Wow!
Some incredible ballot results across the FE South Region.
Five colleges in the extended SW just smashed it.
Bournemouth and Poole
New College Swindon
Truro and Penwith
Bristol
Abingdon and Witney
What amazing work from your reps and an amazing effort from all of you.
Congratulations all!
uniteucu.wordpress.com
I missed NEC today in solidarity with striking UCU staff.
NEC was cancelled.
I was one of 14 NEC members signing the statement reported (Times Higher Educn.)
A UCU spokesperson is reported saying, "We respect our staff. We reward them. We value them."
Unite-UCU have a different view!
@dyfrigjones.bsky.social
Congratulations, Dyfrig.
Can I also now look forward to seeing you at the Durham Miners' Gala and the Tolpuddle Martyrs' Festival?
Comradely wishes
John
Hi Carrie
Email me at:
Fonesj@btc.ac.uk
Pleased to be in contact.
Thanks for getting in touch.
John
@dyfrigjones.bsky.social
@illdoitanyway.bsky.social
Hi Dyfrig, Hi Rhiannon
The UCU SW Regional Committee met last Saturday and are now keen to go ahead with a Hustings event.
I have emailed you both with a few more details.
Please also respond by email if you can.
John
fonesj@btc.ac.uk
@drjogrady.bsky.social
Excellent video, a brilliant "coup" getting a Minister for interview.
Particularly interested in the FE section (31 m in).
Questions were spot on. 👌
Answers - very ministerial!
Very disappointing from Jacqui Smith.
@ucu.org.uk
@ucusw-regcom.bsky.social
@ucu-btc.bsky.social
Bloody good effort Jo.
But Jacqui Smith really said NOTHING.
Govt says £300m.
Govt says £50m. ??
April - but not where or how.
Jacqui Smith - what is going on?
FE pay is going nowhere.
Some action please.
Your words are utterly hollow.
@ucu.org.uk
@ucusw-regcom.bsky.social
@ucu-btc.bsky.social
Hi Dyfrig.
I'll get back to you as soon as possible.
Thanks for the very swift reply.
So far I've only seen notification of the event on 5th February.
I don't know if you've agreed to any others yet.
Please let me know if you would like to take part and we'll get started with arrangements.
Best wishes to both of you.
John
@dyfrigjones.bsky.social
@illdoitanyway.bsky.social
If you both want to go ahead, then we could choose either of those two dates - or indeed earlier that week if you agreed.
Rules stipulate 30 days' notice, of course, but I guess we could be flexible if you both agreed.
@dyfrigjones.bsky.social
@illdoitanyway.bsky.social
Hi Dyfrig, Hi Rhiannon
Would you like to take part in a final wk online hustings run by the UCU SW Regional Committee?
30 days' notice would take us to 27th/28th February.
Let me know ASAP and please provide an email address.
John
@illdoitanyway.bsky.social
Hi Rhiannon.
Pleased you are able to use another endorsement from FE.
Best wishes
J
Hi Rhiannon
I've tested on other devices.
Seems it may be because Deepa is using an older iPhone.
Hope you can see the pages including endorsements.
I'll try next week to send you something extra for your endorsement pages.
John. ✊️ ✊️ ✊️
A pleasure.
Deepa tells me she can't see other pages, so I apologise.
I'll have to check tomorrow at work.
Don't have other devices working at home this evening.
I'm on it! 😉
johnfones4nec2025.wordpress.com
Includes my endorsement for Rhiannon Lockley
@illdoitanyway.bsky.social
Also Sean, Marco Tesei, Saleem Rashid and for HE South - Michael Carley
@drmcarley.bsky.social
Summer '24 - NEU strike threats win 5.5%.
Jan '25 - NEU strikes in SFC win another £50m.
WTF do we do to demonstrate that FE England needs national UCU action?
National indicative ballot?
Why not?
Stand together, stand fast.
@ucu-btc.bsky.social
@ucusw-regcom.bsky.social
#UCU_FE_NationalAction
Agreed.
Workload won't be solved by AI if there is no funding to support fast, effective infrastructure.
Most of my frustrations stem from trying to work with #Shit_IT.
There's a limit to the miracles I can work if I can't even connect.
@ucu.org.uk
@ucu-btc.bsky.social
@ucusw-regcom.bsky.social
2028 Carey reports on Social Care.
So, WTF are Skills England doing?
Why seemingly so secret.
My recommendations - for free.
- Nationalise FE
- National Pay Scales
- Parity with schools.
It'll take time - so better start now!
@ucu-btc.bsky.social
@ucusw-regcom.bsky.social
#UCU_FE_NationalAction
@drmcarley.bsky.social
U3A -University of the Third Age - Burnham on Sea
(Maoist Tendency)
@bwinternational.bsky.social
Zdravím Vás z Brna.
Veselé Vánoce a hezký nový rok.
Just in case anyone is thinking of using Starbucks - even though most of us boycott it anyway (BDS)
bdsmovement.net/countries/un...
Yep. Invest in workers.
By paying them well, providing rewarding work and a rewarding working environment.
You train them to the highest standards and raise their morale.
None of which applies across the board in FE England.
@ucu-btc.bsky.social
@ucusw-regcom.bsky.social
#UCU_FE_NationalAction
Spot on, Geoggers!
Principals!
Every time you pay staff the way you do ..
FE is devalued,
Education is devalued,
your staff feel devalued, and
...
your students get a bad deal.
And Govt?
Words fail me.
@ucu-btc.bsky.social
@ucusw-regcom.bsky.social
#UCU_FE_NationalAction
#UCU_SpreadTheWord
UCU asked for 10%.
A very modest step.
They offered 3% .. or 5%.
You pay peanuts ....
You don't treat staff as professionals, so don't expect professional commitment.
Another kick in the teeth for FE.
@ucu-btc.bsky.social
@ucusw-regcom.bsky.social
#UCU_FE_NationalAction
#UCU_SpreadTheWord
So someone had a 5% pay award in FE.
SO WHAT! It's an insult.
It still leaves them even further behind in the struggle for parity.
And what about the college down the road?
We need a National Pay Scale.
@ucu-btc.bsky.social
@ucusw-regcom.bsky.social
#UCU_FE_NationalAction
#UCU_SpreadTheWord
A 3% rise may seem reasonable, but parity now even further away.
It is NOT a good offer, albeit better than some others.
Face it.
Parity means a national pay scale.
Still a million miles away from that goal.
@ucu-btc.bsky.social
@ucusw-regcom.bsky.social
#UCU_FE_NationalAction
#UCU_SpreadTheWord
£300m × 2?
Can anyone point to the factual source of this story?
I've had no luck so far, but very happy to be proved wrong.
@ucu.org.uk
@ucu-btc.bsky.social
@ucusw-regcom.bsky.social
#UCU_FE_NationalAction
#UCU_SpreadTheWord
Hello QUB.
Perhaps I can visit your branch one day.
I was at Botanic in August.
I'll be in Belfast during my college half-term in February.
Always grand to meet new UCU friends.
John - NEC FE South
🤝 ✊️ ✊️ ✊️ 🤝
There are some really committed fans in Truro!
😉