University staff poised to strike for five days in freshers’ week

[Angie147836]

Just a head's up for those with kids going away shortly!

www.theguardian.com/education/2023/sep/06/uk-university-staff-poised-to-strike-for-five-days-in-freshers-week

I am broadly in support of the cause but not this one, and not the marking ban on this summer' finalists. Feels like the wrong people are bearing the brunt of the disruption. Freshers need support and structure in their first weeks.

Welcome to university, kids - the £230 you shell out every week of term in fees means nothing.

25th - 29th is likely to be the first week of teaching for anyone heading to Uni the weekend after this one.

Best start contacting VCs to ask about their plans to resolve the dispute so that the action is called off.

Teaching probably won't start until the following week, so this is academic staff refusing to support freshers' week activities- more like a withdrawal of goodwill. I think this will impact the administration a lot more than the students.

25th-29th is likely to be the first week of teaching for anyone heading to Uni on 16th-17th - which is at least half of my DD's friends.
The ones which are going the weekend after, I agree, it won't impact them so much as teaching probably won't start until 2nd Oct.

If it affects Scottish universities it will hit teaching time. So disappointing.

This will disrupt the first week of teaching at DS' university in Wales as well.

Freshers week is the time it will cause least disruption I think

DS’s university starts next week so assume he will be well into lectures by time strike is on

I thought Freshers' Week was invariably the week before full term started

And full term does not start for many until 2 October, so action in September will not affect all (and may have been chosen to minimise impact, whilst still drawing attention to the dispute)

That's the first week of teaching at my uni in London. But at least in my department I think very very few people will strike, so I would say people shouldn't necessarily panic.

There is huge frustration with the union for suspending the marking boycott, there is no apparent strategy for this new 5 day strike and people don't want to punish students any further.

@dreamingbohemian love how you say "people don't want to disrupt students any further" - that's great. What about those 1st, 2nd years and finalists from last year who were and continue to be disrupted by the marking boycott? Some are now being offered, some would say bribed, with money for the "inconvenience". What's the plan to get all the unmarked work marked so DC can graduate or for 2nd years get marks (that contribute to their final degree mark).

My child goes on the 16th so that will be first proper week of teaching. I've supported all the teachers strikes so far, but not this one. The last thing students need when they're away from home for the first time, nervous, anxious and starting a whole new chapter, is more disruption. It could have been done later in the year when they've settled in more

Basically the union has pulled the plug on a marking boycott meaning that participating members lost a huge chunk of their salary earlier in the year (up to 90% in some places) and now have to do the missing marking on top of all the other stuff they're supposed to be doing now. The action has totally failed.

I'm surprised that it hasn't forced the union management to quit! Ok some progress was made in restoring pensions. But I would not be worrying too much about extensive strike action at this time.

Feels like the wrong people are bearing the brunt of the disruption.

Surely the whole point of strikes is to impact the 'consumers' to put pressure on the businesses?

I agree with you, that's why I'm not in the union and did not strike. It's been devastating for students and it should have been clear to everyone that it would not be effective enough to justify that damage. I was just repeating what striking colleagues are saying.

@Islandsadness The problem is that university administrations do not actually care about the students. They already have their money. They knew eventually the union would fold, with up to 100% salary deductions for not marking. They just needed to wait it out.

The current strike mandate runs out at the end of September, and the ballot hasn't yet happened for the next one. So that's the reason for the choice of week. There will then be no action for a good few weeks whilst the new ballot is held.

The marking boycott of final year students work was extremely unfair to the students who were affected by it,but had no impact on the Universities
So pretty much a waste of time from the Union’s point of view,and in my opinion lost the lecturers a lot of respect as they acted very unprofessionally

Doesn't surprise me. The amount of times DD would message us, I'd ask why she wasn't in a lecture - answer was 'they're striking again'. Graduated with a letter of apology in July (not a grade) as her dissertation and one essay haven't been marked.

Some students from abroad haven't been able to take up their Masters course and DD had one employer clearly 'write her off' as soon as they heard she didn't have a grade at her interview. I half wonder if it was worth it, but she's about to start her ideal job, so hopefully she can move on.

My DC has said that there are strikes in her first two weeks (of 2nd year) and no sign of the work from the summer term being marked.

DD has travelled from Reading to London twice this week only to be told on arrival that her lecture was cancelled. Apart from the fees I know I'm going to have to pay, it's £36 per day just in train fares wasted just because no-one will actually tell her not to come back until next week.