There was 14 days of strike action, from 20th February to 13th March 2020, as UCU went on strike over two disputes. One dispute is around pay, casualisation and workloads and the other on pensions. These two issues saw our university academic staff on the picket lines fighting for their rights, but also fighting for the future of Higher Education.
Find out how to get involved here.
Our students have voted to support this action and it is now Students' Union policy to support UCU's strikes. To echo NUS “we stand shoulder to shoulder with UCU” and will support our striking lecturers and postgraduate students to fight against these issues.
Warwick has a long history of staff and student solidarity, which we displayed so well during the last set of UCU strikes in 2018. We must remember that we are a university community and there is power in our collaboration. Their working conditions are our learning conditions and we will only see real change to Higher Education when we work together.
We understand that these strikes can be inconvenient and as students, you may be angry that you are missing your education. What is important however, is to channel your anger in the right direction. The people that have the power to stop these strikes are the people that hold the power to make the changes. Your lecturers do not want to be on strike, and they do not want to be denying you of your education. They are not the right people to be angry at. Please channel your anger at Universities UK, UCEA and our own University’s Management who continue to commercialise, casualise and marketise Higher Education.
Find out more about the strike action with our information for students here.
Email the President and Chief Executive of Universities UK and the President of UCEA
Although, you may be angry at these strikes, it is important to address your anger to the people that have the power to make change. You can use our email template here.
Email our Vice-Chancellor
While the Vice Chancellor does not have a direct say on the issues at hand, he is in a powerful position to lobby both UUK and UCEA to have meaningful negotiations with UCU to end this strike at an earlier stage. You can use our email template here.
Our Vice-Chancellor is Professor Stuart Croft and you can contact him on S.Croft@warwick.ac.uk
Wear a purple square to show solidarity to staff
We will be giving out purple squares to students to wear during the strike period. This is a good way for you to show that you stand in solidarity with our striking staff. You can pick up one of these from the SUHQ Reception, which is open Monday to Friday from 9am – 4pm.
Email your lecturers to show that you support them
It can be a difficult time for staff to decide to strike, so knowing that they have the support of their students could make it a lot easier. Send an email to your academics to ensure that they know you back them on these issues and that you are not angry at them for striking.
Promote or donate to the local strike fund
Staff will not be paid for time they are on strike so promoting these funds would be really useful to helping them during this time. Staff are risking a huge amount financially to take part in this campaign, so any financial support that can be given to the strike fund is massively appreciated.