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We should know on Friday whether the strikes are continuing

A vote is being held as we speak


On the 4th April, a UCU ballot opened, and members of the union are being encouraged to vote on the updated proposals regarding the current disputes over University pensions. The new proposals include the creation of a Joint Expert Panel, consisting of representatives from both UUK and UCU, to tackle future discussions, among other key points relating to the current dissensions about staff pensions.

The ballot is set to run until 2pm this Friday (13th April), at which point we will be updated with the results. If the majority of the members vote for the changes, the strikes will not be continuing into the summer term. However, if the vote reveals that University staff are still unhappy with the new agreements, negotiations and strikes will continue.

The strikes are currently set to restart on the 16th April, and Southampton has been named as one of the Universities to be affected for the whole of that week (16th – 20th April). It is currently unknown how much disruption will be caused to exam periods, however, if an agreement is not met, the UCU have stated that strikes may continue during these times.

We will be publishing the results of the ballot on Friday.