Higher education unions

University says it has been forced into making ‘decisions we could have never previously imagined’ after steep drop in international student numbers

UK’s biggest academic union unable to pursue national industrial action over pay and job cuts after it fails to meet minimum turnout threshold

Academics claim changes made to higher education system a decade ago have divided sector into ‘winners and losers’, with government-imposed limits on income exacerbating financial challenges

University says financial uncertainties continue as government’s proposed student levy will ‘wipe out any benefits’ from rising tuition fees

Scholars doubtful over future of campus activism as universities move to distance themselves from student-led organisations

University leaders rule out forced redundancies as proposed UTS cuts claim the spotlight

Staff criticise vice-chancellor’s failure to protect jobs despite additional government funding

Turnout required to move ahead with industrial action ‘very hard’ to achieve, say academics

Canterbury student association president says representative body’s non-partisan stance has put it ‘ahead of the game’

Union threatens ‘coordinated’ strikes to cause ‘maximum disruption’ at UK universities

Union’s new policy mandating three office days a week resisted by some staff, who are refusing to come in at all

Vice-chancellor feels ‘pulled in different directions’ as health concerns force pause in job cuts plans he says are needed to break even

Chemistry and engineering among latest subject areas at risk at south Yorkshire university, as Liverpool settles hybrid working dispute

Union demands ‘pause’ on ‘all job cut plans’ as management says it has achieved 60 per cent of savings target

Number of roles affected could be almost double previous estimates when voluntary schemes and hiring freezes factored in, say researchers

University says NHS and apprenticeship changes make programmes ‘no longer viable’ but union calls move a ‘dereliction of civic responsibility’

Further meetings fail to reach agreement in UK sector talks, with union calling 1.4 per cent rise a ‘real-terms cut’

Union says Monash should now ‘pay staff what they’re owed’ as judge resolves ‘ambiguity’ over ‘contemporaneous’ meetings

Teaching assistants have demanded fair pay for years but industrial action has made little progress. AI offers a significant raise, notes Michael Buehler

Australian National University’s 60-year-old school to become a ‘programme’, as performance, composition and theory give way to ‘music and well-being’

Bosses rule out compulsory redundancies and apologise to students for disruption

It may be difficult to enter on to a balance sheet but some weaker institutions may struggle to recover from reputational damage, says Nick Megoran

Genetics expert and failed union presidential aspirant removed from sessional academic duties over call for ‘Zionists’ to be ‘executed’

Australian employee representatives say universities are too ready to surveil workers, while higher education regulator suggests additional methods

Judge rules against Adult Human Female filmmakers who sued union over harassment claims

University ‘unlikely to be able to award degrees’, union says, as it holds walkouts over 100 job cuts - but institution insists it has a contingency plan

Savings only part of the motivation for university’s ‘realignment’ to ‘remain relevant’, but union says management wants the humanities ‘burned’

Union threat could prove to be more about ‘propaganda’, with legality of pursuing dispute against education secretary questioned

UK’s biggest academic union eyes showdown with Labour minister as it tries to respond to wave of university cuts

VU credits sequential approach to teaching as revenue increases and salary bill drops – but union says it is leading to overwork

Late move to try to pass no confidence vote in Jo Grady piles pressure on union leadership as they attempt to coordinate fight back against job losses

Threat of strike ballot still hanging over UK pay talks but expert says low offer will be greeted with ‘sullen resignation’

Scottish university looks to save further £5.5 million to bring down its deficit, a year after languages cuts

University agrees to reset in relations with campus unions as part of agreement that has also seen marking boycott cancelled

Members of national executive committee claim they were ‘prohibited’ from discussion of dispute with staff in Unite union

Use of ‘hypocritical’ confidentiality agreements by UK’s biggest academic union criticised, with increasingly disgruntled staff set to stage rally outside own offices

Vice-chancellors say they have ‘no choice’ about downsizing, but unions question the need as 2024 accounts reveal recovery trend

Union declares institution ‘greylisted’, with academics urged not to apply for jobs or act as external examiners

Risk of ‘lasting damage’ to academic reputation in latest round of job losses

University and College Union disputes institution’s claim to have significantly reduced job cuts figure

Staff blame recent bout of recruitment as USQ prepares to cut more than one in 10 workers

Activists say action is ‘keeping vice-chancellors at the negotiating table’ but experts believe reversing overall direction of travel is unlikely

English regulator promises to take more active role in protecting students during industrial action, as wave of fresh strikes hits the sector

New boss rules out further forced redundancies as cash-strapped university aims to break even next year

University and College Union says plans to slash jobs and merge departments go ‘too deep, too fast’

UCU urges management to rule out compulsory redundancies as it stages walkout at institution hit by several waves of restructuring

Union branch at redundancy-hit institution to stage one-day walkout

Union members hold Parliament rally urging ministers to bail out sector

Adult Human Female directors Deirdre O’Neill and Michael Wayne claim union treated them unfairly in wake of cancelled Edinburgh showings

Inflation-busting rise demanded despite thousands of job cuts across sector, and as University and College Union’s own staff vote to strike again

Union says Westminster must follow devolved administrations in offering additional funding amid mounting bloodletting

Industrial action threatened for start of 2025-26 academic year if universities do not take action to minimise redundancies

UCU members clash over how to respond to wave of job cuts, with decision on whether to take industrial action over pay imminent

Higher education union members demand fresh discussions on national vote over pay, as local disputes over job cuts pile up

Limiting industrial action to defensive branch battles on redundancy is not enough. We need to politically challenge the HE funding model, says Rhiannon Lockley

Brunel joins staff members at East Anglia, Newcastle and Dundee to vote for strike action in the past week

New national body takes shape, as troubled centenarian predecessor faces curtain

Over 80 per cent of union members vote for strike action after successive years or job cuts at University of East Anglia

Skills minister says upcoming White Paper will seek to address ‘fragmentation’ between further and higher education

The work of lobbying policymakers to make HE a higher priority is undermined by the endless pantomime of UCU’s internal politics, says Dyfrig Jones