Industrial action update – 17 April

17 Apr 2023

UCU has announced an extension of their Action Short of Strike (ASOS) to include a marking and assessment boycott, commencing on Thursday 20 April.

Earlier this month, we informed colleagues that The University and College Union (UCU) had secured an extension of its mandate to take industrial action until September 2023. 

Following this announcement, UCU has announced an extension of their Action Short of Strike (ASOS) to include a marking and assessment boycott, commencing on Thursday 20 April. 

We appreciate that many of our colleagues will be continuing to work normally, and thank you for your continued contribution, but acknowledge some of our colleagues will be exercising their legal right to take industrial action. This action is in relation to ongoing, national disputes about pay, working conditions and the USS pension.  

We recognise the difficult choice that some of our staff may be facing and express our gratitude to those who continue to work in the interests of our students and those who will be doing all they can to limit the impact on our students. 

What is a marking and assessment boycott? 

UCU define a marking and assessment boycott as the ceasing of “all marking and assessment processes that contribute to summative assessment decisions for students/learners, whether final (i.e. graduation/completion) or interim (i.e. progression decisions).” 

How will students and staff be affected? 

Depending on your role you may not be directly affected by the marking and assessment boycott. Likewise, many of our students may experience little or no disruption as a result of the boycott.  

However, for those who are impacted, our focus has been, and will continue to be, minimising the disruption to our students and to allow them to progress.  

Next steps 

Later this week we will be sharing further guidance for those choosing to participate in ASOS and those that may be impacted, including updated FAQs, reporting requirements and the approach to the withholding of pay. 

As ever, we understand that these are difficult and challenging times and want to reassure all our community, both colleagues and students, that we are continuing to take active steps to mitigate any impact or disruption caused by the industrial action. 

Adèle MacKinlay 

Director of People and Organisational Development