You don’t fix the skills crisis while underpaying FE staff. Helen Hayes MP challenged the PM on pay parity asking how colleges can attract industry experts without proper pay.

We welcome the return of Erasmus. But how welcoming is the UK for international students? Rising costs, visa restrictions and growing uncertainty are driving international students away. Time to make the UK a genuinely welcoming place to study again. www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c4...

A much needed wake-up call for the University of Birmingham. The HSE has confirmed what staff have said for years: excessive workloads and chronic stress are systemic and causing real harm. Now we need real change not just box-ticking.

We are deeply concerned for the health of Qesser Zuhrah, who has been on hunger strike for 46 days. We join those calling on the government to act now, and address the serious concerns raised by lawyers acting for the prisoners.

Keir starmer at PMQs accusing resident doctors of ‘abandoning patients’. What a sickening way to describe hard working doctors who have dedicated their whole lives to protecting us. Let’s have a serious debate and resolve the dispute - not attempt to turn worker against worker.

Reform UK talks big on apprenticeships but you can’t build skills for the future on poverty pay. College lecturers are the lowest-paid teachers in the UK. This must change.

Bonuses of £50k. £100k. Even £145k. All while the sector is in crisis. UCU general secretary @drjogrady.bsky.social says vice-chancellors should “do the charitable thing and donate their bonuses to the food banks that will be supporting far too many students”.

This is awful framing from the government who have the responsibility to tell a more humanising, honest, and generous narrative about migrants and migration. Migrants didn’t wreck the country or economy, the tories and this rigged system did.

You only have to go back a few generations in my family to find Irish people forced to leave their homeland because British colonialism manufactured a famine and made it impossible to stay. It destroyed the region I descend from. It's the literal reason I'm English.

Christmas has arrived at UCU ⛄️

Every late ballot counts! You have until Wednesday to post them.

The last safe day to vote is Wednesday 26 November. The ballot closes Friday 28 November. If you haven’t voted, do it now. If you have, talk to colleagues, ask if they’ve voted. Post your ballot today. We are the university.

🩷

Casualisation. Redundancies. Course closures. Attacks on our terms and conditions. Enough is enough. Our LSE branch chair explains why he’s voting YES, why are you voting yes? 💪 #WeAreTheUniversity #VoteYes

Show us your ballots! Bright and early, we love to see it!

At a time when our society sees so much division, we need our colleges more than ever. Yet FE funding has fallen by 60%, and staff earn less now than they did 20 years ago. Vote YES for fair pay and to keep the colleges that hold our communities together. #NewDealForFE

📣 National Get The Vote Out LIVE! Join us next Thursday 6 November at 7PM as we go live from campuses across the UK 💪 Hear from members, branches and organisers as we make the final push to get every ballot posted 🗳️ Watch LIVE on UCU X and YouTube #WeAreTheUniversity

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, the biggest threat to academic freedom is the marketisation of higher education. The accusation here could not be more serious: that Hallam traded research on human rights violations in China, for access to the Chinese student market. t.co/j2rTxAfIw6

£140m cuts. 1,800 jobs at risk. Edinburgh staff are voting again. @drjogrady.bsky.social: “The quickest way to force their hand is a resounding YES vote. We stand with our members at Edinburgh as they ballot to defend jobs, students, and education. ✊

We are preparing to ballot our England FE members

Following pressure, Microsoft has blocked Israel’s access to tech which allowed the mass surveillance of Palestinian civilians. This is the first time a major US tech company has sanctioned Israel for violating Palestinian rights Incredible work from @972mag.com www.theguardian.com/world/2025/s...

UCU’s message to Labour has been consistent. If you want to turn the tide on years of austerity, you must invest in the college, higher and adult education sectors. Any ‘fightback’ that does not include genuine investment and support for education to play its crucial role will be superficial.

Solidarity with everyone at Nottingham. The whole union is behind you.

😍

If we believe in free speech, regardless of how you feel about Kirk's message, his assassination should be unequivocally condemned. It is very concerning to observe how pretty much every online far-right commentator is busy exploiting his murder to further strengthen their message.

Get ready for the higher education ballot - opening in October!

VCs don’t run universities. We do. After another real terms pay cut, UCU is launching a UK-wide strike ballot. Ballot opens October. Vote YES. #WeAreTheUniversity

We launched a new WhatsApp channel just hours ago for our Higher Education members to get the latest updates on the forthcoming industrial action ballot. It has already has 950 subscribers. Amazing. UCU members in HE - sign up here whatsapp.com/channel/0029...

Labour says there’s no money left for workers. But somehow there’s always money for war. Trade unions are coming together, with one simple demand: wages not weapons.

Absolutely heartbroken that UCU member Will Nelson tragically lost his life in the accident in Lisbon this week. Rest in peace, Will. We are all devastated by this news.

Our General Secretary @drjogrady.bsky.social has written to David Lammy demanding the FCDO urgently evacuates *all* Palestinian students with British university places from Gaza.   The British government must act now – to help Palestinian students and end its complicity in Israel's genocide.

‘One of the most unsettling questions of our times’?! A genuinely unsettling question is why and how the world is currently allowing a genocide of the Palestinian people, who unlike Artificial Intelligence, are actually suffering before our very eyes.

The world ignoring these war crimes is why Israel continues to commit them in plain sight.

And Prime Minister, laws against genocide… Presumably they should be upheld too?

You couldn’t make it up! The man who lit the match is now lecturing us for pointing at the fire. Jo Johnson saying it's "perverse" to resist higher fees. The arrogance is staggering.

Violent men practice at home.

Two out of every five people arrested after participating in last summer’s riots had been reported to the police for domestic abuse. It is never about protecting women.

He could, and should, have stopped at part one of that sentence. Palestinian statehood should not be dependent on whether or not an aggressor neighbour state agrees to a ceasefire. Have some conviction, Prime Minister.

Incredibly honoured to be joining such a great king up of speakers. Join us in September.

Solidarity with Nottingham UCU. We are the university.

What really undermines our movement is a Labour government that turns its back on workers and lashes out at unions instead of listening to them. This is a defining moment. Stop attacking those who keep our public services running and show some leadership.

Solidarity to all those @uonucu.bsky.social colleagues facing redundancy right now.

The mass killing of civilians, targeting of homes and vital infrastructure, obstruction of food and aid, starvation as a weapon, and the forced displacement of millions. This is genocide. The UK has a legal, political and moral responsibly to act. Silence and inaction amounts to complicity.

Depraved that this is happening, and by doing nothing the majority of global leaders are complicit.

The rain didn’t stop us. UCU joined tens of thousands in London today, marching in solidarity with Palestine and calling for an immediate ceasefire. The message is clear: end the occupation. Free Palestine. #FreePalestine #CeasefireNow

“We will not be silenced We will always stand with the Palestinians. We will not rest until Palestine is free.” Our GS @drjogrady.bsky.social calling for justice, accountability and freedom for Palestine at today’s rally. #CeasefireNow #FreePalestine #UCU

Full statement here: www.ucu.org.uk/article/1410...

Our statement on the Labour government’s escalating authoritarian crackdown on the Palestine solidarity movement. We will not be silenced. We are the majority. We urge you to join us on the streets of London next Saturday (19 July) and march for Palestine.

📢 Birmingham City University is planning cuts that put 342 staff at risk, slashing student support despite admitting there’s no financial need. This is a threat to student success and staff wellbeing. ✊ Sign the petition to stop the cuts @bcu-ucu.bsky.social