Sally Hunt writes to all HE members calling for national agreement to protect jobs

UCU general secretary Sally Hunt this week wrote to all members in HE asking them to support the union in balloting for industrial action , should it become necessary. UCU and the other staff unions met UCEA on 30 March to be told that there would be no pay offer and that up to 100 institutions were considering substantial job cuts. With major campaigns to save jobs at London Metropolitan, Liverpool and other universities, the scale of this issue is rapidly becoming clear. In her letter, Sally explains that UCU has written to UCEA calling for a national agreement to protect jobs and that she is mandated by the union’s Higher Education Committee to ballot for industrial action in support of such an agreement. You can read Sally’s letter and all the latest news on this here: http://www.ucu.org.uk/hepaylatest#16apr09

UCU hails extra funding for Welsh FE as victory for lobbying

UCU this week hailed a settlement that will see an extra £9 million for post-16 education as a victory for effective political lobbying. While it is unclear exactly what the settlement will mean for individual colleges, it is clear that the case for the current consultations on job cuts no longer stands and the union will be arguing this case forcefully. Congratulations to all branch officers and members who have helped work to secure this extra funding. For more on this story, click here:  http://www.ucu.org.uk/index.cfm?articleid=3813

INTO affected by the credit crunch

Readers of last week’s Times Higher Education magazine may have seen the story that INTO University Partnerships’ ability to raise finance on the capital markets has been affected by the credit crunch. The story referred to delays that have set back construction of the new INTO student accommodation block at Exeter University by well over a year. UCU general secretary Sally Hunt has written to all Vice Chancellors whose universities have or are looking to build a relationship with the company expressing the union’s concerns and asking them to review their links with INTO. For more on this story, click here: http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=26&storycode=406055

IOU campaign – Four more FE colleges balloted for action as next wave are targeted

Four more colleges face ballots for industrial action on 28 April unless their managements agree to talks to implement the 2004 pay agreement. Canterbury College, City College Birmingham, Leeds College of Arts and Design, Suffolk New College will become the next wave of target colleges as the highly successful IOU campaign moves into its next phase. The IOU campaign aims to win implementation of the 2004 pay agreement on pay which introduced significantly improved pay scales for FE lecturers. 17 colleges were targeted as part of the first wave and 12 of these have either agreed on implementation or are now in talks to do so. This is a national campaign with national significance as it is about our ability to win adherence to national agreements and one feature of the campaign so far has been the level of national solidarity shown to colleagues at the target colleges. Watch this space for more on what you can do. For more on this campaign, click here: http://www.ucu.org.uk/iou

‘Challenging the Global Market in Education’: Saturday 9 May, Institute of Education:

A reminder to register as soon as possible for UCU’s major international conference on challenging the global market in education. This is an opportunity to hear from leading experts in the globalization of public services as well as from leaders and activists in global education unions. It will also be an opportunity to network with activists from across the world, to share experience and to begin to develop closer links in fighting the worldwide marketisation and privatisation of education. To register and download new publicity materials click here: http://www.ucu.org.uk/globalmarket

Points Based Points Based System: The implications for liberty: A UCU Seminar chaired by Sally Hunt, general secretary, Tuesday 28 April 2009

The new points based immigration system risks drawing members of staff in colleges and universities into the role of policing immigration. UCU members are expected  'to monitor compliance with immigration rules'. The ever quickening march towards surveillance of international staff and students away from the spirit of openness and trust implied by the values of international academic exchange risks undermining the bedrock upon which our education system is founded. The seminar will be held at UCU’s new headquarters at Carlow Street in London from 12 noon to 4.30pm. To register, click here:  http://www.ucu.org.uk/pbs_seminar09

UCU Adult Learning Conference - Adult learning; the UCU vision: 30th April 2009 Venue: Birkbeck College Malet St London WC1:

A reminder to book your place for UCU’s Adult learning conference on April 30th. With an ageing population and facing a severe economic recession adult learning has never been more vital. Yet government policies seem only to recognise economic rationale for adult learning, and its policies seem to limit adult learning rather than expanding it. UCU members across all the sectors of post compulsory education are at the heart of adult learning, This one day conference will discuss a UCU vision for adult learning, and hear presentations from leading theorists and practitioners on the current and future state of adult learning. For further details and an application form, contact. Dtaubman@ucu.org.uk or through the UCU web where there is an on-line application form. Click here to register: http://www.ucu.org.uk/index.cfm?articleid=3745. Price: £30 UCU members trade unions, learners/students voluntary organisation. All others £50.

Congress – are your delegates registered? Deadline 27 April 2009!

The deadline for Congress registration is 27 April 2009.  All branches are urged to ensure that any delegates not yet registered are registered as soon as possible. UCU’s 2009 Congress meeting – the union’s annual policy-making delegate conference - takes place in Bournemouth from 27-29 May 2009. Delegates appointed by branches and regional committees can register directly using the on-line registration system. Full details can be found in circular UCU/151 and at http://www.ucu.org.uk/congress (in the ‘delegate registration’ section), UCU’s Congress webpage where information is regularly updated. Motions submitted to Congress were published on 31 March as branch circular UCU/165 and amendments can be submitted until the deadline of 12 noon on Wednesday 6 May.

NEC casual vacancies: FE North East

Two UCU National Executive Committee casual vacancies currently exist for geographically-elected NEC members in the Further Education Sector in the North East. The deadline for nominations is 5:00pm on Monday 27 April 2009. Full details, including nomination forms, can be found at http://www.ucu.org.uk/index.cfm?articleid=3789 , or requested from Catherine Wilkinson at UCU’s head office cwilkinson@ucu.org.uk