotiators are reporting that there has been progress but have counselled us to keep up the pressure. Here is a series of reports of the strikes from different parts of the country

Reports from picket lines around the country on the first day of the UCU strike

Des Freedman reports on students and staff rallying at Goldsmiths against cuts and how it links up with the UCU strike beginning this week

Higher turnout likely than last year but the strike needs solidarity from the whole labour movement, argues Vladimir Unkovski-Korica

The strike is over, but the militancy remains. Graham Kirkwood reports from Newcastle

Teach-outs are building staff-student solidarity and provide a model for a better university, writes Clare Burgess

As lecturers at 60 universities around the country began eight days of strike action, Counterfire activists reported from picket lines on day one of the strike

Lindsey German on class, leadership and this week's strikes

Ahead of the UCU strike, Vladimir Unkovski-Korica argues that mass unity creates strong bonds among strikers

Preparations for the eight-day UCU strike starting 25 November are underway, reports Graham Kirkwood

Lindsey German on the nasty party, Lid Dem mendacity and striking lecturers

Now is the time to fight against the marketisation of universities, argues Des Freedman

Lindsey German on the perils of Labour timidity, global migration and local ballots

Industrial action is the only way to improve conditions in higher education

Jo Grady has been elected General Secretary of UCU in a victory for the left, now the rank and file need to get organised argues Graham Kirkwood

Voting starts this week for a new general secretary for the UCU, following the resignation of Sally Hunt. Counterfire members in the union have agreed this statement:

The annual UCU conference has begun and the leadership, unwilling to accept criticism, has acted anti-democratically and with contempt of its members reports Des Freedman

UCU members recently voted to suspend industrial action; the action may be on pause but the dispute is far from over.

Windrush, May 68, Palestine, UCU strike, Marx and more - Counterfire freesheet edition 025, May 2018

The strike is over: our fight is not