UCU Congress takes strong stance against anti-union laws

The recent congress of the University and College Union, held online from 1-3 June, passed a resolution committing the union to a strong stance, and campaigning, against anti-union laws. The motion was proposed by the UCU branch at Birkbeck, which recently voted to support Free Our Unions, as well as UCU University of Brighton (Moulsecoomb),

Birkbeck UCU says: free our unions!

The University and College Union (UCU) branch at Birkbeck, University of London, has become the latest trade union branch to support the Free Our Unions campaign. Birkbeck UCU will also be sending a motion to UCU’s Congress which aims to commit the union to active campaigning on the issue of anti-union and anti-strike laws. Free

UCU versus the anti-union laws

By a Cambridge UCU member The University and College Union (UCU) last week announced the results of two national ballots. Higher Education (HE) sector members were balloted on two disputes: the long-running “USS” pensions issue, and on the “Four Fights”: pay, workload, casualisation, and inequality. Pensions in HE have been systematically attacked over the past

Gregor Gall on Labour’s manifesto, trade union law and workers’ self-activity

Gregor Gall is a visiting professor of industrial relations at the University of Leeds and an affiliate research associate at the University of Glasgow. He supports the Free Our Unions campaign. Gregor spoke to Free Our Unions about the commitments on workers’ and trade union rights in the Labour Party manifesto, and the wider issues they raise.

The fight against climate catastrophe needs free trade unions

This article, by Daniel Randall, was originally published by Workers’ Liberty on 5th July 2019. Find it here. The call for a general strike against climate change, now gaining traction across much of the climate movement and taken up by prominent figures such as Greta Thurnberg, has a meaningful latent power. School climate strikers are calling

Fight to free our unions

This article, by Riccardo La Torre and Sacha Ismail, was orginally published on the FBU website on 19th June 2019. Find it here. Anti-union laws, severely restricting the right to organise and take industrial action, are a barrier to workers defending their interests and building up the labour movement’s strength. All of them – from