By Rebecca Anderson DELEGATES TO UCU’s 2018 congress witnessed an unprecedented attack on their democratic rights by the union leadership. Officials repeatedly suspended conference when delegates refused to withdraw motions critical of the union leadership’s behaviour during the recent 14-day pensions strike.  The strike ended with members voting to accept a deal, which puts off […]

Up and down the country university workers are holding meetings and rallies to reject the proposed deal proposed between the UCU and university employers. Dozens of branches have already voted to reject the deal before a meeting of the union’s Higher Education Committee this afternoon. The proposed deal agreed between the UCU and UUK is […]

MEMBERS OF the University College Union (UCU) have smashed through the government’s strike ballot threshold to declare their support for industrial action over devastating cuts to their pension scheme. Eighty-eight per cent voted to strike after the government announced cuts that would cost the average lecturer £200,000 in retirement. Strikes After the result, announced on […]

By Jeremy Dewar TORY CHANCELLOR Philip Hammond is a modern man. He believes that driving a train is so easy that “even a woman could do it”. He also believes that 5 million public sector workers are “overpaid”. And he certainly believes that the 1 per cent public sector pay cap should be retained. He’s […]

  By KD Tait The ritual central London march for free education, a staple of the student activist’s Autumn calendar for 15 years, has been called for 19 November by a coalition of student campaigns under the slogan ‘no to debt, no to fees – yes to free education’. The defeat of the 2010 student […]

By Jeremy Dewar Like many further education establishments, Lambeth College is facing devastating cuts. Unlike most, however, its workforce has come out fighting – in an all-out indefinite strike. Teachers in the Universities and Colleges Union (UCU) have been on strike since 3 June, demanding the withdrawal of new contracts which will, with no extra […]

THE 28 MARCH strike by London schools and colleges showed just how impressive a nation-wide strike could have been. Around 1,500 schools were shut down or severely disrupted, while almost all colleges and most ‘new’ universities faced chaos or closure. Ten thousand marched in central London, bringing traffic to a halt and cheers from passers-by. […]

University lecturers are preparing to strike against a massive attack on their pensions. Across the public sector, the Con-Dem government are tearing up existing pension agreements (see article on Hutton Report). But so far it’s only the lecturers who have balloted for action. Over 60% voted to strike, with just over 50% also voting to […]

“There’s got to be a deal here between the taxpayer and the scheme member and that deal is going to unravel if the people in the public sector say they will not contemplate change,” he said. His report has two main recommendations. First, he wants to raise the retirement age to 66 by 2020. Hutton […]

Unions are gearing up to defend public sector pensions in what could be a key battle with the Con-Dems in 2011. The government has condemned the “gold plated” final salary pensions of public sector workers. Several unions are already planning to strike in defence of pensions. Mark Serwotka leader of the Civil servants union PCS […]