Strike action - a statement from your elected officers
3rd December Strike - a new statement from your elected Officers
The three largest university Trade Unions (University College Union, Unison and Unite) have declared another national day of strike action on Tuesday the 3rd of December 2013. This strike follows from the strike earlier in the semester, on the 31st of October.
Again, the strike concerns the rejection of a 1% salary increase this year and the cumulative 13% pay cut university staff have faced since 2008.
By now you will know that some LJMU staff are expected to take part in this strike. However, instead of shutting all university buildings as it did during the last strike in October, LJMU management will try to keep the university open as much as possible. This means that you are able to attend your classes as normal, unless you have been specifically informed that a class has been cancelled.
What this decision does mean is that many students will want to cross picket lines to get to their classes. Whether you choose to cross these picket lines or not is up to you. The unions will ask you not to do so, so that you are showing LJMU that you support them. However they should always do so in a calm and considerate manner. Unfortunately, any students choosing not to cross picket lines may find that this impacts their attendance record.
LiverpoolSU believes that there are clear benefits to students when pay is at a level that attracts excellent staff, meaning better teaching quality and an improved overall student experience. We want to support the maintenance of a happy and motivated workforce. We support the rights of all staff to challenge what they have democratically deemed to be unfair practices, including salary offers.
However our first concern is for the wellbeing of our members, yourselves as students. We have been involved with meetings with the University and the Unions to discuss and minimise the disruptive impact this will have on students. We feel that strike action should always be a last resort and we would hope that both sides- the unions and the universities- are able to negotiate and resolve this dispute as soon as possible.
LiverpoolSU will only support the Trade Unions as long as students’ progression through their course is not disrupted. Any serious disruptions to students’ ability to pass their course will result in LiverpoolSU withdrawing support from the Unions.
If any students have any questions or comments about the strike or this statement please contact studentsunion@ljmu.ac.uk.
Curtis Reid - President
Sam Davys - Vice President Activities
Dan Cole - Vice President Community Engagement
