Many students will be aware of the decision taken by the University and College Union (UCU) – the trade union that represents lecturers, researchers and other university staff such as librarians and administrators – to take strike action. This will be across three days from Wednesday 1st December to Friday 3rd December.
Many students will be aware of the decision taken by the University and College Union (UCU) – the trade union that represents lecturers, researchers and other university staff such as librarians and administrators – to take strike action. This will be across three days from Wednesday 1st December to Friday 3rd December.
Why is this happening?
The strike relates to ongoing disputes between UCU and Universities, represented by Universities UK (UUK), about pensions, pay and working conditions. Discussions are ongoing between UCU, Universities UK and the Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA), with the hope that a resolution can be found. Strike action has previously taken place in the 2018-19, and 2019-20 academic years over these issues.
What is UUSU doing?
UUSU has previously released a statement on this matter which is clear that students remain our number one priority, and we are here to represent, support and connect all of you. It is our duty to ensure that your academic interests are always considered, and this includes working to mitigate any impact on your studies. We will work to do this through building relationships with UCU and University staff to ensure that there is no detriment to your assessments or studies. We also will be lobbying the University to request that any saved funds due to strike action are put back directly into the student experience.
What can I do?
UUSU and the wider University remains open for business throughout the period of strikes – all our spaces will be there for you to use, and you’ll still be able to access libraries and labs etc. The University has a page on its website to keep you updated and this contains a thorough and far reaching FAQ guide to further support you during this time: https://www.ulster.ac.uk/update/students.
During the strike action it is possible that lectures may be cancelled at short notice so we would urge our members to make sure that:
- Your mobile number is up to date with Registry so you can receive important SMS communications from the University.
- You check your University supplied email regularly as updates from the University will be supplied through this platform.
We appreciate that there is a wide range of views among the student body regarding strike action. UUSU through its Student Council took the difficult decision not to support strike action due to the very real impact this will have on our members. However, we appreciate that some members, such as PHD students who are also members of UCU, may wish to act in solidarity with the strikes.
How can I get support from UUSU?
As part of our understanding around any impacts we are asking that our members keep us informed of your views and experience of the strikes by emailing: strikes@uusu.org. You can also complete our strikes survey by visiting this link: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/J3GX8MD during this period where you can provide some detailed feedback. If you have any University related questions, please contact your Course Director in the first instance.
UUSU is here to support its members at what may be a challenging time and where required we would urge you to contact the UUSU Advice Bureau which will be providing one-to-one academic support throughout the duration of the strikes. Click here if you want to get in contact with your campus contacts or alternatively you can contact them via email through the below links:
In addition to all the above our UOK; We’re Here for You Campaign will continue to run during this period so if you need to check in you can call 0808 801 0844 for free. You may also receive a call from this number, and this is us checking in with you during this difficult period.