Campaigns

UCU is rising - our dispute about pay, pensions and working conditions 

STOP PRESS - the 5 days of industrial action are going ahead in our branch, Monday 25th to Friday 29th September 2023. 

Online Programme for the strike days - there is a full programme of activity online for members next week, with external speakers still being confirmed. All meetings are on Zoom. Meeting requests have been sent and we will send a list of links by email to all OU UCU members. 

Monday 25 September 2023

11am - 12noon meeting for Getting the vote out (GTVO) volunteers (contacting members to see if they have voted in the ballot, contact ucu@open.ac.uk if interested).
12:30pm -1:30pm This is how we win! Speaker from GMB is confirmed with others tbc
3pm - 4pm Introduction to negotiation led by Lydia Richards, UCU Regional Official

Tuesday 26 September

12:30pm -1:30pm Member discussion: What are your concerns? For example -- Campus 2030, hybrid working, AL Contract implementation, budget cuts?

Wednesday 27 September

12:30pm - 1:30pm The bigger picture -- the economic and political context of the HE disputes. Confirmed speaker Vicky Blake, past president of UCU and secretary UCU Leeds. Other speakers tbc

Thursday 28 September

2pm - 3pm Member discussion: How can we respond collectively to the university's current direction of travel and the issues identified in the 26 September meeting?

Friday 29 September

1:30pm - 3pm Building the union: how do all of us together take practical action to remake OU and the HE sector?

UCU Rising Campaign

UCU members in higher education have worked throughout the pandemic and generated record income for the sector only to be rewarded with attacks on their pay, working conditions, and pensions.

The truth is that we are not all in this together. While our members have seen their pay cut by 25% since 2009, university vice-chancellors and senior management have been collecting six-figure salaries.

You may find the following pages helpful:

• Marking and assessment boycott information (from 20 April to 6 September 2023)
• Information for students about the industrial action, why we're taking it, how it might affect you, and how you can take part
• Information for Associate Lecturers 
• Information about applying or donating to the Hardship Fund and an application form
• Guidance on Action short of a strike (ASOS)
• Templates you can use for emails to students, and out-of-office messages
• Frequently asked questions
• Our leaflets page with the leaflets we hand out each strike day - the national UCU resources are on the UCU website.
• What Action Short of Strike (ASOS) is

For more information about the UCU Rising Campaign, please visit the UCU website.

UCU Press release about the September 2023 strike dates

UCU Press release about the strike dates, 8 November 2022

UCU Press release about the ballot result, October 2022.