Support for all UCU tactics increased by 1% while anti-UCU sentiment up by 3%

Continued from front

Uni should sort themselves out and treat their staff be er, and compensate students”. With another placing the responsibility on Durham to provide be er conditions - “The Uni needs to provide more support to staff who work in awful conditions”.

UCU Industrial action has caused unrest within the student body in relation to the University, with one student saying “This university is a disgrace” and another continuing to say “It’s disgraceful, students have been impacted enough over the last few years”.

When asked their thoughts on whether they were partly at fault, Durham University did not respond.

Testimony shows that some students are demanding financial compensation for teaching missed during strike days. One student demanded “A refund if fees should be given for every single strike day” while another wrote that it is “Such a shame the uni won’t be reimbursing us for the teaching we aren’t receiving”.

In a statement to Palatinate Durham University said

UCU strikes explained: why are staff taking action and how are students affected?

Emily Doughty and Ben Webb News Editors

Why are staff striking?

The University and College Union (UCU) is taking industrial action after their members - made up of university staff - voted in favour of action in October last year over their ongoing pensions dispute, as well as issues regarding pay and working conditions. The UCU have called for a pay rise for staff in light of the costof-living crisis and for cuts to the USS pension fund to be reversed.

Will my contact hours be cancelled?

This depends on who is leading the class. Some academic staff are not members of the UCU and therefore will not be participating in strike action. However academic staff are not obligated to tell students if they are taking part in action. Most departments recommend assuming all contact hours are taking place as normal unless you are told otherwise.

Why is all action ending in April?

All action is officially scheduled to end in late April when the UCU’s mandate for national action ends. The National Education Committee (NEC) has already called for another ballot to be held, which would extend the amount of time that the Union could take action.

How is this strike different from last year?

The strike is different as unlike in previous years the dispute is national. This means the University’s role in the disagreement is limited, with a

“Tuition fees cover a whole University experience and are not directly linked to specific contact or teaching hours.

“Many staff will not participate in strike action. Those who do will be asked to follow the University’s detailed mitigation measures to minimise disruption to students and ensure that we protect their learning experience.

“The University will be monitoring the impact of the industrial action. There are no plans to offer compensation as we hope that the impact of the industrial action will be mitigated.” taken on 28th January continues to recognise this with 25% of participants supporting UCU but not their marking boyco employers in this scheme.

Some students suggest that the strikes are pointless due to apathy on the part of the University, with one testimony asserting “Uni admin doesn’t care about the strikes. The only people affected are the students. Wrong move by UCU”.

“We recognise that the decision to vote in favour of industrial action by some UCU members at Durham was not taken lightly. We continue to work collaboratively with our campus trade unions in respect of USS, pay and other issues where we share areas of common ground. Where we can take action locally, we do.

“Our wider terms and conditions of employment are very generous, for example our family friendly policies are amongst the most generous in the HE sector.” local solution unlikely to end the action.

Durham University is a member of Universities UK (UUK) and University and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA) making them bound to sector-wide decisions on pay and pensions.

Will I be compensated?

The University has not yet confirmed whether students will be offered any form of compensation for teaching lost due to the 21 confirmed days of strike action this year.

In the year 2019-20 students were not offered compensation unless it was deemed that their “learning outcomes” had not been met. Similarly, in the 2021-2022 academic year only a handful of students received compensation.

In a statement, the University said that “Tuition fees contribute to a whole university experience and are not directly linked to specific contact or teaching hours.

“At this point in time, we do not know the precise impact of industrial action on individual students, but Durham is committed to providing students with an educational experience that is accessible, inclusive, and of high quality regardless of how it is delivered.

“Mitigating the impact of industrial action on students is our highest institutional priority and our staff will be asked to temporarily set aside other activities to support this goal”.

Will my work be marked?

Possibly. The marking and assessment boycott is only scheduled for April. However, if UCU members vote to extend their mandate for action, the NEC could potentially call for a continuation of the boycott.

Another suggested that “If lecturers truly had student interests at heart they wouldn’t strike. Never comes to anything”.

Industrial action taken by UCU has been seen to affect all students, with international and postgraduate students likewise testifying on the disruption they face.

International student testimony again places a focus on reparations and the financial burden of strike action, with one student saying: “As an international student, I am paying too much money to be able to support such strikes”.

And another breaking down this cost further: “I pay £7000 a term (international fees), each lecture costs roughly £110, so I’d love some money back”

There are also continued concerns from finalists over a potential marking boyco detailed by the UCU as a further measure if their demands are not met.

This has been unpopular with students in the past, and the poll

One student stated “Strikes sure, but if the marking boyco means I won’t be able to graduate, I will not be happy”.

In a statement to Palatinate about the marking boyco , Durham University said “The University has detailed plans in place to mitigate against any potential marking and assessment boyco to minimise the disruption to our students.

“We are particularly mindful of the potential impact on finalists and we will work hard to put measures in place to ensure that students are not disadvantaged. Students can be confident that our top priority will be to protect their learning and ensure they can continue with their education or plans for the future.”

When Durham University was asked if the demands made by the UCU was justifiable they said “The dispute is national, and currently affects 150 universities across the UK. It centres around pay and USS pensions.

Pay is agreed nationally for the majority of HE institutions by University and College Employers Association (UCEA).

The USS pension fund is one of the largest pension schemes for Higher Education.

Universities UK (UUK) represents

This is the first industrial action arranged by UCU this year, with the 2022-23 academic year already affected last term through walkouts.

The union are wanting demands to be met in two main veins; pay and working conditions, and pensions.

On the pay and working conditions dispute, UCU demands, “an increase to all spine points on the national pay scale of at least inflation (RPI) + 2% or 12% whichever is the higher”, nationally-agreed action, using an intersectional approach, “to close the gender, ethnic and disability pay gaps,” as well as for the standard weekly, full-time contract of employment to be “35 hours, with no loss of pay.”

On the pensions dispute, UCU demands “employers to revoke the massive cuts which they imposed on members of the USS pension scheme, and put pressure on USS to restore benefits to 2021 levels as soon as possible.” They also want UUK to put strong pressure on USS to ensure that the “next and all subsequent valuations of the financial health of the scheme to be evidence-based and are moderately prudent.”

The UCU were approached for comment but had not responded by the time Palatinate had gone to print.