We understand that students may feel frustrated by lost or delayed teaching and the additional stress that may result from strike action, and we aim to provide support for students to mitigate the impact of these disruptions. We have seen that disruption is especially felt by our international students who often feel isolated without the support that regular classes and meetings can offer. This is due to the relatively increased financial damage coupled with the emotionally taxing effect of studying away from friends and family.
Talking to staff made us aware that strikes to them are an issue of conscience and that strict conditions need to be met for strike action to take place. It should also be noted that staff are not being paid whilst on strike. Staff are aware of the burden on students, but striking is their last resort.
Issues faced by staff are detrimental to the quality of education of our students and, in the long term, a win for the three trade unions is a win for students. Increasing workload for teaching staff allows less time for marking and preparing, and also affects timetabling. Real term fall in pay makes recruitment especially difficult, for example in IT roles, and students are users of the University’s IT systems. Race and gender pay gaps make the sector inaccessible to prospective academics from marginalised backgrounds and set the wrong example to our students.
Some of our members sit between the student body and staff members and are also part of the dispute. Many of our PGR students who teach are on zero hour contracts, based on the number of hours they work. PGRs have told us that they are often overworked to meet teaching commitments. Casualisation also means that PGRs are unable to receive benefits like paid sick and maternity leave.
Overall, we support the right to fair pay, a secure pension, and improved working conditions and contracts. In spite of the fact that our studies may be temporarily affected, we firmly believe that a successful conclusion to the demands of this industrial action will make our learning environment better.
FAQs
We understand that this period may be even more stressful and concerning for international students. Our Help & Support team is here to listen and offer guidance and support.
If you are studying on a tier 4 visa, missed lectures due to your lecturer going on strike will not be considered as unexcused absences. We advise that you attend all timetabled activities to avoid being recorded as absent for teaching. If you are worried about this, please contact your School.
A trade union is an organisation whose members are employees who work collectively to improve or maintain their working conditions.
Trade unions typically:
Provide assistance and services e.g. have reps accompanying members in disciplinary meetings or providing members with legal support
Have union reps who negotiate with employers for better pay and/or other benefits
Campaign
Carry out industrial action
Industrial action happens when trade unions are in a dispute with employers, and the dispute can’t be solved through negotiations. Industrial action mainly involves:
Going on strike: workers who are members of a trade union collectively refusing to work under the conditions required by the employers
Action Short of a Strike: taking other action to protest. UCU generally lists the following as ASOS:
working to contract,
not covering for absent colleagues,
not rescheduling lectures or classes cancelled due to strike action,
not undertaking any voluntary activities,
a marking and assessment boycott.
To take part in industrial action, members must vote in ballots held by their trade union. Ballots must be properly organised in order to comply with the law: voting is postal, it must be held before the union asks members to take or continue taking action, open to all members (details can be found in the code of practice on industrial action ballots.)
Workplaces have different trade unions they choose to work with. There are three official campus trade unions: UCU, UNISON and Unite. All three have balloted to strike.
The University College Union is a trade union whose members are primarily academics, lecturers and researchers.
Unison is a public service trade union. Unison university branches typically represent:
administration and IT,
cleaning, catering and facilities maintenance,
technical and laboratory services,
security,
library and sports centre services, and
student union services.
Unite is a trade union formed by the merger of Amicus and the Transport and General Workers’ Union (TGWU). Traditionally Amicus was the union in the university that represented technicians, but now Unite will represent any member of staff. Most officers and reps are, or have been, technicians in the University of Leeds.
UCU: Thursday 24, Friday 25 and Wednesday 30 November
Unison: Thursday 24, Friday 25, Saturday 26, Sunday 27, Monday 28, Tuesday 29 and Wednesday 30 November
Unite: Thursday 24, Friday 25, Monday 28, Tuesday 29 and Wednesday 30 November
The University has a single pay spine which most members of staff are paid on. The salary scales are split into grades, and your grade depends on your job. This is negotiated within the Joint Negotiating Committee for Higher Education Staff between Trade Unions and the UK’s higher education employers’ body, the Universities and Colleges Employers’ Association (UCEA).
The UCU are involved in two disputes, the first over Pay, Equality, Workload and Casualisation (the ‘Four Fights’) and the other over changes to the USS Pension Scheme.
Pensions: This dispute is over the USS pension scheme which is a hybrid pension scheme meaning that it has both a defined benefit part and a defined contribution part.
Defined Benefits: Guarantees a specific income when retired.
Defined Contributions: Pension is dependent on employees’ contributions and fund’s investment performance.
Dispute: Based upon a valuation carried out in 2020, contributions were increased and benefits were reduced, to fund an estimated deficit. In recent monitoring updates, the deficit was significantly lower than estimated due to asset prices rising more than the increase in liabilities as the pandemic eased. UCU calls for another valuation, securing benefits and reducing member contributions. You can find details on UCU’s proposal and Universities UK proposal here.
Pay: asks for an increase at least in line with inflation + 2%. According to UCU, the real terms pay cut from 2009-2022 in Higher Education is approximately 25%.
Gender and Ethnicity Gaps: UCU asks for nationally agreed action to close ethnicity and gender gaps.
Workload: UCU asks for a 35 hour working week as a basis for their members’ contracts and local and national action to address excessive workload and unpaid work.
Casualisation: UCU asks to include eliminating zero hour contracts, converting hourly paid staff onto fractional contracts.
Over pay conditions. Against the 3% pay increase, asking for an increase at least in line with inflation + 2%.
Over pay conditions. Against the 3% pay increase, asking for an increase at least in line with inflation + 2%. According to Unite, there is a real value decrease of staff’s salary in the last decade by 19.7%.
Edward Boyle, Laidlaw and Brotherton are all set to remain open. Other library spaces are expected to be closed. Limited library services are expected to be in operation – the main focus will be on opening/closing of the space.
The impact cannot be predicted yet but it is likely that there will be delays in responses, impact on assessments, particularly for postgraduate students. A front door will still be available to students, via the Student Information Service – this will be staffed throughout, and specialist support services will continue to run.
Staff will prioritise the main outlets e.g. the refectory, with some of the smaller cafes closing.
Will be mainly focussed on emergency provisions e.g. repairs etc. rather than new work.
These are expected to be accessible as normal without any appointment cancellations. Support services within schools are expected to be varied.
Residences won’t be affected.
Will be prioritising the gym and pool, and some of the smaller facilities such as Cromer Terrace and The Gryphon Centre may be closed. Where strike action is taking place on a Wednesday, there may be adjustments made to accommodate sports matches. Activities in other spaces in university buildings are unlikely to be affected. It is expected that groups will be notified on whether their space will be available or not.
This is unlikely to be impacted unless other unprecedented events occur which require additional security support. There is, however, a plan in place, should this happen.
Signed:
Bethan Corner, Education Officer
Ella Williams, Activities & Opportunities Officer
Emily Tabern, Wellbeing Officer
Haryati Mohammed, Equality & Liberation Officer
Maria Papageorgiou, Union Affairs & Communications Officer
Vicky Zhuo, International & Postgraduate Officer
Further questions on how different groups of students may be affected, advice on compensation and other academic-related queries can be found on our Help & Support page on Strike Action.
