Unions

Experts say exhaustion and worry over disruption to students hit appetite for industrial action but shouldn’t mask the unhappiness across sector

Inequality, Covid exhaustion, sympathy for students, fear of public opinion and frustration with UCU tactics are all factors, says Glen O’Hara

Combined with results of pensions ballot, union has mandate for walkouts at less than four in 10 institutions polled

Union urges education secretary to intervene on student loan changes and to press university bosses into talking on disputes

Australian inquiry also recommends new national strategy, top-up funding and better union entry rights

UCU leader Jo Grady claims action is needed as ‘staff at breaking point’ but employers say latest 1.5 per cent pay offer is ‘fair and meaningful’

Demands pushed by pandemic fears, labour shortages, awakened student athletes and Biden encouragement

Final two staff members facing axe allowed to leave on more generous terms following long-running industrial action and international boycott

Union members at 152 UK institutions asked to walk out for fourth time in little over three years

Valentina Azarova declines to take human rights position, but CAUT suspends censure and claims academic freedom win

UCU warns that unauthorised reuse of lecturers’ materials across multiple academic years could lead to strike action

Staff at troubled and historic institution ‘relieved’ by last-minute reprieve, and hopeful that institution’s traditions will live on

Union members overwhelmingly back action even as number of compulsory redundancies slashed to two

Takeover will preserve ‘rich heritage’ of trade union college, say leaders

University council backs shuttering despite widespread opposition

Paid time off for gender affirmation among the latest categories of special purpose leave demanded of universities

North-west institution is second university to be ‘greylisted’ by UCU in three months

University accused of treating students ‘with disdain’ with many left without results and others without complete transcripts, as marking boycott remains unresolved

UCU says postgraduate researchers should be given terms and conditions ‘comparable’ with employees

As row over redundancies shows no sign of easing, academics see deeper-rooted problems of mismanagement

Letter to council says there has been a ‘deliberate breach’ of university policies in redundancy dispute

Plans to reduce teaching grant are one of ‘biggest attacks on arts and entertainment in English universities in living memory’

Liverpool and Leicester plan to scale back moderation and external examining, and to use algorithms to generate grades

University and College Union ‘grey-lists’ institution, asking academics to refuse to have any dealings with it

Union report on post-qualification admissions model also suggests that institutions should consider scrapping interviews

Union threatens strikes and marking boycott after staff identified for redundancy based on research grant income and citation impact scores

Faculty group’s first boycott order in decade affirms pro-Israel interference, but president Meric Gertler pushes back

Union passes motion in favour of industrial action over risk to 145 staff

Union claims new career framework could result in academics being dismissed if they do not make senior lecturer within five years, but university says sanctions will be used rarely

University expresses concerns about ‘untrue statements’ but UCU remains in dark over what caused problem

UCU branch demands answers after passing motion of no confidence in president and finance chief

At least 12 institutions planning to make redundancies

Union describes proposed salary freeze as an ‘insult’ but universities point to financial woes

Possible new US education secretary also pushes major federal college investment

Some universities acknowledge ‘errors’ totalling millions of dollars but deny deliberate ‘wage theft’

Front-line workers left carrying the can for chaotic start of term, says union

Unrest over return of face-to-face teaching on UK campuses pushes staff-management relations to breaking point

Australian university to proceed with disputed staff cuts but introduce element of choice

‘Settlement’ brought to light by report on union leaders’ pay from pressure group 

The shielding of the academic workplace from all risk of Covid-19 is not a safe or sane position, says Robert Poole

Australian university insists it is just planning for potential scenarios, amid claims that 3,000 jobs are at risk 

Academics may wish we weren’t here, but burying heads in the sand about the depth of the deficit is no longer viable, says Bernard Casey

Reductions ‘necessary to ensure that the university not only survives but thrives’

Analysis for union shows universities are often among largest local employers and have ‘huge impact’ on town and city economies

Union says that more than 1,000 posts are under review at at King’s College London, with Liverpool also looking at major cuts

The scant information about job losses among Australia’s insecure staff speaks volumes about how management sees them, say critics

Australian decision a reminder that universities cannot impose unrealistic research requirements, academic union says

Money to be taken automatically from members’ bank accounts to support UK union’s strike fund

Staff go despite salary trade-offs, as pandemic lays waste to institutional bottom lines

Critic to remain on Australian university’s senate, as institution promises review of governance processes

Staff at some institutions agree to pay cuts to minimise redundancies, but only under union-sanctioned accord

Australian university directs academics to spend up to 80 per cent of their time teaching, despite relatively healthy financial position

‘Personal crisis’ may turn out to be a blessing in disguise for some insecurely employed staff

Choice will guide job cuts, institutions pledge, as sector confronts A$16bn black hole

Redundancies ‘a last resort’ as uniquely financed Australian university confronts A$225m black hole

National vote called off, with vice-chancellors saying pact is too short-term while union blames ‘fear of scrutiny’

Job security guarantees would tie management’s hands while offering only short-term cost relief, v-cs say

Support and opposition on both sides could make job-saving pact a close-run thing

Activists campaign for less reliance on international education income, as government flags a ‘supervised’ reopening of borders

Members of the Universities Superannuation Scheme are about to vote on whether to lock in current members. But this might not be enough to safeguard the scheme’s solvency, says Bernard Casey