From ASOS to Zoom pickets: Everything you need to know about the strikes

For the fifth time in four years, lecturers and tutors are going on strike. Many third and fourth year students will be seasoned pros at dealing with on-campus strikes. But for a lot of first and second years, these will be the first round of strikes that have had major disruption on teaching.

There are also lots of do’s and don’t’s around strikes that are affected by ~slightly niche British trade union history and etiquette~ that a lot of students (understandably) might not be familiar with.

Amongst all this confusion, you probably have some questions about what it all means, how it affects you as a student, and what on earth is actually going on. So, The Edinburgh Tab have trawled through the uni website and spoken to UCU Edinburgh to answer your burning questions about the strikes.

1. When are the strikes?

Members of the University and Colleges Union (UCU) will be going on strike for a total of ten days spread over three weeks. They will be on strike between 14th and 18th February as well as 21st and 22nd February (during reading week) and 28th February, 1st March, and 2nd March.

2. What are the strikes over?

There are two main reasons for the UCU calling this strike. The first is a longstanding issue over lecturers’ pensions. Universities UK (the body that represents all universities in the UK) has been trying to renegotiate lecturers’ pension scheme (known as the University Superannuation Scheme or USS) for several years. The UCU believe this will reduce the value of lecturers’ pensions and that the calculations used to change the scheme are based on incorrect maths. Strikes were first called over this in 2018 – yes, four whole years ago – and negotiations remain ongoing.

The second reason is what the UCU call the “Four Fights”: race and gender pay gaps, low pay, high workload, and casualisation.

On race and gender pay gaps, the UCU allege there is a 15 per cent gap between the salaries of male and female academics at Edinburgh as well as a 17 per cent gap between white academics and People of Colour. Meanwhile, in terms of low pay, they claim wages have fallen by 20 per cent once inflation is considered.

Next, the UCU claim their members’ high workload is causing “an epidemic of poor mental health” due to an average of 15 hours they claim their members work unpaid each week.

Finally, on the use of casual employment contracts, the UCU allege a third of University of Edinburgh academics are on insecure contracts (like those with no guaranteed hours and fixed terms). Those affected most are PhD students working as tutors and postdoctoral research fellows.

3. Do the uni have the power to end the strikes?

Over pensions, it is ultimately up to Universities UK to come to an agreement with the UCU. However, Vice Chancellors are set to vote soon over whether to approve proposals made by the UCU to resolve the dispute. The administrators of the pension scheme have told the UCU they believe it is feasible but it still needs to be agreed by individual VCs like Peter Mathieson. The UCU is urging Edi students to email him to voice their support for it.

For the “Four Fights”, much of it is due to longer term problems in the UK’s higher education sector. However, the UCU argue there are steps the uni could take to end and prevent strike action – like reviewing pay gaps, reducing the amount of precarious contracts offered, and increasing wages.

4. What does this mean for students?

If your tutors and lecturers are UCU members, then (in theory) they will be going on strike. This means you won’t have class and your lecturers and tutors will not be responding to emails/holding office hours/generally otherwise doing their jobs.

However, not all academics are members of the UCU, and not all UCU members will either be striking or following the strike as stringently as others. You also might not know if your class is cancelled until you show up because it is ~not the done thing~ for someone on strike to tell other people if they’re striking or not.

Alternatively, even if your class is on, you might not be able to get into the building because of picket lines…

5. What is a picket line?

It is a way of protesting to increase the overall impact of a strike. Put simply, it is a line of people on strike (and others including allies and protestors) that stand in front of their workplace and block people from entering the building.

The last round of strikes in the autumn saw picket lines outside most departmental buildings and lecture theatres on George Square. Most picket lines will only be there in the morning – but the strike itself lasts all day.

6. What happens if you cross a picket line?

In reality, not a lot. It’s not a human chain – if you really want to get through, you can.

However, the point of a picket line is to persuade people not to cross it. So, be prepared to be lectured (lol) about the reasons behind the strike and how crossing a picket line undermines the aims of the strike.

The chances are you’ll also know some of the tutors and lecturers on the pickets. This is a) a bit embarrassing and awkward and b) meant to make you feel like bit of a dick because it implies you’re not receptive to their personal reasons for striking.

7. What about online class?

For live online classes, it is the same as normal class – if your lecturer/tutor is striking, they will not be there but if they are not on strike then they will be. There are also “Zoom pickets” run by the UCU that some people on strike will attend instead of online class.

For asynchronous classes like prerecorded lectures, it varies from lecturer to lecturer. Some won’t upload content meant to be watched on strike days – and some will have removed lectures already uploaded. This is what the UCU believe their members should do but not all lecturers will follow it to the letter (so some prerecorded content may still be available).

8. Which buildings will be picketed?

Any UCU members’ workplace can be picketed – mostly departmental buildings and teaching spaces (including lecture theatres). In practice, there usually are more pickets in George Square/central campus than Kings Buildings.

The Edinburgh Tab have received specific reassurances from UCU Edinburgh that any building offering student support services will not be picketed. This includes EUSA venues like Teviot and Potterrow and, most importantly, Main Lib.

Partly, this is to not risk harming students’ wellbeing. But also, most non-academic uni staff members (like librarians and admin staff) aren’t eligible to join the UCU so won’t be striking.

9. Can I go to the library?

Contradictory to an Instagram post made by the Student Staff Solidarity Network (SSSN) and videos posted on TikTok, you can most definitely go to the library. UCU Edinburgh made it very clear we spoke to them that students are not crossing picket lines or undermining the strike in anyway if they go to the library.

10. What happens if I’ve been told my class will still be on despite the strikes?

This is a tricky one. It ultimately is up to your individual conscience.

On the one hand, if you have marked and tracked attendance for the class, it may count as an unauthorised absence if you don’t go because of the strikes. But unlike the strikes in 2019/20, the Uni website says international students are no longer impacting their visa requirements if they choose not attend class because of strikes – so long as you “continue to engage with your studies more broadly” and check with your school.

If you don’t feel comfortable going – or would have to cross a picket line to go – it’s probably best to drop your tutor/lecturer an email to let them know and explain why.

11. Do lecturers/tutors get paid when they’re on strike?

They do not!

12. Can I get my tuition fees reimbursed for not getting the teaching I’ve paid for?

It is written into the terms and conditions when you matriculate that you can’t be reimbursed for teaching lost during strike action.

However, the UCU and allied student groups like SSSN and People and Planet argue that one of the long term causes of the strikes is unis operating like businesses and treating education like a commodity. So instead, students should first consider where their tuition fees are being spent by the uni.

13. What does Action Short Of a Strike (ASOS) mean?

Since the last round of strikes in December 2021, UCU members have been conducting “Action Short of a Strike” – or ASOS for short. Sadly, it has nothing to do with the online shopping app.

ASOS means UCU members have been asked to work strictly to their contracted hours – i.e. not do unpaid overtime – and not take on work beyond their job description. So, lectures and tutors might not reschedule teaching missed due to strikes, reply to your emails outside of their working hours, or spend longer marking assessments than they are allocated.

Again, in practice, how strictly this is followed will vary from academic to academic.

14. What can students do to support the strike?

UCU Edinburgh have a list of lots of different things students can do to support the strike. These include emailing Peter Mathieson, showing your support on social media, and attending teach-outs (talks and discussions hosted by those on strike about the strike).

You can also join picket lines as allies and there is a solidarity strike by the National Union of Students’ on 2nd March.

Recommended related articles by this writer:

• Breaking: 10 days of strike action at Edinburgh Uni will take place in February

• Edi year abroad students in Russia feel ‘abandoned’ by uni with rising tensions in Ukraine

• University of Edinburgh reinstates Participation Grant following campaign by 93% Club