Why are staff striking?
What does this mean for me?
What will the strikes be like?
What can I do?
Will I get a refund?
The SU supports strike action.
Your Questions Answered: Strikes Recording
Why are staff striking?
UCU are the trade union that represents a number of academic staff who work at University of Gloucestershire. Previous action was taken in 2022 in relation to pay and conditions for these staff. Strike action throughout February is a continuation of this dispute between staff in UCU and University leadership.
UCU are call for universities to substantially improve the offers that they have made to date over pay, working conditions and pensions. Strike action will take the form of 18 days of action throughout February and March which will affect teaching and access to academic staff.
What does this mean for me?
The impact is likely to be different depending on how many of your lecturers are taking part in the action. Lecturers are not obliged to inform staff or students of their intention to take industrial action therefore responses from the University cannot always be pre-planned.
If you have questions about exams, in person observations or assignments, please contact your Head of School. More information is also available on MyGlos.
What will the strikes be like?
Striking members will not be attending or delivering teaching sessions on listed strike days. Content related to the sessions due to be taught on strike days may be withheld from Moodle or other virtual learning platforms. Additionally, staff may not respond to emails or Teams messages on strike days. Members of the unions may be present on picket lines at the entrances of each campus; these will be peaceful and informative.
What can I do?
If you want to support academic staff taking industrial action, you can write to the Vice Chancellor or your local MP expressing your views and concerns for the working conditions of your lecturers. The National Union of Students has a helpful letter template which you can find by going to uogsu.com/strikes.
If you feel strongly about supporting industrial action, you would be welcome to join members of staff on the picket lines.
Will I get a refund?
We appreciate that students are not able to access some parts of there learning at this time but SU will be calling for the university to spend the with-held pay i the interests of students and we can keep students updated on our progress with this.
The SU supports strike action.
We understand that the nature of this strike action is disruptive for students’ learning. However, we also believe that working conditions for staff are learning conditions for students. Therefore, it’s our view that well supported staff are in the best position to offer an excellent experience for students.
The SU Executive Committee made up of our elected Network Leads and Full Time Officers as representatives of all students have voted to support industrial action. We agreed this mandate in 2022 in relation to industrial action for the academic year 2022/23.
If you have any questions about this process, please contact our Education and Community Officer Eleanor Hill ehill8@glos.ac.uk
Your Questions Answered: Strikes
On the 16th February we held an online event with panels made up of trade union representatives as well as members of the University Exec. You can watch the recording of this below.