Higher Education

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
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
'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
Academic freedom is under attack

Trade unionists should defend workers against management attack, and defend academic freedom in universities, argues Mike Wayne
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
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
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
Why students are joining the People's Assembly demonstration

Students will be marching this Saturday as part of a united opposition against this inept and untrustworthy Tory government, writes Chris Adair
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
Trapped in for profit: Sheffield students rent strike

Students in Sheffield are taking direct action against appalling living conditions, reports Mike McCarthy
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
Striking for Goldsmiths: can assessment boycotts deliver the goods for HE workers?

The government and universities are using Covid as cover to attack workers and students, but the sector is fighting back, writes Milly Williamson involved in the dispute at Goldsmiths University
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
Students in revolt: The 2010 protests and beyond - video

Ten years on from the student protests that rocked the nation, Clare Solomon and Elly Badcock discuss the 2010 student movement and the impact it had
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
Put students ahead of profit: the lesson of the Covid-19 outbreak at Scottish universities

Blaming students is a cynical move to distract from the deeper causes of the recent outbreaks, argues Vladimir Unkovski-Korica
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
Threat of strike brings victory at SOAS

Unison members at SOAS have won their fight against compulsory redundancies after planning to strike, reports Feyzi Ismail
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: 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
Confronting the crisis in universities

There is an urgent need for UCU to develop a national strategy over Covid-19, write Counterfire UCU members
Laura Smith: why we should listen to our teaching unions

Teaching unions are right to set tests for the government to meet to protect their members, children, and families, says Laura Smith
Model Letter to your local authority: don't open schools until it is safe

This model letter can be adapted and used to lobby the local authority in your area to put pressure on them not to open the schools until they are safe
A Manifesto of resistance: to protect higher education during COVID times

Universities are at the forefront of the fight against COVID-19, this manifesto protects them post lockdown
Coronavirus, competition and the universities

The coronavirus has exposed serious flaws in the university system, writes Dragan Plavšić
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
Students and staff at SOAS stand up to management attacks

The fightback at SOAS has begun with a student and staff walkout and protest against management's attack on fractionals, reports Shabbir Lakha
SOAS: a call to action to defend education as a public good

After SOAS management's drastic move, never has solidarity been so necessary and unity so possible to defend education, writes Des Freedman
SOAS goes on the attack with major cuts to casual academic staff

Claiming financial distress, SOAS has effectively sacked its precarious academics for the coming year in one fell swoop, reports Elaine Graham-Leigh
UCU: back to work but the struggle continues

The strike is over, but the militancy remains. Graham Kirkwood reports from Newcastle
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
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
University staff set to strike on pay and pensions

Now is the time to fight against the marketisation of universities, argues Des Freedman
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:
From toy drones to real ones: the arms trade and education

By allowing the arms trade into schools, colleges and universities, we are teaching children that innovation for the sake of destruction is acceptable and desirable, argues Lucy Nichols
Universities in 2019: facing the perfect storm

As the Tories' mismanagement of higher education continues, Des Freedman looks at the battles ahead
Student protests in France and Albania: could Britain be next?

Dragan Plavšić looks at spreading student protest and where it could go next
French high school students rise against Macron in 'Black Tuesday' protests

Opposing Macron's neoliberal education reforms and police repression, tens of thousands of students are out on strike, vowing to join up the struggles, reports Jack Sherwood
Speaking of Universities - book review

Stefan Collini offers a robust critique of the neoliberal academy, but we need an oppositional university as an alternative, argues Oliver Eagleton
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
The UCU dispute: a lesson in the power of collective action

Solidarity among UCU strikers was not born on social media, but on the mass activity of the picket line, argues Milly Williamson
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...
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
Time's up Theresa

With the country in chaos, we need change now - keep up the pressure!
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
From a community of scholars to purveyor of degrees: the changing face of the university

Universities are spending money on buildings and not learning and teaching, finds Susan Newman
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
Time for Action - UCU Strike

John McDonnell has released a video saying UCU strikers have "absolute solidarity" from Labour. Jack Sherwood lays out the next steps
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 two: ‘The things we have, we fought for on cold days like these’

Another day on the picket line as, across the country, striking lecturers put the pressure on
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
Can Vince Cable save the Lib Dems?

What does the future hold for the party?
The Econocracy: The Perils of Leaving Economics to the Experts

The Econocracy calls for reform and democratisation of the field of Economics so that it may suit the present needs of our society, finds Orlando Hill
If you fight you can win: victory for fractional staff at SOAS
$fractionals protest$
The success of the SOAS campaign will hopefully inspire other precarious workers across the sector
The great academy rip off

The free market in education is a disaster, and children are paying the price, writes Judy Cox
E.P. Thompson on how to save the university

Over four decades ago, the Marxist historian called for resistance against the commercialisation of higher education
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
Student demo: a cause for optimism

The noisy demonstration in defence of higher education that took place in London could pave the way for the re-emergence of the student movement
The Capitalist University
Durham Teaching Assistants: enough is enough

Teaching Assistants in Durham won't accept a pay cut imposed by the council, writes Lizzy Anderson
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
Chilean student movement: back in the streets for free education

As the Tories announce plans to remove the cap on tuition fees, Hector Rios looks at how Chilean education was marketised, and how students are resisting
Five years on from Millbank, who are the real vandals?

Des Freedman argues that the government’s new green paper signals an even more deregulated, profit-driven HE sector
Sandy Nicoll reinstated at SOAS: the strength of solidarity

Standing together in solidarity at SOAS has overturned management’s suspension of Sandy Nicoll
Students and staff shut down SOAS

The shutdown at SOAS today over the suspension of Sandy Nicoll is a sign of the battles ahead. But it could also be the beginning of a movement against cuts in higher education more generally

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Higher Education

Higher Education

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

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 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

Trade unionists should defend workers against management attack, and defend academic freedom in universities, argues Mike Wayne

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

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

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

Students will be marching this Saturday as part of a united opposition against this inept and untrustworthy Tory government, writes Chris Adair

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

Students in Sheffield are taking direct action against appalling living conditions, reports Mike McCarthy

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

The government and universities are using Covid as cover to attack workers and students, but the sector is fighting back, writes Milly Williamson involved in the dispute at Goldsmiths University

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

Ten years on from the student protests that rocked the nation, Clare Solomon and Elly Badcock discuss the 2010 student movement and the impact it had

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

Blaming students is a cynical move to distract from the deeper causes of the recent outbreaks, argues Vladimir Unkovski-Korica

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

Unison members at SOAS have won their fight against compulsory redundancies after planning to strike, reports Feyzi Ismail

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

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

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

Teaching unions are right to set tests for the government to meet to protect their members, children, and families, says Laura Smith

This model letter can be adapted and used to lobby the local authority in your area to put pressure on them not to open the schools until they are safe

Universities are at the forefront of the fight against COVID-19, this manifesto protects them post lockdown

The coronavirus has exposed serious flaws in the university system, writes Dragan Plavšić

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

The fightback at SOAS has begun with a student and staff walkout and protest against management's attack on fractionals, reports Shabbir Lakha

After SOAS management's drastic move, never has solidarity been so necessary and unity so possible to defend education, writes Des Freedman

Claiming financial distress, SOAS has effectively sacked its precarious academics for the coming year in one fell swoop, reports Elaine Graham-Leigh

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

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

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

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

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:

By allowing the arms trade into schools, colleges and universities, we are teaching children that innovation for the sake of destruction is acceptable and desirable, argues Lucy Nichols

As the Tories' mismanagement of higher education continues, Des Freedman looks at the battles ahead

Dragan Plavšić looks at spreading student protest and where it could go next

Opposing Macron's neoliberal education reforms and police repression, tens of thousands of students are out on strike, vowing to join up the struggles, reports Jack Sherwood

Stefan Collini offers a robust critique of the neoliberal academy, but we need an oppositional university as an alternative, argues Oliver Eagleton

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

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

Lecturers and supporters met at a national activists meeting today to discuss the campaign to reject UUK's proposed deal

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

These motions, passed at various branches, offer a guide as to how we should approach the dispute at this critical moment

As UUK returns with a further offer, Des Freedman takes a look at the immediate options facing university staff involved in the dispute

Solidarity among UCU strikers was not born on social media, but on the mass activity of the picket line, argues Milly Williamson

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

Brexit, Corbyn and the Labour right, gender pay gap, commodification of universities and more...

Feyzi Ismail reports from outside UCU headquarters as the union’s Higher Education Committee votes to reject the employers’ derisory offer

With the country in chaos, we need change now - keep up the pressure!

Des Freedman and Vladimir Unkovski-Korica explain why the deal between UCU and UUK is bad one and should be rejected