Together, a fresh start for Further Education members
By Sally Hunt, UCU joint general secretary
I am seeking your vote in the elections for a new general secretary of UCU.
I helped create UCU because I believe we can do better together. I share your passion for your work, your commitment to the principles of further education and to a better deal for learners and staff.
Staff pay is not everything but it is a mark of the respect we have from employers and government. Why is it we:
- teach school children, but earn less than teachers
- teach A-Levels but earn less than six-form teachers
- provide HE in FE yet earn less than university staff
Together let us make a fresh start in FE – focusing on what matters to you, on providing a professional service and on building a strong, credible union.
In FE, I believe we can do better by:
- putting members priorities like pay and conditions and reducing workloads first
- agreeing a new national pay strategy that reflects reality and tackles the "myriad" of different conditions you work under
- ending exploitation of casual contract teachers by campaigning for LSC to make best practice in employment a condition of public funding
- standing up for FE and the staff who work in it in positive, public campaigns that "speak for the sector"
- increasing our strength by reaching out to teachers not in the union and to disillusioned existing members
You have an extraordinary commitment yet you tell me that you are made to feel like poor relations compared to school teachers and university lecturers. Why should we accept this? It is time for a change.
I will stand up for FE and the people in it. I will build a major campaign celebrating the transformation of people's life chances that your work produces.
Now that NATFHE and AUT are gone, we are all in this together. There is no more 'them and us'. Now there is just 'us'.
UCU can make a real difference. Together let us build a shared future.
Best wishes
Sally
_________________
About me
I am the joint general secretary of the UCU, having been general secretary of the Association of University Teachers since 2002. I have spent the majority of my working life supporting education professionals, and was instrumental in negotiating the merger between AUT and NATFHE to form UCU. If you want to know more about my experience go to my website below.
Join the debate
Nobody has all the answers but you can read my manifesto and my detailed plans for 'a fresh start for FE' at
http://sallyhuntucu.blogspot.com/. Tell me what you think
Become a supporter