{"id":1031449,"date":"2026-06-17T02:36:20","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T02:36:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1031449\/"},"modified":"2026-06-17T02:36:20","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T02:36:20","slug":"unions-round-up-victory-at-sheffield-hallam-university","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1031449\/","title":{"rendered":"Unions round-up: Victory at Sheffield Hallam University"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\tNews<\/a><\/p>\n

Plus: Kehinde Andrews on the fight to save Black studies at Birmingham City University and strikes in schools, leisure centres and Argyll offices<\/p>\n

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Tuesday 16 June 2026<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tIssue 3010<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\t\"UCU<\/p>\n

On the picket line at Sheffield Hallam last week (Pic: @UCUHallam on X)<\/p>\n

Workers at Sheffield Hallam University<\/a> have won a major victory after 13 days of strikes.<\/p>\n

Bosses have backed down over plans to employ them through a wholly owned subsidiary company.<\/p>\n

The UCU union members were concerned about job security and access to the TPS pension scheme. They are continuing to fight to get bosses to rule out compulsory redundancies.<\/p>\n

UCU members at Goldsmiths in south London are locked out by bosses. They started a marking and assessment boycott (Mab) in opposition to job cuts and were told that 100 percent of their pay would be deducted.<\/p>\n

Workers have responded to this unprecedented move by launching an indefinite strike, now in its second week.<\/p>\n

Art psychotherapist Lloyd told Socialist Worker, \u201cIt\u2019s put us in an impossible situation. We feel we have no choice but to strike. We have had to stop supervision and support work.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have been very concerned about the students. But they have been supportive\u2014they recognise what\u2019s at threat.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the University of Edinburgh, UCU union members have also seen their pay deducted by 100 percent for taking part in a Mab.<\/p>\n

Bosses are now taking vindictive action to try to break the union. They are demanding that workers who aren\u2019t taking part in the action cover the marking and assessment work of their colleagues who are.<\/p>\n

If they refuse to scab they will be pressured to declare themselves part of the action and lose all their pay.<\/p>\n

UCU members at London Metropolitan University were visited by local MP and former London Met student Jeremy Corbyn on their final strike day on Monday.<\/p>\n

He said he was \u201cappalled that 10 percent of the workers are threatened with redundancy\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe worst is having to reapply to your own job in competition with your colleagues,\u201d he said. \u201cThat is cruel, it is wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n

As Labour leader, Corbyn proposed the abolition of student fees. Slamming the marketisation of education, he said, \u201cI want to open up university education to everyone in society irrespective of the financial means of their parents.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the University of Nottingham, UCU union members are set to continue two months of strikes this week after nearly 2,700 workers were told their jobs are at risk.<\/p>\n

At London South Bank University (LSBU) in south London, UCU union members have announced two days of strikes, next Monday and Thursday.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, UCU branch members at Heriot-Watt in Edinburgh were set to strike for the whole of this week. They have now reduced this to Wednesday and Thursday only after making some progress in talks.<\/p>\n

And at the University of Dundee, UCU members have voted for strikes after bosses refused to rule out compulsory redundancies.<\/p>\n

University workers and students are facing an onslaught of cuts to jobs and courses that could end careers and may even see the collapse of some universities. The UCU<\/a> should take action nationally to stem the tide.<\/p>\n

Fight to save Black Studies at Birmingham University<\/p>\n

Plans to close the masters course in Black studies and global justice at Birmingham City University (BCU)<\/a> have been met with outrage.<\/p>\n

Five black members of staff were called into a meeting in April to be told that the course was closing and that they are all at risk of redundancy.<\/p>\n

Professor Kehinde Andrews<\/a> is one of those affected.<\/p>\n

He told Socialist Worker that the decision was \u201ccompletely out of the blue, we had no idea it was coming.\u201d<\/p>\n

The workers are facing \u201ca lot of uncertainty. What do we do? Where do we go next?\u201d<\/p>\n

He explained, \u201cThe course literally just started this year, so it hasn\u2019t even run for four months when they made a decision in February. They said it\u2019s a poor performing course, which is odd, given that it just started.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has similar numbers to other courses they haven\u2019t cut. Alongside that they decided to put up the five black members of staff who work in sociology who teach on black studies, our jobs are at risk of redundancy.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd just us. Nobody else is. They want to keep two people out of five.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kehinde said that the course was doing well and was attracting support from world famous intellectuals. \u201cWe just had a major event with Kimberl\u00e9 Crenshaw.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got research things planned. In fact, I actually have a major research grant I just won. But they didn\u2019t know this before they tried to make us redundant.<\/p>\n

\u201cNothing makes sense. It\u2019s totally nonsensical.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also explained that the university hadn\u2019t done the required equality impact assessment.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is the law. Public bodies have to do an equality impact assessment for any major decisions,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor redundancies you must do an equality impact assessment which basically says, what will be the impact on protected groups\u2014so race, gender etc.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey admitted to us very early on, they didn\u2019t do it. They said, because the numbers are small, there\u2019s only five of us, they couldn\u2019t protect our identity for GDPR.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is specifically not the case. It actually says in the law that that\u2019s not an excuse. Even in BCU\u2019s policies it says it\u2019s not an excuse.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cSo then they backtracked and said they did do it and then they actually made one up. So they know they should have done it. They\u2019re now pretending they\u2019ve done it when they very clearly didn\u2019t actually follow their legal responsibilities.\u201d<\/p>\n

The proposals follow the closure of the undergraduate Black studies course two years ago at BCU. Kehinde said that bosses had promised no redundancies when they closed this course.<\/p>\n

In 2023, Chichester University closed its masters course in the History of Africa and the African Diaspora, making the course leader Hakim Adi<\/a> redundant.<\/p>\n

Cuts to jobs and courses in higher education are widespread. But the onslaught disproportionately impacts black educators and students and the work that they do.<\/p>\n

Shea Morris in Birmingham<\/strong><\/p>\n

School workers\u2019 strikes<\/p>\n

Support workers at Woodfield School, west London, were set to strike 16-18 June, with further dates planned for 25-26 and 29 June and 2-3, 6-9, 13-14 and 16-17 July.<\/p>\n

The NEU union members have already struck for five days in a dispute over pay and conditions.<\/p>\n

Compass Learning Partnership, the trust that runs the school, issued 47\u00a0workers with 30 day fire and rehire notices last week.<\/p>\n

The trust is trying to get them to accept a \u00a34,000\u00a0a year pay cut despite it having \u00a33.8 million in reserves in the bank.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, it\u2019s trying to keep the school running as normal, with play scheme workers. This has raised health and safety concerns.<\/p>\n

Workers are asking people to join them for a mega picket this Wednesday 17 June from 7.30am at Glenwood Ave, NW9 7LY. They will then lobby the Department for Education from noon at Orchard House, 20 Great Smith St, SW1P 3BT.<\/p>\n

NEU members, along with trade unionists in NASUWT, at Grays Convent High School in Essex are set to strike from 16-18 June.<\/p>\n

Workers are opposing a proposed restructure, which includes the threat of compulsory redundancies.<\/p>\n