Earlier this year, the University and College Union (UCU) secured an extended mandate for Action Short of Strike (ASOS) to include a marking and assessment boycott (MAB), which began on 20 April and lasted until the end of September 2023. This action is in relation to ongoing, national disputes about pay and working conditions, which we are continuing to discuss locally.
An end of the marking and assessment boycott
On Wednesday (6 September), national UCU has announced an early end to the ongoing marking and assessment boycott, to take effect immediately.
Updates as a result of this announcement will be shared as soon as possible, and relevant FAQs will be updated accordingly.
If you have missing marks, please be assured that our priority remains in marking and moderating your work. We will contact you individually as soon as you have any new marks available in the system.
Upcoming strike days
Unfortunately, we have also now received confirmation that national UCU will be taking further industrial action, in the form of five days of strike action, in relation to ongoing national disputes about pay and working conditions.
In addition to the national strike days, executives for the local branch of UCU (UMUCU) have informed us of an additional four days of strike action, which is a response to the university’s local pay withholding position with the marking and assessment boycott.
The total of nine days of action is due to take place between Tuesday 19 to Friday 22 September and Monday 25 to Friday 29 September. Although this covers the Welcome period, we anticipate little change to the programme of events and activity we have planned. Not all University staff members are members of the UCU, and not all members will participate in strike action. We expect that the impact of this action will vary across the University and in most areas be limited.
We are disappointed that further action has been announced, as our mitigations during the recent action were consistent and in line with that of other universities, and always in the interest of reducing the impact on our students. We will continue to take active steps to minimise any further disruption to you, our students, and our wider community.
More information and support
Find out more about the strike action, and support available, here.