Tomorrow our branch will be out with many others to say that the racists of Britain First are not welcome here or anywhere!

The University of Essex plans to close their Southend campus and cut up to 400 jobs — around one in five staff! But the staff and students are fighting back. Sign their petition to stop the cuts, save Southend, and protect education www.megaphone.org.uk/petitions/sa...

Last week our Branch Chair spoke to reporters from @thenorthernrose.com about our latest strike action against the derisory 2025/26 HE pay offer. Students from University of Manchester and MMU also give their views on trade unions and the state of HE. www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIqn...

Have a look at the reasons and effects of the Unison strike at MMU. #Solidarity 🏳️🔍✊🏾 @unisonmmu.bsky.social @unison.org.uk @unisonmedia.bsky.social @uniteucu.bsky.social @manmetucu.bsky.social www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIqn...

Strike day two is in the books. Great to have support from students once again as well as a delegation from Greater Manchester Tenants Union. @unison.org.uk @unisoninhe.bsky.social

Sending support and solidarity to fellow UNISON members striking today at Manchester Met @unisonmmu.bsky.social and Bristol Universities in protest against another insulting pay offer of 1.4% (less than half of current inflation rate). HE financial crisis is not the workers’ fault!

Strike day one is live and kicking! We’re calling for better pay in HE after an insulting pay offer of just 1.4% was imposed on hard working staff. @unison.org.uk @unisoninhe.bsky.social

I mean, you'd think that the last people bosses would want to mess with at work are ex-miners! Support the staff at the National Coal Mining Museum and sign their petition.

Universities face an existential crisis. We need a funding model that recognises HE's vital social, cultural, and economic value. Join @unison.org.uk and @ucu.org.uk members tomorrow, with Andrea Egan and Jo Grady, to rally against the cuts. #fundourfuture eastern.unison.org.uk/events/stop-...

Great words from @andreaegangs.bsky.social at the @unisoninhe.bsky.social conference last week. “While senior executive pay gets more obscene by the day, our lowest-paid staff struggle to get to the end of the month, and this is not acceptable.” www.unison.org.uk/news/article...

Our members at Manchester Metropolitan University will be taking strike action for three days next week. This is part of a national campaign in Higher Education against our latest sub-inflationary pay offer of just 1.4%. This will be the latest real terms pay cut in 18 years of real terms pay cuts!

EPSU and @psiglobalunion.bsky.social mourn Alex Pretti, an ICU nurse and AFGE union member killed in Minneapolis. We stand with unions, workers and communities demanding a full, transparent investigation - and an end to ICE violence. Read the solidarity letter 👉 www.epsu.org/article/publ...

27 January marks Holocaust Memorial Day. Today we remember the victims of the Nazi Holocaust in Europe and all others affected by genocide. We recommit as a trade union to bring our collective efforts to create that better future.

Big Underpants Gnomes from South Park energy from @northumbriauni.bsky.social

A great article that lays bare the madness of the student loans system. It's bad for students, bad for universities as a funding model and bad for society as it sees billions in public money given over to private hands. www.theguardian.com/money/2026/j...

We have a new Photo of the Week on our main page. On 12 January 15,000 nurses, members of the New York State Nurses Association, were forced out on strike. The walkout is the largest in the history of New York. The key issues relate to the safety of both nurses and their patients. (Photo: NYSNA)

The new year really gets going us this week with our first round of general meetings for members discussing negotiations with management, strike action and the ERB. We've got two in person on Thursday and one online next Monday. If you're a member you will have received details via email.

Our Assistant Branch Sec and our General Secretary elect @andreaegangs.bsky.social in Preston today to show support for care workers and residents as Lancashire County Council are threatening to close 5 care homes and 5 day centres, putting vulnerable residents and hundreds of jobs at risk.

Instead of evidence-based policy, we get ignorance-based policy. Deeply disappointing. We hope Councils follow South Cambs example and ignore Reed’s heavy-handed (but ultimately impotent) rhetoric.

Congratulations to Andrea Egan on her election as the General Secretary of @unison.org.uk! ✊🏾 Looking forward to keeping up our joint fight for workers and quality, accessible public services - together, we're stronger!

We’ve been sat on this for a while but I can confirm that our ballots over the 2025/26 national pay offer at both RNCM and Manchester Met were successful and we now have a mandate to take strike action.

From today's copy of The Times. A gentle reminder that our employer's wanted to offer us a 1% pay rise this year and finally settled on 1.4%

If this was happening in any other sector of the economy there would be uproar (and rightly so). The phrase "managed decline" comes to mind.

Today marks the end of our strike ballot over the 2025/26 pay offer. While we don't know the results yet I'd just like to say thank you to all reps, officers, activists and members of our branch and beyond in making the campaign happen and getting the vote out!

Labour promised us day 1 rights and workers deserve day 1 rights! Support the campaign.

It's not *just* academics and students (two groups that Starmer's Labour despise and see as undesirable) who populate universities. They employ vast work forces! There are administrators, cleaners, cafeteria staff, gardeners, post workers, builders all dependent on their university remaining open.

Obviously this government are wantonly reckless and idiotic and their treatment of universities, and see this as a disciplining of an out of touch elite. But what all of this unwillingness to intervene means is that a critical industry will collapse and a lot of ordinary people will be unemployed.

This is the data that everyone in our sector needs to see. This is what our unions should be shouting from the rooftops. HE workers thousands of pounds worse off than we were 17 years ago.

It’s Financial Wellbeing Week! 💜 UNISON members can join free online sessions to boost confidence with money, pensions, budgeting + more. 🗓️ 10–14 Nov 💻 MS Teams / Zoom 🔗 buff.ly/ZFyH6Vw

The conflation of everything under the meaningless and demeaning banner of "reward" is both deceitful and wrong. No worker should not have to choose between decent pay now or decent pensions later.

We won't back down - we will fight @rockstargames.com & @taketwointeractive.bsky.social for our members' reinstatement. No one should be fired for union activity. You can support our campaign here: actionnetwork.org/fundraising/...

Posting my YES vote for strike action as part of UNISON in Higher Education’s national pay campaign - this year’s dismal 1.4% pay ‘rise’ is the latest in a long line of real terms pay cuts. We deserve so much better. Fund our future! Fund our pay! @unisonmmu.bsky.social @unisoninhe.bsky.social

Never underestimate the length bosses will go to not to treat workers with respect and dignity.

@unison.org.uk and @ucu.org.uk working together to get the vote out! Please share widely.

I’ve got a good feeling about this

Our (slightly droopy) banner at the back there as a delegation from the branch committee visited striking UCU workers at INTO Manchester fighting against a 2% pay offer from their employer, well behind the rate of inflation. INTO are a private education provider who last year made £20million profit

Our chair has posted his ballot have you posted yours? Get it done ASAP and begin the fight back against real terms pay cuts.

A 1.4% pay offer for Higher Education workers is an insult after nearly two decades of below inflation offers. UNISON’s ballot for strike action opened Monday 20 Oct and will run until Friday 28 Nov. We urge all members to vote YES for strike action and to get their ballots returned ASAP!

I've just voted #YES for the #WeAreTheUniversity @ucu.org.uk campaign. In conjunction with @uniteucu.bsky.social, @unison.org.uk, @manmetucu.bsky.social, @unisonmmu.bsky.social for 1. A pay uplift, 2. The protection of #HE national agreements, and 3. To avoid redundancies and cuts. #Solidarity! 🤓🔍📈✊🏾

First general meeting of our members today and some great discussion about our strike ballot that opened yesterday. The ballot has been called in response to a shocking pay offer of 1.4%. It also comes as the government announce higher tuition fees to burden students with even more debt.

Our 2025/26 higher education strike ballot opened TODAY! Ballot papers should be landing on members' doormats within the next few days. We also have general meetings for members on Tuesday and Thursday this week to explain the ballot and how we got here.

We are shocked and appalled by the attack on the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue this morning. Our thoughts go out to the victims, their friends and loved ones and to all of our Jewish friends and neighbours. UNISON stands opposed to all forms of antisemitism, racism and discrimination.

A delegation from our branch also joined the picket last week and today. Watch the video to find out why staff had to take this action.

Right. My students working two part time jobs and/or having an hour and a half commute to uni because they have to live at home due to the cost of student accommodation lack drive and vigour. Sure thing, Peter. The UK Govt still haven't a clue about the realities of universities today.

A reminder that members have until 12 noon TODAY to vote!

Solidarity with the Birmingham bin strikers who have just been told that Birmingham City council are going to make them redundant if they don't take a massive pay cut. @cllrjohncotton.bsky.social where are you??? Shame on you and Labour. This is an essential service and you are leaving it to ruin.

Universities are made up of hard working staff who care about their institutions and in recent years have seen little reward for their efforts. That is why we urge members in vote in the HE pay consultation and to reject the outrageous 1.4% that is being imposed on us. www.unison.org.uk/hepay2526/

The higher education pay consultation closes at 12pm on Friday 11 July - don’t miss the chance to have your say on your pay. Most universities have the money to pay staff more, let's make it happen 💜 www.unison.org.uk/hepay2526 @UNISONinHE

Are you in UNISON, work in HE and want to have your say about our measly 1.4% pay offer? Well, you can! UNISON's consultation on the 25/26 pay offer is open now and we urge all members to not only vote but to reject this derisory real terms pay cut. www.unison.org.uk/hepay2526