Breaking: There’s going to be a UCU marking boycott from 20th April

Durham University has announced there will be a UCU marking boycott from Thursday 20th April 2023, as well as continued strike action until the end of September 2023.

This decision was reached after a national UCU vote and will affect 146 universities in the country, and the marking boycott and strike action will affect students whose lecturers and teaching staff are striking members of the UCU.

UCU members are continuing to strike for job and pension security, and disputes over pay. 

There will be as yet undisclosed mitigations in place for all students affected, and updates will be given over the coming weeks.

In a communication to students, Durham University has said: “We know that the news of a marking and assessment boycott will concern our students, particularly our finalists.

“We would like to reassure students that detailed mitigations are in place to support our students, with a particular focus on finalists.

“Students can be confident that our top priority will be to protect their learning and ensure they can continue with their education or plans for the future.

“Here at Durham, we welcomed recent developments as a result of ACAS negotiations and had hoped a resolution could be found that avoided the need for further industrial action.  We hope that the parties can continue to engage constructively to find a way forward.

“At a local level, we continue to work constructively with our campus Trade Unions, including Durham UCU, on many areas of common ground. This includes a commitment to a joint statement on USS pensions with DUCU and our ongoing work on workload, diversity pay gaps and employment.

“We will keep these pages updated with any further information. Students and staff can expect to receive updates over the coming weeks. Our wellbeing and support services remain open.”

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