Student Poll

ucu industrial action information

ucu industrial action information

The University and College Union (UCU) which represents many university staff nationally has recently been asking its members to vote on whether to take industrial action. The disputes that were balloted on are in relation to pensions, pay and working conditions. You can read about UCU members’ concerns here.

The most recent ballots closed on 21 October 2022. Following these ballots, it has been confirmed that UCU have nationally voted in favour of industrial action in relations to concerns about pay and pensions. Further details of the ballot outcomes can be found here.

UCU Strike Action Poll

If you would like to share your stance on the strikes, please do so through the poll below. This poll will be used to gauge student feelings so that we can ensure we are providing the correct support. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact industrialaction@exeterguild.com

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Message from The Guild

We recognise that this strike action is set to have an impact on a number of Exeter students, and we are fully committed to representing you and advocating for you during this time. This will include representing student concerns or complaints to the University and working with them on mitigating the implications and effects on your educational experience.

Your elected Officers are in meetings with the University strongly advocating for mitigations, to get the best outcomes for you. Officers may also have individual stances on the industrial action. We will continue to work with the University to ensure that mitigations are in place and lost teaching is made up. These discussions (including any around compensation) take a long time and can be complex and nuanced, so we don’t want to overpromise but still urge students to record how they have been impacted to support this request and to enable us to engage as fully as possible in the potential mitigations.

We know there might be some challenging conversations to come, but we will always seek to prioritise the rights and wellbeing of you, our students. As your Students’ Guild we are student-led, here to support and empower you.

We also acknowledge the seriousness of the current situation for staff and understand the aims of the strike in fighting for fair pay, pensions and working conditions. Students’ university experience wouldn’t be what it is without the quality of the lecturers and staff that we have. As with previous strikes, we have had conversations with our local UCU branch to outline our approach to support students and discussing with them the impact of the strikes and the causes.

If you would like to share your view on the industrial action and strikes, you can complete our poll or email us. This will help us gauge your opinions on the industrial action, so we can feed this back to the University and inform the support that is available.

We encourage both the University senior management and UCU to hold constructive meetings with the aim of reaching a resolution which will alleviate the impacts on students. You can see the University’s joint statement with UCU here.

Students’ Guild and University of Exeter joint principles

The University of Exeter Students’ Guild and the University of Exeter have agreed the principles below. We stand together in our commitment to ensure that the impact of industrial action on current students is minimised.

Your elected Officers are meeting regularly with staff at the most senior level of the University to support the careful management of the potential impact this further period of industrial action may have on you and your studies, and to ensure the measures we put in place are the right ones to support you.

The Students’ Guild and University have confirmed the following principles for the current and upcoming periods of industrial action in February and March 2023.

Our commitments to you:

  • We will work to replace lost learning opportunities wherever possible
  • We will adjust and adapt exams and assessments to ensure they are fair
  • Where your module or assessment has been impacted, we will ensure that your final marks are fair
  • Funding that would have paid lecturers salaries, but which has been withheld due to strike action, will be reinvested to benefit students. The Students’ Guild and Students’ Union will play a role in allocating this funding and the details of this will be provided to students.

We are committed to doing all we can to ensure your experience and academic outcomes are protected during this time.  If any student remains dissatisfied, we encourage you to contact the University on industrialaction@exeter.ac.uk.  

How will the Guild support students during the strikes?

We will be offering support to all students through our student reps, our Student Advice Team and through your full-time officers. This will include continuing to organise student drop-ins throughout and beyond any strike period for students to raise concerns or questions regarding the impact of strikes or any mitigations.

We will be using our website and social media channels to provide further guidance, support and news of any further developments in relation to the strike.

Drop-in sessions:
During the strikes the Officers will be operating an 'Open Door Policy' at their office in DH1 for any students with questions or concerns. There may be times when the Officers are away (either attending meetings, or conferences).

Guild Cafes - your Officers will also be holding some sessions with free refreshments where you can come and have a chat about any issues or concerns. Dates for these sessions are coming soon!