Durham SU update: UCU strike action policy

Friday 16-02-2018 - 13:40
Img 1665

On the 29 January, the University and College Union (UCU) announced that strike action will take place at 61 universities, including Durham, after talks between UCU and the employers' representative Universities UK (UUK) ended without agreement.

Since then, Durham SU have taken into account student voices in order to form our policy regarding the strike. A policy was proposed by student George Walker and then brought to Assembly on 14 February, a body made up of a cross-section of students, which any student can speak at.

Following rigorous discussion of the policy and several amendments put forward by another student, the policy was passed with 25 votes for, three against, and one abstention. You can read the official policy here.

Clearly, the UCU strike is a contentious topic with various issues on students’ minds, including ensuring that lecturers’ right to strike is thoroughly supported and also concern for the impact on students’ education. If you have any questions about the strikes, Durham SU are keeping an updated list of FAQs here. If your question is not answered in these FAQs, please contact the SU and we will endeavour to answer your question. You can also find info direct from Durham’s UCU representatives here.

On the 15 February, the University issued a statement expressing their inability to address the dispute internally and encouraging a return to discussions on a national level. They have also issued a policy explaining their procedures for mitigating disruption to students. You can find these both here.

If you would like to actively support UCU, you can make a choice not to cross picket lines. These will be boundaries set up by striking workers at the entrance to their workplace. You can do academic work at home, in a café or a public library instead. Students may also stand near picket lines, but will not be legally recognised as official pickets. Talk to your tutors, lecturers and supervisors to understand why they are striking. Further advice from UCU on how students can support the strikes can be found here.

Related Tags :

UCU, uss, UUK, strike, strike action, pension,

More Durham SU Articles

More Articles...