The University and College Union (UCU) is a UK trade union to be formed from the merger of the Association of University Teachers|AUT and National Association of Teachers in Further and Higher Education|NATFHE.
The union will be formed on 1st June 2006. For the first year a set of transitional rules will be in place until full operational unity is achieved in June 2007. The union will have more than 110,000 members and will be the largest further and higher education union in the world.
During the first year of the new union the existing General Secretaries (Sally Hunt and Paul Mackney) will remain in post, managing the union’s day to day business jointly. Elections will be held for the post of general secretary of the new union to take up office on 1 June 2007. Mr Mackney has indicated that he will not stand for General Secretary of UCU due to ill-health.