You may be aware that UCU (University and College Union) has announced 18 days of discontinuous strike action to fall across February and March, with the first strike taking place on Wednesday (1 February). Action short of strike is also continuing until Thursday 20 April. The full list of dates can be found below.
I am sorry that some of you may experience disruption to your classes. We are very mindful of our responsibility to mitigate the impact of any strike action. While we recognise colleagues’ right to take strike action, I want to reassure you that we are seeking to minimise the impact of staff taking strike action. Anyone taking strike action does not need to give notice in advance, which means it is difficult for us to anticipate what classes might be affected. If you receive a message from your lecturer that your class is being cancelled, then you do not need to attend unless you have an in-class assessment such as a test or presentation, in which case you should still attend.
Your attendance record will not be impacted if an activity does not take place. For Student Visa holders this will not affect your visa. If you are an international student with any concerns, please get in touch with International Student Support.
We also recognise that you may be concerned about the strike action. We are continuing to work to understand where issues are impacting colleagues negatively, seeking to bring about improvement and work towards providing a great place to work. In some of the areas, including the gender pay gap, casualisation and workload, we are working with our trade unions through joint working groups and we are committed to seeking a positive national resolution.
There are some FAQs on the student intranet that you may find useful, and I would encourage you to monitor the student intranet for updates. If you are concerned that the action has impacted your studies you should, in the first instance, speak to your Personal Tutor, or your School Office. If your questions aren’t covered in the information we have shared, please email industrialactionroyalholloway.ac.uk.
Industrial Action dates:
- Wednesday 1 February
- Thursday 9 February
- Friday 10 February
- Tuesday 14 February
- Wednesday 15 February
- Thursday 16 February
- Tuesday 21 February
- Wednesday 22 February
- Thursday 23 February
- Monday 27 February
- Tuesday 28 February
- Wednesday 1 March
- Thursday 2 March
- Thursday 16 March
- Friday 17 March
- Monday 20 March
- Tuesday 21 March
- Wednesday 22 March
James
Professor James Knowles
Senior Vice Principal (Education)