A trip down
picket lane
How the university strike action in the Bournemouth area unfolded
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 this is not a "we are all in this together" kind of situation. While UCU members have seen their pay cut by 25% since 2009, university vice-chancellors and senior management have been collecting six-figure salaries.
Week 1
Teachers and university staff from Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole gathered in Bournemouth Square on February 1 to protest their working conditions as part of the national teacher strike dubbed ‘Walkout Wednesday’.
Hundreds of education workers rallied at the Square, waving placards that read ‘Better Pay, Fairer Workload’ and ‘Pay up, Save our Schools’, calling for their employers to address their demands.
In the first round of negotiations, employers insisted on a real-terms pay cut for 2023–2024 while ignoring the 2022–2023 dispute.
Following that, eighty per cent of UCU members voted against the most recent compensation offer from the Universities and Colleges Employers' Association (UCEA). Tens of thousands of UCU members supported the union's decision to reject the offer throughout the e-ballot. A poll during week 1 recorded over 30,000 votes across four days.
Week 2
During the second week, it was made official that there would be two more days of strike action at UK universities on February 9 and 10, after the staff's rejection of the employers' pay offer. Strikes at the university escalated after employees refused the "low-ball" offer.
“We are quite optimistic,” said Ian Dolan, a dance lecturer at Arts University Bournemouth, who has been actively participating in the strike since day one.
“We are quite optimistic,” said Ian Dolan, a dance lecturer at Arts University Bournemouth, who has been actively participating in the strike since day one.
UCU and the four other higher education unions (EIS, GMB, UNISON and Unite) have decided to continue negotiations, which will be mediated by the conciliation service Acas, with employer representative UCEA.
The conversations were scheduled to start on Monday, February 13. The topics up for discussion in the negotiations, which will be handled by Acas, include salary, equality, job insecurity, and workloads.
Bournemouth University students gather in support of striking university staff
Bournemouth University students gather in support of striking university staff
A few students from Bournemouth University have gathered to support the university teachers because they are missing their classes. They held a placard which indicated ‘on strike for fair pay’.
“It impacted our learning but there seems to be a lot of confusion in student body because student body blaming for the strike action, not understanding the purpose of why they are here, they want to be able to do their jobs well to get paid for their jobs to have enough resources to teach us properly and they are not getting it... this is not lecturers versus students, it's lecturers and students together,” said Fiona Donaldson, first year student in Bsc anthropology from Bournemouth University.
Week 3
“I spent my summer working in Starbucks because I needed money to pay bills,” said Jenna Hubbard, a Lecturer at Arts University Bournemouth, when talking of her struggles in the early days of her teaching career. Despite being a highly trained academic, she was forced to take up work part-time unrelated to her field to supplement her income and pay rent.
Standing across Bournemouth University, holding a megaphone and wearing a pink badge, Hubbard with her associates from UCU continued striking against the authorities for what is dubbed the ‘four fights’; pay inequality, rising workloads, pay devaluation, and, finally, job insecurity, otherwise known as casualisation.
Strikes entered the third week with over 70,000 university staff members from 150 universities hitting the streets on Tuesday 14, Wednesday 15 and Thursday 16 February.
UCU entered Acas negotiations with the employer representative on Monday 13 and Tuesday 14 February. The union called for employers to make a well-rounded offer, including commitments on casualisation and workload, as well as pay.
Discriminatory pay gaps in 2023 is a reality addressed by strikers wishing to start “somewhere” and hopefully make a difference.
Discriminatory pay gaps in 2023 is a reality addressed by strikers wishing to start “somewhere” and hopefully make a difference.
Struggling with "unrealistic" workloads, BU staff members hide their frustration with a smile.
Struggling with "unrealistic" workloads, BU staff members hide their frustration with a smile.
“If the winds go in the right direction, the sound carries to the vice chancellor’s office,” said UCU Branch Secretary and Senior Lecturer Dr. Steph Allen.
“If the winds go in the right direction, the sound carries to the vice chancellor’s office,” said UCU Branch Secretary and Senior Lecturer Dr. Steph Allen.
AUB educator strikes against the casualisation of academic staff at universities.
AUB educator strikes against the casualisation of academic staff at universities.
Week 4
The UCU announces that planned action during February and early March will no longer go ahead as the union said it had made "significant progress" across multiple issues during talks with employers.
Pausing walkouts over the next fortnight will enable a "period of calm", Jo Grady of the UCU said.
Striking staff at Bournemouth University have returned to their classes, conducting business as usual.
Students fill the halls of the campus, restoring a sense of normalcy.
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