Lancaster UCU announces strike action scheduled for next week has been cancelled

The Lancaster UCU has announced that strike action has been called off at many universities.

Members voted to postpone the local strikes due to take place from 25th to 29th September.

The union has said that any strike action hereafter will be targeted at the “very worst employers”.

Five consecutive days of strike action were previously announced to go ahead next week from Monday 25^th September to Friday 29^th September.

Although this has been cancelled at Lancaster University, amongst many other universities, UCU members at 42 universities will still go ahead with this. A further ten universities have announced that their UCU members will strike for at least one day during this time.

This news comes shortly after the announcement that the marking and assessment boycott was officially ended, which started on 20^th April 2023.

Employers responded to the boycott by making pay deductions of up to 100 per cent. Deals to remove these deductions have now been made between employers and branches, for example at the University of Aberdeen and the University of Bristol. The UCU has urged other universities to follow in their footsteps, and argue that ending strike action can allow branches to focus on the newly opened national ballot.

UCU general secretary Jo Grady has said: “We have seen many employers do the right thing and agree to stop punitive pay deductions and some have also agreed to return what has been taken. We are now urging other vice-chancellors to follow their lead and are calling off strike action at dozens of universities. This will also allow our members to concentrate on winning the reballot and getting the pay and conditions they deserve.

“Renewing our mandate and keeping the pressure on is the way we will win this dispute, but the strike action due to go ahead next week stands as a reminder to all employers that if you behave egregiously, you will face further disruption.”

Featured image via Lancaster UCU Twitter.

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