Elect Duncan Moore UCU National Executive

22/01/2025

https://www.socialistparty.org.uk/articles/134895/22-01-2025/ucu-nec-vote-for-a-fighting-socialist-candidate-for-fe/

This year’s elections to the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the University and College Union (UCU) run from 27 January to 3 March.

16/01/2025

11/10/2024

I fully support the walk outs of school and college students in protest at the ongoing slaughter in Gaza. Where they lead, the trade unions must follow. But it’s clear we need a political party to give voice to the anti-war, socialist opposition. https://socialiststudents.org.uk/2024/10/04/how-students-can-build-a-movement-to-stop-the-slaughter-in-gaza/?fbclid=IwY2xjawF1tIxleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHStxLpdmQGZ4LXVQC8lGLuEHGzJezS1nLxqKuQLhzdBYqhtJvui91NfTKA_aem_LfPuqtEuR0fSbhil0sQ3ew

We have witnessed a year of brutal slaughter of Palestinians in Gaza, and increasingly in the West Bank too. It has exposed to the world how capitalist politicians do not value human life, despite …

12/04/2024

https://www.socialistparty.org.uk/articles/123494/12-04-2024/ucu-special-fe-conference-members-can-win-a-national-ballot/

Socialist Party members support national campaign for pay bargaining and have confidence members can win if given a serious, fighting lead

18/01/2024

“The incoming leadership must prepare a fighting strategy that is seriously prepared for and built – a campaign for above-inflation pay rises, an end to marketisation, and for full funding. We must defend the right to strike, oppose the use of the minimum service legislation, and defend against victimisation.”

Members of the UCU are voting for a new leadership, with the general secretary election, vice-president and NEC starting soon

18/01/2024

12/01/2024

Happy Friday!

Unfortunately I know that many of my colleagues will be spending a good chunk of their weekend catching up on admin.

On average FE lectures work the equivalent of two days a week unpaid, resulting in widespread burnout and stress which eventually drives good teachers out of the profession.

We can’t go on like this. Individually we can campaign to get our colleges to take the health and well-being of staff seriously as their legal responsibility. But beyond that we need a national agreement on workload.

I also support a 4 day week for all workers without loss of pay, which has already been successfully trialled by some companies and local authority employers and is proven to improve productivity.

10/01/2024

In the last year UCU members have faced the worst cost-of-living crisis in living memory, coming on top of ten years of below- inflation pay rises. Further education workers’ pay dropped by 35% in real terms between 2009 and 2023.

Our members responded magnificently, smashing the strike ballot thresholds and taking action in greater numbers than ever. Most came out onto the picket lines for the first
time, determined to fight for
a better deal than the college employers offered, often winning significantly more.

But FE pay continues to fall in real terms and is now £9,000 a year less on average than
in schools. Many staff are on insecure, casual contracts. They have unmanageable workloads, causing burnout and stress. There are severe staff shortages. Now FE faces fresh cuts from the Tories, with a general election looming and Starmer’s Labour offering “tough choices”.

We need to prepare our members to fight back, and we need a national executive who will lead a sustained, serious campaign for above-inflation pay rises, full funding and an end to marketisation.

Vote Duncan Moore #1. Please use your 2nd and 3rd votes for the sitting left NEC members Naira Kent and Dharminder Singh Chuhan.

10/01/2024

Tolpuddle 2022

10/01/2024

https://www.socialistparty.org.uk/articles/117908/15-11-2023/further-education-ucu-members-fight-on-pay-and-workload/

University and College Union (UCU) members struck on 13-15 November at eleven further education (FE) colleges across England.