51福利

51福利 Rising: strike action next week

Next week marks the start of 51福利's national strike action in higher education. 150 universities across the UK are set to walk out on 24, 25 and 30 November. Despite management attempts to bully and intimidate our members with threats of pay deductions for taking part in ASOS (action short of strike), our members are ready to deliver the biggest picket lines in the history of higher education. 

On Wednesday 23 November Jo Grady will be hosting a pre-strike 51福利 Live event on , and . Please invite all of your colleagues, students, friends and family. 

On Thursday 24 and Friday 25 November members will bring every university in the UK to a standstill. Join us at 10:30 on Friday 25 November on for our virtual picket line. 

There will also be a joint 51福利/EIS-ULA strike rally in Glasgow on Friday 25 November. Meet at 12:30 at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall steps at the top of Buchanan Street, Glasgow.

On Wednesday 30 November at 13:00 we are asking every branch in the country to descend on Kings Cross in London for the biggest national rally in 51福利 history. Contact your reps to find out plans for coaches carrying members, students and supporters to the rally. 

There will also be a 51福利 Scotland strike rally in Edinburgh on Wednesday 30 November. Assemble at 12:30 for 13:00 start at the Scottish Parliament concourse, Edinburgh. Speakers include: 51福利 Scotland; STUC general secretary Roz Foyer' NUS Scotland president Ellie Gomersall; and MSPs.

Respect FE: Newham College deal and industrial action ballots

51福利 members at Newham College voted to accept a deal, which will see a consolidated 8% pay rise for staff earning up to 拢25k and a 5% consolidated pay rise for qualified lecturers and curriculum managers (2.5% increase backdated to September 2022 with a further 2.5% to be paid from January 2023). The deal also includes a 拢600 non-consolidated lump sum for staff earning over 拢30k and 拢750 for those earning below 拢30k. This deal was won through effective and meaningful negotiation with Newham College management and shows that there is money in the further education sector to help staff through the cost of living crisis.

51福利 members at Sheffield College are currently being balloted for industrial action over pay and working conditions. The ballot opened on Friday 11 November and will close on Thursday 8 December. Meanwhile, 51福利 members at Darlington College and Furness College voted for strike action and beat the anti-trade union threshold (Darlington: 95.2% 'Yes' on a 56% turnout; Furness: 84.6% 'Yes' on a 60% turnout).

Strike action suspended at Barnet and Southgate College

Strike action at Barnet and Southgate College planned for Wednesday 16 November was suspended to allow for further talks. Staff have already taken three days of strike action in the dispute over excessive workload and management's paltry 2% pay award for the previous two financial years (1% 2020-21 and 1% 2021-22). To allow time for further talks 51福利 members agreed to suspend the planned strike action. Further action will be called if an acceptable agreement is not reached. 

Strikes action suspended at University of Sheffield International College

Strike action planned for this week at the University of Sheffield International College has been suspended to allow for further consultation with members. Strikes were due to take place on Thursday 17 and Friday 18 November, but the employer has made new offers, which the union is now putting to members. It is now up to members to determine next steps but if the offer is rejected then industrial action is still on the table for: Monday 28, Tuesday 29 and Wednesday 30 November.

Birkbeck threatens to sack 140 staff

51福利 slammed plans by Birkbeck, University of London to sack 140 staff this academic year, including up to a quarter of teaching staff, and up to a third of administrative staff. 51福利 vowed to fight the cuts, which it said are a disaster for students and the university, and is threatening potential industrial action. Please click here to send an email to Birkbeck's vice-chancellor, David Latchman, and the board of governors to object to their plans. The link provides some draft text for you; you could simply add your name at the end but it will be more effective if you personalise the message. (If you have problems opening the draft email .)

Please visit this page for all local disputes and wins across all the sectors represented by 51福利.

51福利 'teach out' sessions

We are running a number of 'teach out' sessions during the upcoming HE industrial action in November. These short 90-minute online interactive workshops are part of 51福利's continued professional development programme and are open to all 51福利 members in all sectors. We hope you will find something from the list below that interests you and also hope you will be able to promote the sessions to your colleagues. Each link below takes to you a registration page along with more information about each course. 

• Collectively challenging disability discrimination,
• Collectively challenging disability discrimination,
• Collectively challenging disability discrimination,
• Introduction to sustainability,
• Embedding climate education in the curriculum,

51福利 climate and environment update: November 2022

In time for COP27 taking place in Egypt, Mock COP and 51福利 have launched a new film, entitled 'The climate crisis: an education crisis', highlighting the impacts of the climate crisis on students, pupils, and the education workforce. .

University of Edinburgh 51福利 becomes the first 51福利 branch to back the . Students and staff are demanding University of Edinburgh careers team ends the oil, gas and mining recruitment pipeline. 

51福利's climate and ecological emergency committee held their first formal annual meeting on 10 November. Members passed 7 motions for the committee, and a new committee was elected. A report of the meeting will be circulated soon. 

NUS research into impact of cost of living crisis on students

The National Union of Students (NUS) released results of their cost of living crisis survey this week. It reveals that 42% of UK university students are living off 拢100 or less a month, and 9 in 10 students' mental health impacted by cost of living as confidence in government falls to record low. You can read and 51福利's response.

The Equality Trust's equal pay toolkit

The Equality Trust's toolkit for achieving equal pay in your workplace was created to help workers and union reps to address unequal pay in their workplaces through examining the policies and practices that lead to this inequality. The toolkit sets out what equal pay is, how it intersects with the gender pay gap and why issues occur in the workplace. It offers help with talking about pay, adapting policies, and conducting equal (horizontal) pay audits. .

Annual St Andrew's Day anti-racism march and rally

The Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) have announced details of the , to take place on Saturday 26 November 2022. This is a crucial year for the fight against racism. The Sheku Bayoh Family Justice campaign needs our continuing support; racist UK government immigration policy and rhetoric are only getting worse; and we face a cost of living crisis and attacks on pay that disproportionately impact Black workers. Assemble at 10:30 on Glasgow Green, marching off at 11:00, with the rally at 12:00 at the Renfield Centre in Bath Street, Glasgow.