Easter is approaching and the last week of term coincides with some members of UCU (University and College Union), including lecturers, taking strike action from tomorrow (Monday 21 March to Friday 25 March).
I am sorry that some of you may again experience disruption to your classes. As a College, we find ourselves in a very difficult situation. We continue to support the principle of collective bargaining, as this preserves equity across Higher Education for our colleagues, but that means we can’t unilaterally resolve the disputes around pay and we are just one of over 340 members of the pension scheme with limited ability to influence outcomes. There are parts of the dispute that we can influence locally. For example, we have a working group with the union, UCU, which is making progress on the issue of casual contracts.
Understanding these constraints to resolving the dispute, doesn’t change the fact that some teaching is likely to be cancelled. I want to reassure you that we will make every possible effort to minimise the impact of any action on you and your studies, and we will be discussing with academic staff the activities that should be prioritised to enable you to meet the learning outcomes of your course. It may not be possible to cover some material in the same detail and we are working with academic staff to identify this material and ensure that it does not form the basis of an assessment or exam.
We recognise that you may be concerned about the strike action.
A range of FAQs are available on the student intranet. If you are concerned that the action has impacted your studies you should, in the first instance, speak to your Course Leader, Tutor, etc., or your
School Office. If your questions aren’t covered in the information we have shared, please email
industrialactionroyalholloway.ac.uk and we will do our best to answer your queries.
James
Professor James Knowles
Senior Vice Principal (Education)