UCL-UCU: Strike report - Day 1 (Mon 21 Feb) + Day 2 Activities

Day 1: Brief Report

At UCL there were some 100+ staff out on pickets, despite the weather forecast and transport problems, with picket lines at all main entrances on the Bloomsbury campus and many departments and buildings beyond.

As with our strike action in December last year, student support was notable, with many standing in solidarity with staff on picket lines.

We ran a digital picket which saw dispatches from the physical picket lines around UCL and hosted a range of speakers including a Teach Out from the Bartlett on the Silvertown Tunnel, colleagues from Greenwich and Swansea universities, and the UVW (outsourced Great Ormond Street Hospital security guards on strike).

At 13:00 our strike meeting discussed the issue of casualisation (a key demand of the four fights dispute) and passed a short motion on a declaratory basis (see Appendix 1 below).

Day 2: Picketing continues + join the virtual picket and ‘Unite to Defend Education' march

This morning picketing continues across campus.

From 10:00 - 11:00 we invite members at home to join a virtual picket line, where we hope to receive reports from some of the physical pickets across campus. 

Picketing will conclude today shortly before 12:30 in time for the London Region 'Unite to Defend Education' demonstration, departing 13:30 from Tavistock Square to march to the City headquarters of USS, finishing with an outdoor rally at Bank. If colleagues are interested in helping steward this demonstration, please let picket coordinators know.

A reminder that our strike action resumes on Monday 28 February and continues Tuesday 1 and Wednesday 2 March.

UCL UCU Executive Committee

@ucl_ucu

UCL UCU

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Appendix 1 - UCL UCU branch strike committee motion

UCL UCU:

1. Calls on UCU national officials to call a Branch Delegates Meeting with voting powers ahead of the Higher Education Committee meeting on 25 February.
2. Calls on HEC to call additional strike action for 4 days and 5 days in successive weeks in Term 2 from w/c 14 March under both mandates.

Rationale:

1. to provide maximum input from striking branches to advise HEC on the next steps, and
2. to take forward our existing branch mandate on escalating strike action in the light of threats on members for pay-docking and recent USS news.