UCU Strike Action 2022/23

Where assessments are still to be set, we will recommend to our members that they avoid assessing students on content they have not been taught

If an assessment is due to be submitted on a strike day then students should ensure that it is submitted by the published deadline. Marking will take place after the strike days. Heads of School will be asked to ensure that students are not assessed on any missed content.

Strike action—the collective withdrawal of labour—is considered a basic democratic right. Staff members who participate in strike action, currently scheduled for 24, 25 and 30 November, will not carry out any of their work duties on those days, whether they were due to be involved teaching, research or administrative. The university will deduct three days' worth of pay from staff who participate in the strike. This kind of action is not something university staff undertake lightly. We are doing so because we feel we are at breaking point. Our pay has fallen by over 25% since 2009, which adds to the pressure of the cost of living crisis for our members.

Workloads are unbearable for many staff. There are huge ethnicity, gender and disability pay gaps in UK universities. Large amounts of work is now being undertaken by staff on "precarious" contracts, with no certainty how long they will be employed. This has implications for students. Our teaching conditions are your learning conditions, and we want to protect these. That’s why staff at 150 universities have overwhelmingly voted for strike action in UCU’s biggest ballot to date, and it is why the National Union of Students are in support of us. The University and College Union (UCU) is asking for a pay increase for all staff (Retail Price Index + 2%); an end to race, gender and disability pay injustice; a framework to eliminate zero-hours and other casualised contracts; meaningful action to tackle workloads, and revoke devastating pension cuts.

The impact of the action is likely to vary in different schools. Staff are not required to tell the University in advance if they will be taking strike action, although they are encouraged to let students know. We cannot say at this stage which teaching events may be cancelled.

If your lecturer is on strike, they will cancel any teaching activities during strike days. They will also be unavailable by email on those days. However, we welcome students contacting us to ask us why we’re taking action. So please do not hesitate to contact your lecturer by email outside of strike days or to come and visit us at the picket lines, which we will organise at entrances to the campus on strike days. We will also hold a series of "teach-outs", open to staff and students, where we will speak on a range of issues on which the UCU campaigns.

If your lecturer is on strike then any planned teaching events that they were due to deliver will not take place. It may not be possible to reschedule them but we will make every effort to do so. Your lecturer may choose to tell you that they are taking industrial action. If you require support when a particular member of staff is taking industrial action then you should contact your personal tutor, if they are available, or professional services staff in your School who will be able to advise. Support is also available from Student Support Services.

The strike will also apply to staff who are UCU members and who are teaching medical students.

If your lecturer is on strike then any planned teaching events that they were due to deliver will not take place. It may not be possible to reschedule them but we will make every effort to do so. Your lecturer may choose to tell you that they are taking industrial action. If you require support when a particular member of staff is taking industrial action then you should contact your personal tutor, if they are available, or professional services staff in your School who will be able to advise. Support is also available from Student Support Services.

By far the most important thing that the management of the University of Leicester could do to resolve these issues, and end the associated disruption for students, would be to urge Universities UK, the body that represents employers, to take seriously our demands. Unfortunately, the University of Leicester has a gender pay gap above the national average, has insisted that it cannot afford a pay rise for staff, and has not made sufficient progress on casualisation and workloads.

We regret the impact that strikes have on those we teach. However, we are striking to ensure that all students—current and future—get the education they deserve, and to ensure that we are able to carry out research of the highest possible standard. We think universities should be genuine learning communities, in which we can all be proud of our work, not "teaching factories" designed to extract the maximum profit out of students for the lowest possible cost. Sadly, those running higher education in the UK do not seem to agree with us.

Students will not be assessed on any content that is missed due to the strike action. Staff will be asked to reschedule cancelled teaching where possible. Some module content will be available online and lecture capture will be available for teaching events that go ahead or are rescheduled. Students can utilise module resources that are available on Blackboard and module reading lists. Support for students will be available from staff who are not participating in the industrial action and from Student Support Services.

The UCU is not currently undertaking a marking and assessment boycott, although members voted for “action short of strike” including the possibility, in the future, of engaging in such action. Again, we hope that Universities UK will reach an agreement with us before this becomes necessary.

The planned industrial action does not include an assessment and marking boycott so your work will be marked as normal. If there are any slight delays, for example if marked work is due back on a strike day, your School should keep you informed.

UCU as a trade union is legally obliged to inform the University of Leicester in advance of any strike action or action such as a marking and assessment boycott. Individual members of staff are not required to tell the University in advance when they are taking industrial action. We are also committed to working with the students' union to inform students of our actions. We appreciate the solidarity students have shown us. Few people come to work in a university for the money or the glamour! We do it because we care about learning, our own and that of our students. We hope students will continue to support us in our efforts to ensure that the University of Leicester is a place where students can study in the best possible conditions.

Staff are not required to notify the University in advance if they are taking industrial action although they are encouraged to let students know. So at this stage, we cannot say whether students will be notified that teaching will not take place.

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Students can utilise module resources that are available on Blackboard and online resources, including recorded teaching sessions, where available. We will endeavour to reschedule as many teaching events as possible.