Don’t worry, your essays ARE going to be marked

Bitter staff have waved the white flag and delayed their marking boycott until the new year.

Aberystwyth University has announced that planned industrial action has been put on hold after the Universities and College Union updated their proposal.

The academic protest was originally planned for November 6 at several institutions in the UK, in opposition to proposed changes to the national pension scheme.

But recent talks have prevented the strikes until January.

The continuous action will apparently be “short of a strike”, taking the form of an assessment and marking boycott by staff members.

This includes ‘coursework, assignments and all student work submitted for assessment.

While the result of this consultation is currently unclear, Sue Chambers, Director of Human Resources at Aberystwyth “welcomes the news” that it is likely to be suspended while negotiations are ongoing.

Assessments and exams will have continued as normal either way, with the University taking “every possible action to minimise the impact on students”.

However, Pro-Vice Chancellor Rebecca Davies has warned that when it does occur, “the UCU may choose to escalate the industrial action at any time by urging its members to take additional forms of it.”

The University has promised to update students and staff with any further information as it becomes available, with the confirmed result set to be revealed before December.

So for now, rest easy.  All your hard work will be rewarded this side of Christmas.