Industrial action is when workers: 

• go on strike 
• take other action, known as ‘action short of a strike’ 

Industrial action is temporary, collective action that staff can take to show they are dissatisfied with decision-making over issues that affect them and if negotiations over these issues have failed. This is designed to bring employers back to the negotiating table to discuss further or to meet employees’ demands.  

It is a last resort and often the only thing that employees can do when negotiations have failed with employers on key issues that affect workers. There are also specific criteria that need to be met before calling for strike action.  

Strikes, in which those on strike withhold their labour (stop working) during the strike period, are done for a pre-agreed, temporary length of time. They stop the strike at the end of the agreed period, or when their demands have been met, whichever is sooner. 

‘Action Short of a Strike’ (ASOS), is when workers only work the hours in their contract or on the tasks they are contracted to complete. This means that workers would not work overtime or take on additional work.  

In some cases, higher education unions can call for marking and assessment boycotts, and other pre-agreed action may also be possible. Please be aware that these are potential examples of ASOS which may or may not happen - we are awaiting further details and will update this page as soon as we have more information. 

For more information, please visit the UCU website, TUC website and GOV website  

LJMU participates in national collective pay bargaining alongside most other UK universities. The collective bargaining is carried out by the Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA) through the new JNCHES pay round.  

The final 2022/23 pay award offer was an increase of 3% on all pay points, with higher pay uplifts for those below Spinal Column Point 20 of up to 9%. UCEA structured the pay uplift in this way as employers recognised that the affect of high inflation falls disproportionally on the lower paid.  

The Trade Unions rejected the offer following the dispute process. However, UCEA advised participating institutions to implement the pay award effective from the 1^st of August 2022. As part of the University’s commitment to national collective pay bargaining it commits to implementing the pay increase as advised by UCEA.

The university’s three recognised Trade Unions, UNISON, UCU and GMB rejected the 2022/23 JNCHES pay offer. In September 2022, UNISON reached a mandate to strike but settled before taking any action. UCU voted nationally and now have a mandate to strike. 

Further industrial action will take place on the following days: 

• Friday 16 June 
• Thursday 17 + Friday 18 August 
• Monday 18 through to Wednesday 20 September 
• Monday 25 through to Friday 29 September 

 We are working with the University the potential impact on students, should the proposed dates go ahead as planned.

When workers go on strike, they may form what is called a ‘picket line’ outside their place of work. This is to encourage other workers to show solidarity with the strikers by refusing to cross into the workplace – for many, not crossing a ‘picket line’ is a point of principle. 
When it comes to 'action short of a strike,' (ASOS) individuals will work as normal apart from when there are duties that the union is asking its members to refuse to carry out. Some examples of ASOS may include:

• Not carrying out work beyond that contracted
• Not covering for absent/ unavailable colleagues
• Removing uploaded materials and/or not sharing materials related to lectures or classes which have been cancelled as a result of strike action.

Please note: the above examples have not been provided by UCU and are there for example purposes only. We will update this page and our FAQs as and when we receive further clarity on what specific ASOS looks like at LJMU.

Lecturers taking part in the strike will not be working on strike days - meaning teaching and supervision may not take place. This means that lectures, seminars and tutorials may be cancelled. Striking staff do not legally have to alert the university in advance that they are striking, so you may not find out until the day of your class that it is not taking place. However, some staff will choose to informally tell you that they are striking in advance. We have been notified that contingency planning is in place and as many lectures as possible will go ahead as normal.  

If you believe your teaching and learning has been negatively impacted by the strikes, it is advised you raise this with your personal tutor, module or programme leader. Teachers and lecturers and professional services staff work at universities so people can learn and to teach as best they can. It is highly likely that staff will provide additional support and resources to students around the strike days and make sure students aren’t disadvantaged. By their very nature, strikes are intended to disrupt activity, however if any student would like to provide feedback on the proposed strikes then please email studentvoice@ljmu.ac.uk (JMSU) and imt@ljmu.ac.uk (LJMU)

Yes, buildings and the university will be open as normal. All JMSU activities and events planned for strike days will also continue as normal. 

Pickets must be held peacefully and we expect campus to continue to be a safe environment for students. There will likely be other support staff in place to cover staff who are on strike, but there may be disruption to your studies or activities during any strike days. Picket lines may ask other staff and students to either join the picket line or not cross it however this is a personal choice and no one should feel intimidated or pressured in anyway.  

If anyone wishes to raise any concerns or issues over their experience during strike action, please email studentvoice@ljmu.ac.uk (JMSU) and imt@ljmu.ac.uk (LMJU)

We understand that strike action could impact on your teaching hours and you might be worried about assessments and achieving a good grade this year. 

We will provide more information following any discussions with the University on any changes to assessments or extenuating circumstances on offer to affected students. We would advise to keep a record of exactly how the industrial action affected you and our Advice Team will be here to support you, should you need it. You can also raise this with the University's Incident Management Team: imt@ljmu.ac.uk

As an LJMU student, you are entitled to submit a complaint at any time. You can do this in two ways.  

1. Follow the LJMU web pages to access the complaints procedure

1. Book an appointment with the JMSU Advice Service to chat with one of our independent advisers about how to submit a complaint, and be supported through the complaints process  

You can get information from Office of the Independent Adjudicator FAQ's  and OFS Student Guide to industrial action   

It is important to remember that you do have agency as a student to bring this strike to an end as soon as possible and support staff working conditions. Here is what you can do:  

• If your teacher tells you they are taking part in the strike, let them know you support them in person or via email. 
• Talk to fellow students about the strike and encourage them to support staff. 
• Consider not crossing the picket line on strike days: the bigger the disruption, the more effective the action will be and therefore the more likely the strike is to end at an earlier date, with a resolution. 

There are some things you can do if you do not support the strikes: 

• Raise your concerns with us: studentvoice@ljmu.ac.uk
• Speak to your lecturer, programme leader, tutor or Course Rep
• Email the University's Incident Management Team with your concerns: imt@ljmu.ac.uk
• You can make a complaint to the University on how the strikes have impacted you through their complaints procedure which you can read here. 
• You can complain to UCU about the impact the strikes have had on you. 
• If you need more information or support in making a complaint, our Advice Service offers free, independent and confidential advice and support for students.  

If you do not attend your classes, this will be treated as non-attendance and will impact your attendance in the normal way. For some of you, your attendance is linked to your Visa, scholarship or bursaries.

Just like a Students’ Union, a trade union is there to support, represent and act in the best interests of its members.

Often trade unions support some of the lowest paid and most vulnerable professions and workers. If you are a part-time worker or work in industries that may have loose, poor or unsafe working conditions, you may benefit from joining a trade union.

As well as supporting industrial action, many trade unions offer free advice, information helplines, useful resources and help foster a community in your workplace.  

For more information please visit the TUC website and find out more about How Unions Work.

We are currently in discussions with the university and UCU colleagues to understand the finer details of the industrial action.

As our first steps, we have created this page to help students understand more about the strikes, so you feel better informed and know what to expect.

We are also keen to hear what you think about the strike action so we can offer more tailored support  based on your feedback – please email your thoughts on the strike action to studentvoice@ljmu.ac.uk  

For international students, the University’s existing policy on absences will still be in place and students will still be expected to attend. Visa status may be impacted if a student’s attendance falls below agreed levels.   

The University has confirmed that if a lecture is cancelled due to the strike action, this will not affect your visa. The University will continue to maintain sponsorship of all Tier 4 students whilst they are on their course. 

However, if some of your lectures or tutorials are taking place during the strike, the University expect students to attend. If you choos not to cross the picket line and therefore do not attend lectures and/or tutorial on modules you are registered for, you will be recorded as absent in line with your School’s attendance policy on attendance.  

For those of you considering strike action the University has confirmed the following:   

Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTA) cover a range of roles. If you have an hourly paid contract with the University, you will be treated in the same way as other employee and if you have teaching activities scheduled that you are unable to undertake either because you are taking strike action or you feel unable to cross a picket line then you will have pay deducted, as appropriate, for the period that you do not deliver your scheduled teaching activity.    

If you are undertaking teaching or demonstrating duties as part of your studentship, you are not an employee and are therefore not entitled to strike.

However, the University recognises that you may not wish to cross a picket line in your role as GTA. No action will be taken against you if you feel unable to cross the picket line to undertake teaching or demonstrating activities during the period of strike action.

We would, however, encourage you to let your department know as soon as possible if you do not intend to undertake your duties during the industrial action so that departments can plan accordingly to minimise the impact on other students.  

In addition, UCU has confirmed that there is local funding avaialble to help support UCU members who are in hardship. You can access information on these funds by contacting your UCU rep directly.