As a Students’ Union, we are proud to stand by the University and College Union (UCU) and university staff members in their dispute with the University and recognise the valuable role our staff play in supporting students throughout the year. Therefore, we would like to reaffirm our support for staff involved in the current marking and assessment boycott (MAB) which is solely focused on pay, precarious contracts, the gender pay gap, and excessive workloads.

We extend our solidarity to UCU on behalf of the Students' Union through our conversations with University management and through tackling the misinformation spread regarding the boycott and why staff are involved. 

You may have heard the saying 'staff working conditions are your learning conditions' and this is entirely true. Like everyone else, university staff are struggling with the cost-of-living crisis, on top of excessive workloads, discriminatory pay gaps, and insecure jobs. When we unite, we can fight for change and for fairer working and learning conditions for all.

We are aware students are concerned with what is going on. Having heard nothing from the university, it's important to us that all students understand why this MAB is underway to allow you to better support your lecturers and have all the information you need about what's happening. We recommend taking a look at our Jargon Buster and FAQs.

If you have further questions, please don't hesitate to contact us at the Students' Union. Lecturers participating in the MAB have no obligation to disclose whether they will be participating and may not wish to share, however, we know they would appreciate a supportive email.

We would also encourage students to contact the University directly to convey their support of the UCU.