UCU strike 2020: A guide for perplexed students
Q1. What is a strike?
A strike is when, as a result of unacceptable working conditions, members of a trade union collectively refuse to work.
Q2. So a strike is a protest?
It’s much more than that! Strikes share features of protests (people stand outside in the cold with placards a lot, sometimes there are rallies with speeches, etc) BUT the key feature of a strike is the refusal to perform labour for the employer. If a worker refuses to do work for their employer for the period of the strike then they are on strike, even if they are nowhere near the picket line.
Q3. Wait, what is a picket line?
Workers who are on strike often gather outside the entrance of their place of work. This makes the strike more visible to people who might not know what’s happening and puts pressure on the employers to negotiate.
Q4. Do you get paid when you’re on strike?
No: striking workers lose a day’s pay for every day they are on strike. As you can imagine, going on strike for 14 days will result in hardship for many staff.
Q5. This seems drastic. Is this wise/legal?
Strike action is always a last resort. It only happens when: a) negotiations between the union and the employers have reached a standstill and the working conditions are still unacceptable; b) the union has balloted all its members and a majority have voted in favour of strike action on at least a 50% turnout; c) the employers have still not made any concessions in between the ballot period and the beginning of the strike. When these conditions are met, striking workers are protected from disciplinary action (though there is no ‘right to strike’ in the UK).
Strike action does force employers back into negotiations. It is often the only means by which working conditions can be protected. The 8 days of strike action at the end of 2019 did put pressure on employers, but so far not enough progress has been made.
Q6. What are these unacceptable working conditions you speak of?
I’m glad you asked, perplexed student currently residing in my imagination!
- A significant number of university staff are on precarious (i.e. short-term and even zero-hours) contracts. UCU has made specific demands to employers regarding an end to these exploitative practices which make staff miserable.
- Gender and ethnicity pay gaps persist in universities. UCU wants employers to commit to closing these.
- Pay has fallen in real terms for staff over the last 10–20 years.
- Meanwhile, workloads have gone up and in some cases are having severe impacts on mental health.
- Employers are planning to make university pensions more expensive for staff — for no reason.
It’s important to note that an individual staff member you speak to might feel that their own working conditions are OK yet will be on strike: that’s because a strike is a collective action: the union as a whole works to protect the working conditions of all staff working in Universities — and especially those who are most exploited.
Q7. How will the strike affect me?
During the strikes, lectures, seminars, classes and demonstrations organised by your faculties may be cancelled. Libraries, IT support, and other services may be running at a reduced capacity. This will cause disruption for students on strike dates. Disruption can also be expected on days preceding and following the strike as a result of work not being done on strike dates.
The university will state that the disruption is minimal and will blame it on striking staff. However, see Q5.
Q8. Why can’t you do something that doesn’t affect the students?
First: I hear you. Nobody on strike wants the students to suffer. We are only on strike because all attempts at resisting the cuts to our working conditions have failed and the employers are refusing to budge (see Q5) and the only negotiating tool we have left is a withdrawal of labour. It does affect the students, but it affects the staff too (see Q4 and this blog post) and, most importantly, it affects the employers who rely on our labour.
Second: We are actually on strike because we want a better education for our students. Worsening conditions in higher education affect us all. Staff working conditions are your learning conditions. Insecure employment, intolerable workloads, unequal pay, and uncertain futures — all these threaten the future of higher education as we know it. The union is fighting back on behalf of students and staff alike, to build a better and fairer university for everyone.
Q9. Should I cross the picket line/go to class?
You are legally entitled to cross the picket line and go to class. The people on the picket line (including me!) will be hugely grateful to you if you don’t cross the picket line and they will welcome you warmly if you visit them to show solidarity. The National Union of Students supports the strike.
As for ‘should’, I can’t say.
Note: If you are on a Tier 4 visa, your university might send you worrying emails about ‘unauthorised absences’ affecting your right to stay in the UK. If your lecture is cancelled because of strike action, then your non-attendence at that lecture is not unauthorised. If, in order to support the strike, you refuse to attend a lecture given by a non-striking lecturer, this could be treated as an ‘unauthorised’ absence. The university are only obliged to report a student for non-attendence after ten consecutive unauthorised absences. (See point 10 onwards of this document.)
Q10. I want to support the strike. What can I do?
Brilliant! You can do any or all of these:
a) Come and visit the pickets! Bring a placard, take a picture, post it on social media.
b) Look out for your local ‘Students supporting the strike’ Facebook group or union branch Twitter account to keep up with the news.
c) See if striking staff are organising activities that you’d like to join. There might be teach-outs (where striking staff give a talk or lead a workshop on a topic not necessarily on the curriculum). There might be BBQs, poetry readings, drumming workshops, all sorts of things.
d) Find out if your Vice Chancellor supports the Union’s demands for fairer working conditions. If not, write to them and ask them why not.
e) Spread the word, any way you can. Don’t forget that news outlets referring to this as a ‘lecturer’s strike’ are wrong — it is all university staff who are part of UCU who are on strike! Here are some posters.
[NOTE: Some of the text in this blog post is heavily inspired (with permission) by this poster made by Heriot-Watt UCU]
