Sheffield University UCU has announced that industrial action could affect the last three weeks of term before exams commence.
From the 1st of May, UCU members will take Action Short of Strike, or ASOS. There will be one day of strike action on Wednesday 30th of April, followed by a nine-day walk out from the 6th to the 16th of May, if the university does not agree to the UCU’s demands.
During the strike, staff members in the UCU can exercise their right to not work. This not only includes teaching, but administrative tasks like marking work and responding to emails.
Teaching can legally be cancelled at last minute, but advance notice is commonly provided. There will be picketing across all university buildings during this period.
The student impact during ASOS is more variable. Staff are recommended to keep to contracted hours, which means all activities that fall as overtime are discouraged. For example, this could be preparing materials or organising voluntary activities.
After the ballot closed on the 31st of March, and votes were counted, the UCU met with university management for another negotiation on April 16th.
The basis of the strike, which was discussed at negotiations, “asks management to avoid compulsory redundancies”, as well as re-designing the Schools restructure in order to “preserve all jobs”.
The UCU also mentioned the disparity between pay grades, asking management to both reduce their own rate of pay and opt out of bonuses. In a press release advertising the action, the UCU remarked that “true leadership would be to reduce costs at the top before reducing any staff jobs.”
Professor Mary Vincent, Vice-President for Education at the University of Sheffield, said:
“We understand that students may be concerned about the planned industrial action, following similar actions at other universities regarding difficult decisions institutions are making to address sector-wide challenges.
“We expect that the vast majority of our students will be unaffected by any action but, where there is disruption, we will do everything we can to support them and minimise the impact on their education.
“We have written to all of our students to share information about what they can expect during industrial action and ensure they are aware of the support available to them. We will continue to keep them updated.”
