Last week, Imperial College Union held its first referendum in over a decade. The question was: “Should Imperial College Union support the strike action due to be carried out by the UCU during the 2021/22 academic year?”
The student voice was clear – with 2503 students voting, 1791 said that the Union should support the College’s staff who are striking in defence of their pensions. This is a binding result, and the Union now formally supports the strike action.
But, what exactly does that support entail? In previous years when the Union has supported the strike, we have taken a number of actions including:
- The Union President wrote to the Provost encouraging the College to support the UCU’s position and to exert pressure nationally in favour of their position.
- Elected representatives were mandated to support the UCU position in meetings with the College if and when the issue is raised.
- Union officers and staff were encouraged to disseminate materials publicising the strike and the UCU’s position in the dispute.
- Elected officers were encouraged to visibly support the UCU where possible, including attending events and writing in Felix.
- Union representatives were mandated to call on their respective faculties / departments to ensure that disruption to major coursework and exams taking place during the strike period is minimised.
Besides these formal resolutions, the Union informally supported the UCU strike action previously by providing space in the Union building for striking staff to meet and hold events during the strike period, and for storing materials.
We plan to continue to support the UCU this year through these means. If you are a student who is keen help support the UCU action but wants to know more, you can read about why staff are striking in this article (https://felixonline.co.uk/issue/1781/comment/ucu-strikes-are-an-unfortuate-last-resort) and find more information on our FAQs page.