Key Information and SU Updates + Cost of Living Support + UCU Strikes + UNISON Strikes Menu -- * Support * Key Information and SU Updates * UCU Strikes UCU Strikes December 2022 -- UCU, the University and College Union, have balloted and voted in favour of taking strike action over disputes over pay and working conditions, and pension cuts. Further information can be found on UCU's web pages about the strikes. Strike action will begin in November. The ballots were aggregated, which means that for the first time in these disputes, all universities in that ballot will be hit by strike action, rather than individual institutions. Over 70,000 university staff at 150 universities could now strike after University and College Union (UCU) members overwhelmingly voted 'yes' to strike action in two historic national ballots. -- We are already speaking to senior staff members at the University about the strikes and are committed to the actions set out in our active policy on this issue to mitigate the impact on the educational experience of taught students, as well as supporting our staff who are -- and we also respect the right of university staff to pursue industrial action. In particular, our members who are PGR students may be taking part in the strike, and we will support them for the benefit of their careers in academia. We plan to give regular updates on the strikes and have answered a range of questions below. You can also see an overview of action which took place in 21-22. If you have concerns about how the strikes are affecting your education, you should contact your course rep who can bring this up at their Student-Staff Liaison Committee meetings, or with relevant staff members. More info about the strikes What is the strike about? UCU members are currently involved in disputes over unsafe workloads, casualisation and equality failings, and USS pensions and pay. These issues are negotiated at a national level between representative bodies of Universities (e.g. UUK) and workers (e.g. UCU). Strikes are a legitimate tactic used by trade unions when they feel that the bodies they are negotiating with are not meeting their demands or making a -- at the beginning of their careers. UCU believes the cuts were not necessary and can now be revoked. When are the strike days? Strike action has been confirmed as taking place on the following days: * Thursday 24 November * Friday 25 November * Wednesday 30 November Staff will also begin industrial action short of strike action from Wednesday 23 November, which includes working to rule, refusing to make up work lost as a result of strike action and refusing to cover for absent colleagues. What is action short of a strike? Action short of a strike means that staff will not be doing any work beyond what is required to fulfil their contract; this includes not working extra hours, not covering for absent colleagues, not rescheduling lectures or classes cancelled due to strike action and not undertaking any voluntary activities. Will all staff be on strike? No, not all staff will be on strike. Some staff are members of other trade unions who have not secured a mandate to go on strike and so are not permitted to. Lecturers do not have to notify the University before they go on strike so we cannot know exactly who will strike on any given day. In our experience, many lecturers will let you know if your teaching is going to be cancelled. -- On Thursday 24 November and Wednesday 30 November, it is planned that members of UNISON (usually professional services staff) will also be on strike, so there may be greater levels of disruption. What is a picket line? A picket line is a boundary established by staff on strike, especially at the entrance to the place of work, which striking staff ask others not to cross. It is likely that you will see picket lines outside some University buildings on strikes days, with staff holding placards, handing out campaign materials and talking to students and staff about their cause. In our experience they are peaceful and friendly -- If you are thinking about making a complaint, we would encourage you to wait to see how the University responds to the impact of the strike first. This is so you can explain why the arrangements that have been made have not mitigated the impact on your studies. -- More info about what the SU is doing Does Bristol SU support the strikes? Yes, Bristol SU supports our striking lecturers and postgraduate -- We released the following statement on anti-marketisation as part of our work in supporting the strikes: Bristol SU stands against the marketisation of higher education, and we -- A common way that you might be asked to show support to striking staff is to avoid “crossing picket lines” during the strike, e.g. by not attending teaching on strike days. The University advise that students who chose not to cross picket lines will need to take personal responsibility for the teaching and learning that they will be missing. We believe it is up to individual students to make up their minds about whether to cross picket lines, but will ensure that students are informed about this is as a way of supporting the strikes. Other ways that you can support striking staff are: -- 18:30 onwards - Drinks at The Bell, 16-18 Hillgrove St BS2 8JT More info about how the strikes might affect students Will the strikes affect my lectures, seminars and tutorials? Only some lectures, seminars and tutorials will be cancelled due to strike action. Striking staff do not need to notify the University before they go on strike, so it is not possible to know in advance which teaching will be affected. In our experience, many striking staff will choose to let students know in advance if they are going to go on strike. We will be working with our network of course reps to look for ways that we can help disseminate any information about cancelled teaching to affected students. The university have taken a position that where lectures are cancelled due to the strike, lecture recordings will not be made available without permission of the lecturer. This supports the right of staff to take industrial action. The SU are working to mitigate the impact of the strikes on student’s educational experience. If you have concerns about how the strikes are affecting your education, please speak to your Course Representative. I am a student and I don’t want to cross the picket line. Where does -- Picket lines are likely to be peaceful and friendly. We know that UCU members appreciate the show of solidarity from students who choose not to cross the picket lines, e.g. by not attending teaching on strike days. If you do not cross the picket line, the University expects you to take personal responsibility for missed teaching and learning. -- open and available? Some student services staff may be members of UCU and on strike, but the services will generally remain open. If individual appointments are cancelled, you will usually receive an email to let you know in advance. I am an international student - will the strikes affect my visa? Your visa should not be affected by strikes. If your lecturers are on strike, you will be given an authorised absence with a note to say that your absence is due to strikes. If your lecturers are not on strike, attendance monitoring will continue as normal. We have asked the University to ensure they provide specific information to international students about the strikes, but if you have any questions please contact Student Visa Services at the University. I am a PhD student - will the strikes affect my viva? If you have a viva that is scheduled for a strike day, the University should email you on an individual basis to let you know whether the viva will be taking place. You should assume that your viva will go ahead unless you hear otherwise. I feel like the strikes are stressing me out and affecting my mental health. What can I do? -- find details of the support available here: https://www.bristol.ac.uk/students/wellbeing/. I feel that I have been unfairly disadvantaged by the strikes - what can I do about this? Bristol SU is working closely with University of Bristol staff to ensure that no student should be unfairly disadvantaged by the strike - for example, to make sure that students who have missed out on teaching can get changes or extensions to their assessments. If you feel that you have been unfairly impacted by the strikes, you can speak to one of our Academic Advice team who can advise you on how to tell the University about any extenuating circumstances, submit a complaint, or -- I still have questions If you would like more information about how the strike action is affecting university services and who you can contact, please see the University's webpage. If you would like more information on the pay dispute, please see UCU's web pages about the strikes. To contact a Bristol SU Officer to discuss the impact of the strike on students, please email your Undergraduate Education Officer, nicole.antoine.2017@bristol.ac.uk or your Postgraduate Education Officer, lu.macey@bristol.ac.uk. For further advice on what to do if the strikes are affecting your studies, please email bristolsu-advice@bristol.ac.uk. -- The University and College Union (UCU) balloted in October 2021 on taking strike action or ‘action short of a strike’ over disputes over pay and the USS pension scheme. The results of these ballots confirmed that University of Bristol academic staff and research postgraduates who teach, who are members of UCU, voted in favour of taking strike action in this academic year over pension disputes, and pay and conditions. Multiple periods of Industrial Action took place throughout the 2021-22 academic year, including Action Short of a Strike. Your SU Officer team spoke to senior staff members at the University about the strikes and were committed to mitigating the impact on the educational experience of taught students, as well as supporting our staff who were striking. -- As part of the NUS New Vision for Education Campaign students walked out of university and gathered in central London on Wednesday 2 March for a student strike to demand education that is fully funded, accessible, democratised and lifelong. We supported a free coach for students from UoB and UWE to attend the event.