30 June UCU STRIKE TO DEFEND OUR PENSIONS

On 30 June 2011, hundreds of thousands of teachers and lecturers will strike to defend their pensions.

UCU, NUT and ATL will take united strike action, together with PCS, and rallies will take place all over the country.

Make sure you get involved!

YOUR PENSION UNDER ATTACK

The Teachers’ Pension Scheme is under attack from the government which wants to plug the budget deficit by taking from UCU members’ pensions. They want us to:
• pay more into our pensions: for a typical FE lecturer this could mean an extra £88 per month. For a university lecturer it could mean an extra £124 a month
• work longer by raising the retirement age to 65
• they want to slash the value of your pension by using a lower measure of inflation – meaning a loss of £36K or more over the course of an FE lecturer’s retirement or £65K for a university lecturer
• They want to end final salary schemes and move to an massively inferior ‘career average’ pension

STUDENTS’ EDUCATION WILL SUFFER

This attack on TPS will mean that colleges and universities could lose staff to better rewarded jobs elsewhere. Many of your colleagues may consider
leaving the profession if their pensions are slashed in the way proposed.

THIS ATTACK IS UNNECESSARY

The Teachers’ Pension Scheme is not in crisis. Unions already agreed reforms in 2006 to make the scheme sustainable.

OUR PENSIONS ARE NOT ‘GOLD PLATED’

The average pension is £10,000 and these proposals could mean a 30% cut over the course of a retirement. Education staff have always accepted lower pay than comparable professions partly because we could rely on a decent and dignified retirement. Now the government wants us to pay with our pensions for an economic crisis we did
not create.

THE GOVERNMENT REFUSES TO LISTEN

After months of talks with ministers it is now clear that the government is refusing to budge on its proposals.

THAT’S WHY WE NEED TO STEP UP THE CAMPAIGN

LCA UCU at the TUC March for Alternative, London, 26th March 2011

Image below from the Independent. LCA UCU banner visible behind other UCU banners.

IfL fees

The UCU has condemned the IFL's decision to raise its fee to £68 which is as a result of the government's decision to cease paying the previous £30 membership fee. This means that most UCU members will now be paying the full, increased costs of IFL membership for the first time.

It seems extraordinary that at a time when the government is abolishing England's General Teaching Council for school teachers, further education is going in the opposite direction with the cost of regulation seemingly to be paid for lock, stock and barrel from the pockets of teaching staff. The union has written to the minister to raise this issue and seek an urgent meeting. The Further Education Committee will agree a strategy this Friday to put maximum pressure on government, employers and IfL itself to ensure the reversal of this iniquitous decision.

In the meantime please show your support by signing UCU's IfL petition and encouraging others to do the same here: http://www.ucu.org.uk/iflpetition

'A Future that Works' Manchester rally; also London march - Saturday 29 January

On Saturday 29 January UCU is joining with the TUC and the National Union of Students to host a march and rally in Manchester for 'A Future that Works'. More details here

We want every member, who is able, to take part. Leeds University UCU has booked coaches and is inviting all Leeds Education Institutions and Trade Unions to share our transport. The price is £7 (you must buy a ticket in advance). Departure: 9.00am, Parkinson Steps, Woodhouse Lane, Leeds University. Contact LCA reps for details.

Student protests in Leeds

November 24 Protests in Leeds
http://leedsucu.wordpress.com/2010/11/24/todays-protest-in-leeds/

Coverage in the Leeds Blog (The Guardian)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/leeds/2010/nov/24/thousands-of-students-hold-cuts-and-fees-protest-in-leeds-city-centre

The Really Open University

http://reallyopenuniversity.wordpress.com/

Fund our Future: Stop Education Cuts - NUS/UCU national demo

UCU and NUS (National Union of Students) are jointly organising a national demo, 'Fund Our Future: Stop Education Cuts' on Wednesday 10 November 2010, in central London.

The demo is part of our strategy to influence the Coalition Government. NUS and UCU firmly believe that education changes the lives of individuals, families and communities. Education and skills will also be key to our economic recovery.

Staff and students in further and higher education are coming together to build an unprecedented coalition to fight against the cuts that have been imposed upon our communities, as well as to resist the prospect of higher fees and increasing privatisation in education.

What does the Browne review mean for Art and Design?

Browne's recommendations the 'final nail in the coffin' for affordable higher education, says union

UCU has today (Tuesday) warned that Lord Browne's recommendations for higher education would have a devastating effect, seeing some universities forced to close and the curriculum dangerously narrowed, as the cost of university is effectively transferred from the state to the family.

If enacted England will have the most expensive public degrees in the world, with families having to shell out between £76,000 and 136,000 to put two children through university.

Full article available from: http://www.ucu.org.uk/index.cfm?articleid=5058

Ongoing debate on tuition fees in The Guardian
http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/tuition-fees



Download The Browne review here:
http://hereview.independent.gov.uk/hereview/

New poll reveals overwhelming support for investment in higher education

An overwhelming majority of the public value universities and colleges and want to see continued investment in UK institutions, according to a new poll released today.

The Ipos Mori survey for Universities UK shows that 90% of the general public thought it was important for the government to invest in UK universities. UCU said the poll confirmed its own position that investment, not swingeing cuts, was the only way the UK could continue to operate as a global leader in higher education.

The poll comes just a week after a damning international report revealed that the UK is investing less of its gross domestic product in higher education than competitor countries - just 1.3 per cent compared to an average of 1.5 per cent - and that the UK had plummeted down the international graduation rate league table.

Full article at http://www.ucu.org.uk/index.cfm?articleid=5025&from=1676

UK slipping down graduate league

The UK is slipping behind its international rivals in the number of graduates, according to a report. Sally Hunt, head of the UCU lecturers' union, warned that the "coalition government's refusal to fund sufficient university places this summer will come back to haunt us".

Full BBC article here