Workers at Northumbria University are set for strikes (Picture: X/UCU)
Members of the EIS-ULA union at Edinburgh Napier University in Scotland are set to strike for ten days from next Tuesday. They are demanding bosses rule out compulsory redundancies.
Members voted by 92.5 percent for strikes. Nick Cimini, EIS ULA branch secretary at the university said, “These job cuts are totally unnecessary and unfair.
“Edinburgh Napier University remains financially sound, with healthy reserves and no debt. The crisis in Scottish higher education funding is caused by insufficient government funding, but Edinburgh Napier University can manage this challenge without compulsory redundancies.
“It has the time and resources to ensure that the University’s students and staff are not forced to suffer.”
The planned strike days are Tuesday and Thursday next week. They are also out on 16, 20, 24, 25 and 26 February and 2, 3 and 5 March.
At Northumbria University in Newcastle, UCU members are set to walk out for ten days from next Thursday.
The workers are striking to defend their security when they retire. Bosses want to save £11 million by shifting them off the TPS pension scheme and onto a worse pension scheme that would leave them much worse off.
They are set to strike on Thursday and Friday next week. They are also out on 17, 18, and 19 February, and 2-6 March.
At the Southend and Colchester campuses of the University of Essex, UCU members are striking from 12-19 February. At Southend management has announced 400 redundancies.
Members of the UCU union at the Southend and Colchester campuses of the University of Essex are striking from 12 to 19 February in protest at the university announcing 400 redundancies at Southend.
In Essex, Unison union members are currently in discussions with bosses at the Acas conciliation service. They are also campaigning to get out the vote for a ballot for industrial action if Acas talks fail.
UCU, Unison and Unite have called a rally at the Southend campus at 12 noon this Thursday and at the Colchester campus at noon on 12 February. Speakers on Thursday include UCU general secretary Jo Grady and Andrea Egan, the newly elected general secretary of Unison.
Meanwhile, workers at London Metropolitan University in north London are outraged that bosses want to cut 120 jobs.
The cuts are expected to affect a wide range of departments. UCU members say they are unnecessary. London Met has cash and investments of over £60 million.
Workers and students rallied last Tuesday and Wednesday in opposition to the damage bosses want to inflict on this working class institution. They are set to hold another protest next Monday.
Meanwhile, at Swansea University, the university has announced plans to make £55 million worth of cuts, with £25 million cuts to jobs.
The UCU branch is considering whether to ballot for strikes.
With thanks to Raph Pigott, Essex
Members of the Unite union who work for the UCU union are set to strike for ten days in opposition to the victimisation of one of its members.
Marie Monaghan, who has worked for the union for 17 years, is now facing a disciplinary investigation after raising concerns about health and safety in the workplace.
Marie asked the Health and Safety Executive regulator to intervene and investigate the management of workplace stress at the union. It found in 2023 that UCU had contravened health and safety law. Despite this sanction, the number of stress related absences from work rose to over 900 in 2024, affecting about 10 percent of the workforce.
This is the latest stage in a two year dispute that has seen the Unite members take six weeks of action over the past year. The Unite strikes have been widely supported by members of UCU even though it disrupts their own activities.
A spokesperson for the Unite UCU branch said, “The victimisation of our health and safety rep and the threat to their job and livelihood must end immediately.
“This dispute will continue to escalate until UCU’s leadership stops union busting and agrees to sit down with Unite—something they are currently refusing to do—to rectify the legitimate and pressing issues facing its staff.”
Unite members in the North West regional team will strike from 9-20 February. Those in the rest of the country will join the action from 12-20 February.
Supporters of Usama Ghanem have been pledging money to support his campaign against deportation.
Originally from Egypt, Usama was suspended from his studies at King’s College London for his role in Palestine solidarity protests. His visa was withdrawn, and he may be forced to return to Egypt, where he has already faced imprisonment and torture.
Campaign group University and College Workers for Palestine is gathering funds for a potential legal case to defend him. Usama joined the national Palestine demonstration in London last Saturday where he thanked people for support.
The campaign is about more than one student. UCU members at KCL are fighting their employer, which has failed to protect the safety and academic freedom of pro-Palestine workers.
TAs have been striking over pay for nearly a year
Workers want to shut the South Kensington site if they don’t get a deal
Unite union rep speaks on deal
The whole trade union movement must rally behind the strikers
