Staff to strike at University of East London

UCU members at UEL have being working to rule since May* against plans for controversial new workload and disciplinary procedures and will now escalate their dispute with the institution. Dates for the strike action will be announced next month.

Staff will mark today's announcement with a protest outside the university's Stratford Campus on Water Lane on Wednesday 18 July from 11am to 12noon, where they will be joined by UCU vice-president Simon Renton.

The dispute centres over changes to workload agreements that will allow managers to set staff workloads without taking into account lecturers' class sizes and marking loads. The union warned the move could compromise standards with staff not given enough time to prepare for lessons, mark papers and provide individual support for students.

In addition, staff members will be stripped of their right of appeal to independent governors if they feel they have been bullied or given unfair workloads.

Talks between the union and UEL stalled earlier this month and UCU said that while it was beginning preparations for a programme of strike action there was still time for a negotiated settlement.

UCU regional official, Greg Barnett, said: 'It is deeply regrettable that we have to escalate our dispute with the university. However, these planned changes to terms and conditions remove vital protections for our members and will endanger standards as staff are denied the necessary time to mark students' work.

'It must be compulsory for teaching and marking loads to be taken into account when workloads are set. Similarly, staff must have a right of appeal to independent governors if they have been bullied or treated unfairly. University managers talk a great deal about the need to improve the student experience but under the new arrangements it will be students, as well as our members, who suffer in the long run.'

UCU branch secretary at UEL, Jacqui Mitchell, said: 'Nobody at UEL wants to take strike action and there is still time to reach a negotiated settlement. However, if the university refuses to address our concerns we will go ahead with this action in the autumn.'

Notes

*UCU members at UEL voted to take industrial action in May. This industrial action ballot allows them to take action short of a strike and escalate to strike action which they will do in the autumn.