#ucu — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #ucu, aggregated by home.social.
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One small silver lining of the latest round of #DundeeUni jobs cuts: Union membership should see another boost #UCU #union
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Full #UCU #UniversityOfYork #Union AGM today with important motions and good people.
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@telescoper Exactly: "Vice-Chancellor of Nottingham University, Jane Norman, has recently announced publicly that she thinks the University might go bust by 2031 ... The VC can’t possibly imagine that recruitment will remain buoyant in this situation, can she?"
The same goes for the changes to the staff-student ratio, which will see us freefall out of the top 100 universities, with massive consequences for international recruitment. It is madness. #UoN #UCU
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Oh the irony, on the day in which I describe my "Best Day Ever" in Nature, university leaders announce 600+ redundancies*, and today we all receive notices that our jobs are at risk. Through their fault. And with no consideration as to what a 22:1 teaching ratio will do to almost everything, but especially league tables. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-026-01479-8 (*via VR, then CR if numbers not achieved) #UCU #UoN
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University of Nottingham has ambitions to become a specialist teaching college. Full UCU counter proposal here: https://uonucu.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/FN2-UCU-report-for-council.pdf #UoN #WeAreUoN #UCU
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Did anyone else find Jo Grady’s email awfully churlish and whatever-the-opposite-of-magnanimous-is (I’m tired)? #ucu
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the University and College Union at University of Edinburgh have voted in favour of strike action in response to potential 1800 job loses and another round of massive cuts. (background here: https://www.ucu.org.uk/article/14418/New-strike-ballot-at-Edinburgh-University-in-dispute-over-cuts-and-job-losses, no announcement yet)
This is at Edinburgh, where the principal did not know **his own salary** when asked at a Scottish Parliament committee https://www.edinburghlive.co.uk/news/edinburgh-news/edinburgh-university-boss-who-didnt-31811867. (It is almost 500k)
Another sign of broken higher education in the UK. Solidarity with UoE staff ✊
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I keep seeing placements for #phd researchers to go on placements for ~3 months. They sound like exciting things, particularly for researchers new to the jobs market. Although not for me, I keep getting struck by the number that offer no fee.
While if it’s part of a course for taught programmes, or contributing to research, that’s fine. But blanket “come work for us for three months cause we are great” — that seems incredibly financially discriminatory. #AcademicChatter #UniversityOfYork #UCU @ucu @ucupostgrads -
@ucu Apparently "Nottingham has *evolved* into one of the largest university estates in the country ..." and that we need to "rightsize". So leaders blame "evolution" not themselves, eh? No apologies, of course, but at least they have seen sense and are selling Castle Meadow campus, which to date has cost nearly £100m and is not fit for purpose. At a huge loss, of course. #UoN #universities #ucu
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*BREAKING* The University of Nottingham has decided to lead the way in being the first 🥇 Russell group university to NOT do modern languages. Music is also gone! 🗡️ Apparently, neither are necessary for a world "top 100" university, and anyway continuing to teach these without a 40% margin is not compatible with charitable status.
Instead, after "regularizing" the staff force, the university will take a laser focus to a narrow range of STEM subjects *ENDS*
#UoN #Russell @ucu #ucu -
University of Nottingham appears to have given up on the Arts. All off the degree courses listed in the images have been suspended, effective 10th November.
The university says we "will suspend a *small* number of degree courses as part of the Future Nottingham two (FN2)"
If you are in the Faculty of Arts at Nottingham I doubt that this feels like "small", "devastating" more like, and most likely you are facing redundancy at some point in the future. #UCU #UoN
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There might be industrial action at unis in the UK over pay. My employer is outside the national agreement, but I have donated to the #UCUHardshipFund today. Our less financially stable colleagues need our support.
Donate to help them during #strike action. #university #AcademicChatter #ucu @ucu -
Should have done this earlier and saved myself some membership dues, but having told #UCU that I am currently unemployed, my membership is free for up to a year 👍
Now, where are all the remote/Scotland #Bioinformatics & #ResearchSoftwareEngineer jobs hiding? Or should I try the commercial world as a #Python programmer... #GetFediHired
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This does not reflect well on University of Nottingham, especially given the financial situation we are in, current voluntary redundancies and possible compulsory redundancies: https://www.nottinghampost.com/news/nottingham-news/university-nottingham-spent-over-80m-10506355 #UoN #Nottingham. #HigherEducation #universities #UCU
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Just part of discussion you'll hear on the #UCU picket line. 💪
Our university has ended up being more exposed than others to the funding issues in UK higher education. It's very unclear where their £140M savings target has come from. This is a major issue for trust and transparency, given the potential (un)employment consequences of seeking ~10% savings in 18 months.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c784923y6vpo
4/4. 🧵 ends.
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"Nobody admits how much things actually cost, nobody admits who’s paying for what, research is kept alive on the toil and goodwill of underpaid academics, foreign students who represent a huge export market and an incredible success story for the sector are treated as if they are somehow on the fiddle, and that’s before you even start to consider the matter we generally look at first: what this means for graduate debt."
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/aug/07/tuition-fees-rising-broken-university-england-wales #theguardian #UCU #UoN #Universities #StudentFees -
I've written a short post on the specific way academics experience alienation at work. I also argue we must champion the inherent worth of what we do as well as its profitability.
https://blog.matthewbarnard.phd/a-world-without-experts-alienation-in-academia/ -
Once again I am utterly dumbfounded by the lack of engagement with my union.
An online ballot with two very simple questions managed to get a 32% turnout 😳
Why are people members?
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Good joint #UCU #Unison and #Unite #Union meeting today at #UniversityOfYork
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My union, the #UCU, is a dead duck. It doesn’t care, and the majority of its members don’t care, about being a union any more
The leadership of the union is mistreating its own staff (who are members of UNITE), and an open letter from UCU members in support of them got a whole 626 signatures out of 120,000 members
Not for the first time, I’m embarrassed to be associated with them. Local reps have looked after me when I needed help,but at a national level it’s a disgrace
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSciSyq74CqVrwsU8QRT1kyxJLOvdHTnfOzxFonGOxBnKB3ewg/viewform -
Welcome to universities UK where:
*** No pay rise since ~2012 has kept pace with inflation
*** Staff routinely have workloads that are >> 100% of time
*** Universities do nothing to halt the demonization of foreign students
*** Senior leaders are not held accountable for major financial, software, or infrastructure decisions
*** Staff jobs are under threat - yet we are still supposed to produce more with less -
Abortion is healthcare.
Abortion is a human right.
Abortion is a trade union issue.https://vickyblakeucu.uk/2025/06/17/abortion-is-a-trade-union-issue
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On my way in to Newcastle for the national #UCU picket. Any other mathstonauts going?
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Employment #Tribunal rejects claims #University and #College #Union #ucu discriminated against members on grounds of their gender critical beliefs #trans #court #employment #GC https://www.ucu.org.uk/article/14047/Employment-Tribunal-rejects-claims-University-and-College-Union-discriminated-against-members-on-grounds-of-their-gender-critical-beliefs
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It is my pleasure to announce that Anastasiia Beheni successfully defended her Bachelor's thesis on memory management at the #UCU. It was a great pleasure and honor to be her thesis advisor.
1/3
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If you’re a #UCU member and support the UCU *staff* in their dispute with their employer, please read and sign this to show your support.
It’s a spectacular bad look for *our* union to be treating *its* staff (who are #UNITE members) in such a way 🤨
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSciSyq74CqVrwsU8QRT1kyxJLOvdHTnfOzxFonGOxBnKB3ewg/viewform
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Fellow @ucu members, please sign this open letter to the trustees and NEC asking them to get involved to try to resolve the dispute that's been going on between the union and our wonderful staff, who deserve so much better than their current treatment: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSciSyq74CqVrwsU8QRT1kyxJLOvdHTnfOzxFonGOxBnKB3ewg/viewform
