The University and College Union (UCU) has another announced 18 days of strike action in February and March. Find out more about the upcoming action, what we're doing, and how you can get your voice heard.
Shrijeet Shrey
VP Education
The University and College Union (UCU) has announced 18 more days of strike action, which will be taking place between 1 February and 22 March.
- Wednesday 1 February
- Thursday 9 and Friday 10 February
- Tuesday 14, Wednesday 15, and Thursday 16 February
- Tuesday 21, Wednesday 22, and Thursday 23 February
- Monday 27 and Tuesday 28 February
- Wednesday 1 and Thursday 2 March
- Thursday 16 and Friday 17 March
Royal Holloway is one of 150 universities that will be involved in this latest set of national strike action that covers two different topics: pay and working conditions and pensions. This means that UCU members on campus will cancel all work on those days and any work missed, including lost teaching, will not be rearranged.
This latest action is in addition to the ongoing, action short of a strike that began on Wednesday 23 November, and will last for six months. What this generally means is that UCU members will be working to contracts i.e. if their contract states 35 working hours a week, this is what they will strictly abide by without any additional work beyond this (it can be typical for academics to work additional hours outside of their contracted hours). It also includes refusing to make up work lost as a result of strike action and refusing to cover for absent colleagues.
WHAT WILL WE BE DOING?
We want to reassure you that you will not be assessed on content that is not taught due to strikes. I understand that strike action may be worrying and alongside the President, we’ll be discussing with senior management of the University to understand how any disruption to your studies can be mitigated. We are also in communication with the Royal Holloway UCU branch and will be working with them to understand how localised issues may be resolved.
As you can imagine this is a complex situation. That’s why we’ve published a series of blogs aimed at helping you navigate the different issues at play and understand how we have arrived at this point where teaching on campus is disrupted. I’d recommend checking them all out using the links below:
Last term we announced the results of our own ballot to decide what the Students’ Union stance should be towards the UCU industrial action, with students voting to fully support the action up to, and including strike action. As a result, we are committing to the following:
- Supporting UCU in their communication directly to students.
- Asking the University to develop an action plan to address these concerns.
- Offering support to students running activities in support of the UCU.
In order to be guided by you, it’s important that you inform yourself by reading the articles we’ve put out and let us know your opinion. You can contact us to raise specific concerns by emailing vpeducation@su.rhul.ac.uk and I’ll consider these in my discussions with all parties.
We promise to fight for your academic interests and continue to keep you in the loop. Although we do have the mandate to support the strike action as set by you, we will endeavour to still represent those who may not support the strike action, by supporting the resolution of the two issues.
More information
For more details on the strike action, check out the University's FAQs on the Student Intranet. You'll also find information about the Industrial Action Hardship Fund to claim travel expenses for public transport, travel by car, car parking, or childcare costs incurred on strike days.