In April the University Colleges Union (UCU) announced a renewal of their mandate for industrial action as no agreement had been reached on their demands. As of the 20th of April, staff have begun a marking and assessment boycott.
At the Guild we want the dispute over pensions and pay to come to an end. Staff working conditions are our learning conditions and students have had enough. Enough of under paid staff, enough of an education system which prioritises profit over learning and enough of the constant disputes over basic demands; such as, ending pay gaps and casualisation. We know that the marking boycott is worrying, but this is a last resort. Students want their work marked by their academics, and grad schemes and international postgrad courses need results by July. Undoubtedly, this is causing stress and worrying students, particularly those in their final year.
This is a national dispute, and we are calling on the university to lobby UCEA and UUK to meet the demands of the UCU and to improve the working conditions of our lecturers, support staff and all those within the higher education sector.
We are also in communication with the Vice-Chancellor and members of the senior leadership team at the University to lobby them to meet the demands of the UCU and to apply pressure to national organisations to solve this dispute. The University must work with and meet with UCU to bring this dispute to an end as soon as possible.
You can show your support to the UCU by sharing their demands and posts on social media as well following them on social media. You can also email the Vice-Chancellor and members of the Senior Leadership Team at the University to demand them to meet the demands of UCU and make sure your work is marked.
At the Guild we understand that this is a challenging time with a lot of uncertainty. As your students’ union we are here to support you. Please get in touch with Guild Advice for any academic and non-academic enquiries and support. You can book an appointment with one our advisors by emailing guildadvice@liv.ac.uk or you can visit our webpage for more information Advice @ Liverpool Guild of Students
Glossary:
UCEA: University and Colleges Employers Association
UUK: Universities UK