University of York strike dates confirmed with staff striking three days in December

Staff at York will be striking from the first to the third of December


The University of York will be hit with strike action from Wednesday 1 December to Friday 3 December this term, it has been confirmed by UCU.

Earlier this month, 61.2 per cent of voting members of the York University and College Union voted for strike action over pay and working conditions, and 68.5 per cent voted to strike over pensions.

As well as strikes, UCU members are set to take “action short of a strike” until next May when their industrial mandate expires.

This means staff may limit some of their activities including not covering absent colleagues, not rescheduling cancelled classes as a result of strikes, or a marking and assessment boycott up until May.

In a statement on Facebook, YUSU Academic Officer Matt Johnstone said: “There’s no way of knowing for certain which staff will strike and which won’t, up until they do or don’t turn up on strike days (and/or you see them in the picket line).

“What remains the same is that some of you won’t be affected at all by strike action, while some of you might be affected quite a lot. Our response is a work in progress still, so please respond to the ballot we have open right now.”
In an email to students, Vice-Chancellor Charlie Jeffery previously said: “I know that everyone in our York community, including those who have felt compelled to vote for industrial action, have very difficult decisions to make on these issues. The University respects the rights of colleagues to take industrial action, but is also fully committed to trying to minimise disruption to our students and to their studies.”

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