Universities exist to teach students & produce research This brings in the money. Academics generate the value. Everyone else is paid from that income stream. University senior management has forgotten who creates the income & who depends on it They behave as if system runs the other way around

Grateful to Birmingham UCU’s retiring organiser Russ for years of care, graft and steadfast solidarity with staff and students. Wishing you a radical, restful and joyful next chapter – thank you for everything, In Sol.

Redundancies don’t just affect those selected. Where posts are cut but work remains, other staff absorb extra duties, increasing workload and impacting wellbeing, teaching quality and student support

If your consultation felt predetermined, tell us. Birmingham UCU is mapping where the university’s official narrative about process doesn’t match what staff actually experienced.

Members reported consultation that felt like a tick-box exercise, with decisions effectively made before discussion. Meaningful consultation should shape outcomes, not rubber-stamp them.

Not in UCU yet? This is exactly when union membership matters. It gives you a voice and a route to challenge consultation processes that don’t meet basic standards of fairness. www.ucu.org.uk/join

Our members’ meeting heard serious concerns about the ‘business cases’ behind recent redundancies. In some areas, the savings claimed weren’t properly evidenced. When jobs are on the line, that’s not good enough.

Have you been told ‘the business case is clear’ without real information? Share your experience with Birmingham UCU. Member testimony helps us challenge weak or unjustified decisions.

UCU membership means you’re not left to pick apart a business case alone. The branch can support you with advice, representation and collective challenge to unfair proposals.

Over the last 12 months, the University of Birmingham has run five redundancy processes: Cell Therapies Suite, Biosciences, UoB Online, Modern Languages and Worklink. This isn’t one-off – it’s a pattern across the institution.

If you want collective protection when jobs, workloads and fair processes are at stake, join Birmingham UCU. We are challenging these restructures. www.ucu.org.uk/join

Redundancies anywhere in the university affect all of us. Work rarely disappears; it is pushed onto remaining staff. If you’ve seen this in your area, your experience needs to be part of the Birmingham UCU conversation.

Some colleagues are more susceptible in a heatwave, including pregnant staff and people with certain underlying conditions. Individual risk assessments should be available covering room allocation, duties, and the option of working from home. 1/3

FWIW here's my experience of being 'in scope' and 'at risk' (not my current employer) #HE #universities

'Upon the gears and upon the wheels': terror convergence and total administration in the neoliberal university

research.birmingham.ac.uk

If you’ve got staff meetings, away days, training or social events scheduled over the next couple of days, it’s reasonable to ask for a hybrid format with a reliable online joining option alongside the in‑person room. 1/4

Red extreme heat alert now in force across the West Midlands, with a red UKHSA heat-health alert running until tomorrow evening. This level of warning means risk to life for everyone, not only those usually considered vulnerable. 1/3

The University of Birmingham can apparently find £879,828 for a Westminster lobbying firm, but claims there is no money to end casualisation, reverse cuts, or fund decent pay for staff. 1/4

UCU runs excellent training – from health & safety rep inductions to Challenging the far right: rebuilding solidarity. These courses build skills we need locally in BUCU: negotiating, organising, and defending members. If you’re curious about stepping up your involvement, drop us a DM.

We are already seeing employers misinterpret the EHRC Code of Practice around gender identity. Our position is clear: equality duties still fully apply, and any changes must be consulted on and legally robust.

Casualisation is not inevitable. We are formally requesting detailed data from UoB on insecure contracts and pressing management to change course. This national exercise will arm us with evidence to challenge precarity in our own institution.

Overwork is not a personal time‑management issue, it’s a collective problem created by employers. UCU’s Workload Survey will feed into national campaigns and local negotiations to reduce workload pressure. If you want your reality reflected in that data, complete the survey

UCU’s 2026 Workload Survey is live. It’s open to members and non‑members, with a chance to win one of five £50 vouchers. The more responses we have, the stronger the evidence for challenging unsustainable workloads nationally and here at Birmingham

If your employer tried to punish you for staying in your pension scheme, would you stand for it? Northumbria UCU members have voted to censure their university, declared no confidence in the board of govs and called on the chair to resign. This is why strong branches and collective action matter.

The HSE found Birmingham University couldn't "demonstrate sufficient understanding of the risk to its staff from work-related stress." BUCU's formal complaint made that happen. Now we're making sure the response is more than tick-boxes. Read the full @IOSHmagazine piece 👇

Birmingham Uni response to work-related stress failures cast light on broader OSH culture | IOSH magazine

Birmingham University has until September to complete all the corrective measures identified by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) during an inspection last year under its Fee for Intervention (FFI) scheme.

ioshmagazine.com

What we are seeing at Birmingham is part of a wider pattern across the sector: 5–10% headcount reduction targets, Professional Services restructures running ahead of academic restructures, and reviews of Languages and Music provision. Branches are comparing notes because the playbook repeats. 1/4

After BUCU published its post on the University’s restructuring plans, management wrote demanding that we take it down. Weeks later, they have still not identified a single factual inaccuracy in the piece. The post is staying up. 1/4

BUCU has been collecting member feedback on the revised PDR process, which has been rolled out without agreement with unions. The clear message so far: it is more burdensome, less clear and more focused on institutional PR than on genuine development. 1/3

USS, governance and transparency aren’t abstract issues for us at Birmingham – decisions taken by the Board shape our retirement income and the employer’s contribution to it.

Next BUCU General Meeting: Tuesday 14 May, 1pm (online). We’ll be discussing pensions, the new PDR process and the University’s restructuring plans – members, please prioritise attending and share the details in your areas.

On Tuesday 19 May, UCU-appointed USS trustee directors Helen Shay, Sam Marsh and David Watts are visiting campus for a pensions event at Birmingham. Before the event they’ve offered to meet BUCU members to take questions on USS and the wider pensions picture. 1/2