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Steph Mulrine

@stephmulrine.bsky.social

Academic activist in UK. Sociologist using qualitative methods to research care, health inequalities, socially-produced vulnerabilities, social class, and death and bereavement. Trustee of Thrive Teesside. (she/her)

318 Followers  |  469 Following  |  25 Posts  |  Joined: 17.11.2024  |  2.1678

Latest posts by stephmulrine.bsky.social on Bluesky

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14 days of University strike action ends but union says fight will continue Figures show a £5.7m gap in the University's targets for academic job cuts as the strike draws to a conclusion.

“we are profoundly disappointed that the University is not taking redundancies off the table. […] and we passed a motion to continue hard hitting industrial action if they do not make us an offer” www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-e...

29.03.2025 15:31 — 👍 8    🔁 3    💬 0    📌 0

Solidarity from Newcastle UCU! ✊🏻

25.03.2025 17:38 — 👍 3    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

'Overdiganosis' sound scientific while 'too expensive' sounds ideological.
.

17.03.2025 08:12 — 👍 32    🔁 9    💬 1    📌 0

Join us!

17.03.2025 07:14 — 👍 3    🔁 1    💬 0    📌 1

Seeing this Labour government determined to slash essential benefits for the disabled community and be determined to justify it, is precisely why I think we need to heed the concerns of the disabled community around the assisted dying bill.

Continually framing people as a "burden" is dangerous.

17.03.2025 09:14 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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Newcastle University staff begin 14 days of strike action Industrial action begins at Newcastle University, in the face of 300 potential job losses.

Amazing turnout to our pickets today - over 400 people out to stop the cuts.

04.03.2025 14:57 — 👍 29    🔁 11    💬 0    📌 1
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Trying to open a new campus while cutting jobs. Not a good look.

Our members should not lose their livelihoods because of management can't handle the finances.

14 days of strike action started today at @newcastleucu.bsky.social 👇

With hundreds of jobs at risk we must #STOPtheCUTS.

04.03.2025 16:25 — 👍 96    🔁 27    💬 1    📌 3
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14 days of strike action at @newcastleucu.bsky.social battling devastating job cuts.

Picket lines will send a clear message 💪

Our members will not pay the price for managers financial mismanagement.

04.03.2025 14:04 — 👍 25    🔁 16    💬 0    📌 4
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Striking Newcastle University staff to hold city centre rally Striking Newcastle University staff to hold city centre rally

Tuesday will see the first of 14 days of strikes for Newcastle University staff, as the institution seeks to cuts £20m from its wage bill

03.03.2025 18:52 — 👍 1    🔁 1    💬 0    📌 0
Post image 26.02.2025 20:03 — 👍 17    🔁 20    💬 0    📌 6
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Newcastle University staff to strike for 14 days in March It follows the approval of plans to cut about £20m from its salary bill, affecting some 300 jobs.

300 jobs at risk at Newcastle University 🚨

Our members should not pay the price for vice-chancellors' inability to manage finances.

@newcastleucu.bsky.social say enough is enough.

17.02.2025 09:11 — 👍 27    🔁 18    💬 0    📌 0

The crisis in Higher Education is biting hard. Thousands are at risk of losing their jobs across the sector. Please sign and share this open letter calling on the Secretary of State for Education to act.

01.02.2025 11:09 — 👍 15    🔁 10    💬 0    📌 0
Open Letter: Save Higher Education – A Call for Urgent Action Higher Education is in Crisis

docs.google.com/document/d/e...
Sign our Open Letter to Bridget Phillipson, Secretary of State for Education and Minister for Women and Equalities, and Sunderland MP

01.02.2025 10:19 — 👍 28    🔁 24    💬 0    📌 11
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Quarter of leading UK universities cutting staff due to budget shortfalls Up to 10,000 redundancies or job losses feared as institutes undergo restructuring

Chaos & heartbreak. The HE funding model is broken beyond repair. Solidarity with all the individual UCU branches who are fighting heroically to defend the sector. The leverage to push Labour on from the rotten ideology causing cuts - now & still coming - demands full union mobilisation.

01.02.2025 09:09 — 👍 40    🔁 18    💬 0    📌 1
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Cardiff: University confirms plans to cut 400 jobs Vice-chancellor Wendy Larner says "it is no longer an option for us to continue as we are".

FOUR. HUNDRED.

Despite their most recently published financial statements showing that they have “a strong balance sheet” attributed that to the commitment of their staff - their “most important and valued asset”

University confirms plans to cut 400 jobs www.bbc.com/news/article...

28.01.2025 15:28 — 👍 37    🔁 25    💬 5    📌 2
Durham UCU Statement on Durham University Proposals to Cut Staff Costs by £20 million – Durham UCU

Durham UCUs statement on the cuts announced today.

durhamucu.org.uk/durham-ucu-s...

28.01.2025 15:29 — 👍 11    🔁 20    💬 0    📌 3
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"Health disparities research" is a field of study where researchers look at how things like race, ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic status can influence health outcomes. Now any gov't website about this says "page not found".

This is a dystopia that I did not imagine that we'd be living through.

25.01.2025 21:03 — 👍 939    🔁 354    💬 32    📌 31
Let’s make Jacob’s day and join a union today
YouTube video by Peter Stefanovic Let’s make Jacob’s day and join a union today

Without trade unions we wouldn’t have

• a minimum wage
• maternity & paternity rights
• pension provision
• holiday & sickness entitlements

victories which have benefited every single person in this country

Ignore the Victorian pencil, Join a union TODAY

youtu.be/jg0D2yNiqHM?...

26.01.2025 12:53 — 👍 1570    🔁 422    💬 28    📌 11

Assuming everyone listed was at the bottom of the associated bracket, that's an increase of almost sixteen million pounds being paid to those at the very top. That's half of Newcastle's budgetary black hole right there. They could save at least five mil capping salaries at a "mere" hundred grand.

24.01.2025 08:39 — 👍 22    🔁 16    💬 1    📌 0
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Newcastle University announces £30m further cuts as industrial action looms As academic staff send off their ballots on strike action, the University has announced the need for £30m extra savings for 2025/26

"As academic staff send off their ballots on strike action, the University has announced the need for £30m extra savings for 2025/26"
www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-e...

22.01.2025 21:08 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

Solidarity with colleagues at Newcastle University, who just announces 300 FTE redundancies.

21.01.2025 15:31 — 👍 75    🔁 33    💬 1    📌 9
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Newcastle University announces £30m further cuts as industrial action looms As academic staff send off their ballots on strike action, the University has announced the need for £30m extra savings for 2025/26

www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-e...

22.01.2025 21:03 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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Strike ballot to open at Newcastle University over the impact of £35m cuts Over 1,000 UCU members will be balloted for strike action at Newcastle University later this month over £35m in cuts management is slashing from the university's budget.

Newcastle University announcing 300 FTE redundancies. Come to the EGM Wed 1pm, and as we saw this coming, our ballot opened Monday - vote as soon as it arrives (by post). We will be fighting this, and join forces with the other two campus unions UNITE and UNISON
www.ucu.org.uk/article/13809

21.01.2025 23:55 — 👍 17    🔁 16    💬 1    📌 4

University management now needs to negotiate a resolution to the dispute that does not put staff in the firing line so we can avoid industrial action.' 4/4

13.01.2025 13:02 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

Management refuses to rule out compulsory redundancies, nor will it share its plans for the next stage of cuts, which come after the second voluntary severance package in a year. We want to open the books and independently assess the university's financial situation. 3/4

13.01.2025 13:02 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 1    📌 0

Newcastle University UCU branch chair Matt Perry said: 'Our members refuse to pay the price for management's unrealistic projections, bloated salaries, and misspending on buildings; we will be voting for industrial action because the cuts profoundly damage us, our students, and our research. 2/4

13.01.2025 13:02 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 1    📌 0
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Strike ballot to open at Newcastle University over the impact of £35m cuts Over 1.000 UCU members will be balloted for strike action at Newcastle University later this month over £35m in cuts management is slashing from the university's budget.

Strike ballot to open at Newcastle University over the impact of £35m cuts

1/4

www.ucu.org.uk/article/13809

13.01.2025 13:02 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 1    📌 0

Back to work for me today. Trying to ease back in with admin and planning tasks without inducing overwhelm. A fine balance it would seem.

13.01.2025 10:52 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

Vital project!

Are there any on the #UKHE that specifically targeted languages which we haven't indicated? We tried to mention when there were specific departments that were wiped out, but sometimes that happened in a third step and we hadn't seen it. So do give us the update if you know of others

15.12.2024 19:19 — 👍 6    🔁 7    💬 1    📌 0

Vinted is down! Argh! 😱

15.12.2024 19:48 — 👍 3    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

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