UCU announce new 14-day strike
Artwork by Olivia Bessant
In a statement released on Monday 3rd February, the University and College Union (UCU) has confirmed that a second round of strike action is set to take place in February and March.
UCL is among the 74 universities across the country to be affected by the industrial action, which will see 14 strike days take place over four weeks between Thursday 20th February and Friday 13th March.
UCU members will walk out on the following dates:
Week 1: Thursday 20th and Friday 21st February
Week 2: Monday 24th, Tuesday 25th, and Wednesday 26th February
Week 3: Monday 2nd, Tuesday 3rd, Wednesday 4th, and Thursday 5th March
Week 4: Monday 9th, Tuesday 10th, Wednesday 11th, Thursday 12th, and Friday 13th March
Due to Reading Week, UCU members at UCL will be striking on Thursday 19th and Friday 20th March instead of 20th and 21st February.
Following last term’s 8-day strike, and the 14-day strike in 2018, UCU have called for further industrial action based on unresolved disputes regarding pay, working conditions, and rising pension costs. The latter is a result of changes to the Universities Superannuation Scheme.
An additional 14 universities will be involved in the upcoming walkout - up from the 60 institutions last term - as their UCU branches crossed the 50% turnout threshold required for industrial action. Institutions joining the strike action this term include London-based universities King’s College, Imperial College, and SOAS.
In last Monday’s statement, UCU General Secretary Jo Grady said: “We have seen more members back strikes since the winter walkouts and this next wave of action will affect even more universities and students. If universities want to avoid further disruption they need to deal with rising pension costs, and address the problems over pay and conditions. We have been clear from the outset that we would take serious and sustained industrial action if that was what was needed”.
She warned that strike action could extend until the end of the academic year if their concerns are not addressed, although another ballot of members will be required as the mandate for industrial action only covers six months.
In response to concerns over a loss of learning time during last term’s walkout, UCL established the Learning Opportunities Fund, through which students could apply for funding to go towards learning resources. Those affected by the first round of strike action were eligible for up to £250 each, made available by the university in an attempt to limit the impact of cancelled lectures.