UCU (UNITE) Strike Calendar

Over one hundred members of staff at the University and Colleges Union (UCU) are taking strike action this month due to the actions of UCU's management and the treatment of a trade union rep. UCU staff at offices around the country who are represented by Unite are taking strike action from 12-20 February. This follows a breakdown in talks aimed at resolving the treatment of a staff member and Unite health and safety rep within UCU.

The staff member became subject to unjustified and unlawful treatment at work after raising safety complaints, including to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). This led to the HSE, the national safety regulator, issuing a Contravention Notice to UCU in late 2023 over its failure to follow statutory duties in preventing workplace stress. Work-related stress absences amongst UCU staff have rocketed in recent years despite the sanction from the HSE – in 2023 the number of stress-related absences totalled over 350, with the figures rising to over 900 in 2024 which affected roughly 10 per cent of staff, and with over 600 recorded during the first nine months of 2025.