UCU Industrial Action
Marking and assessment boycott ends (September 23)
The University and College Union (UCU), which represents many staff at Durham University, has announced that its marking and assessment boycott, which has been ongoing since April, will end.
The UCU also confirmed that five new days of strike action have been called, from Monday 25 to Friday 29 September. However, these dates are one week before Durham’s Michaelmas Term begins, so we are hopeful the impact on Durham students will be low.
The University has said students will receive the timescales for their marks to be returned on Tuesday, 12 September. For finalists, this will include a date by which you can expect your final degree to be confirmed.
Compensation campaign (August 23)
The new SU officers have released a statement on the marking and assessment boycott (MAB) and the upcoming launch of a compensation campaign.
See what we're doing and demanding for students here.
You can visit our page here explaining what you need to do if you wish to submit a compensation complaint.
Student results (June 23)
Student results will be published from 16:00 on 19 June.
Check your Durham student inbox to find an email about the release of your results and what to expect in light of the ongoing marking and assessment boycott.
We know many of you will require support during this period. Please visit Industrial action - Home (sharepoint.com) for the latest Uni information, FAQs and more.
Strike action dates announced (June 23)
Strike action is taking place on 16, 17 and 29 June and 15 and 16 September 2023.
The action is due to the University’s decision to deduct 50% of pay from staff taking part in the ongoing Marking and Assessment Boycott. We urge the university to lobby UCEA and UUK to settle this dispute.
If you’d like to discuss how this impacts your university experience, we invite you to attend an event we are hosting with Durham UCU, where we’ll be hearing from students and staff on 22 June at 17:00 in Van Tempest.
Over the past couple of weeks, our Officers Joe and Josh have been working to keep students updated on the Marking and Assessment Boycott. We know many students will feel uncertain about degree classifications this year. SU President Joe McGarry has spoken with Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Education) Tony Fawcett to help mitigate some of those worries regarding the process of awarding degrees this year. Watch the video here to find out more.
We know that students still deserve better than this. Any action is disruptive for students. This escalation was not inevitable, and it is still possible for it to be called off if staff are offered a fair deal. We continue to extend our full solidarity to the staff.
Josh has been speaking with Dr Sara Uckelman UCUs Equality Officer, to answer students' questions to help provide some clarity on why the upcoming action is happening. Watch it here.
Useful links and support
Marking and Assessment Boycott 2023
The elected representatives on UCU's higher education committee (HEC) voted to begin a marking and assessment boycott (MAB) from Thursday, 20 April 2023.
This means that from Thursday, 20 April 2023, UCU members in higher education institutions that are part of the pay and working conditions dispute will cease undertaking all summative marking and associated assessment activities/duties. The boycott also covers assessment-related work, such as exam invigilation and the processing of marks.
We know this will concern you, particularly if you’re a finalist. However, the University has reassured us that detailed mitigations are in place to support you, stating that their top priority will be to ensure you get your marks and degree classification and can carry on with your plans for the future.
What we know:
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All assessments and examinations will go ahead as scheduled. You should still submit your work and plan to attend your exams as planned.
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Degree outcomes will not be negatively affected by missing marks, and it's expected that many students will either be unaffected or see limited impact from the marking and assessment boycott.
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Every student who has completed their degree can attend Congregation in June.
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Staff involved in the boycott will still be available as usual. Contact them directly if you are unsure of how specific staff members’ responsibilities will change due to the boycott.
Your department may also have specific advice or guidance, so please consult with them.
The marking and assessment boycott will continue until the disputes are settled, or UCU calls off the boycott, or at the end of the industrial action ballot mandate (currently September).
We will provide further information and advice as soon as we have it. Please continue to check back here as we continue to update the page.
FAQs can be found on SharePoint: Frequently asked questions
Strike Action (February/March 2023)
The University and Colleges Union (UCU) recently voted to take ‘escalating strike action’ in the coming term (Term 2, 2022/23). Unless an agreement is reached, it is planned that there will be 18 days of strike action by academic staff who choose to participate across February and March. A marking and assessment boycott is intended to start in April but will require further support (‘re-balloting’) of UCU members to continue beyond early April.
This means that unless an agreement is reached with UCU beforehand, that some of your academic teaching staff might be unavailable to teach your lectures and seminars at times throughout this term. Strike dates, when confirmed, will be widely shared, including by us here, so you can be aware of what is happening. You may not know if a specific academic will be striking (they aren’t obligated to tell you) but many will give students a heads-up about disrupted teaching.
Dates:
Week 1 - Wednesday 1 February
Week 2 - Thursday 9 and Friday 10 February
Week 3 - Tuesday 14, Wednesday 15 and Thursday 16 February
Week 4 - Tuesday 21, Wednesday 22 and Thursday 23 February
Week 5 - Monday 27 and Tuesday 28 February and Wednesday 1 and Thursday 2 March
Week 6 - Thursday 16 and Friday 17 March
Week 7 - Monday 20, Tuesday 21 and Wednesday 22 March
