Strike Action Continues at University of Roehampton


Principal reason for industrial action is the issue of workload


A picket at the university during previous strike action. Picture: Roehampton UCU

January 18, 2023

Members of the University and College Union (UCU) at the University of Roehampton are taking strike action this Wednesday and Thursday (18 and 19 January) with more industrial action planned in February.

According to the UCU, 87% of Roehampton’s academic staff reported feeling frequently overwhelmed and 37% reported severe symptoms of stress (compared to a national average of 7%).

The union says that due to a reduction in staff numbers and a new way of allocating work, there has been a 20-40% increase in workloads.

In addition, academics are being asked to teach outside their area of expertise depriving students of specialist education and there has been an increased use of staff on casual contracts including zero-hour contracts which has resulted in an overall decline in the standard of provision.

UCU claims that, despite management’s declaration that it is reviewing workloads, nothing concrete has been done to address the issue and there has been no meeting with the union since September.

Further, strikes are planned next month including on 1 February as part of the TUC’s national day of action to ‘protect the right to strike’.

Roehampton staff will be among 70,000 university workers across the country taking action over pay and working conditions.

A further 17 days of strike action is due to take place over February and March. The precise dates are to be announced by the union next week.

University staff have already taken three days of strike action this academic year after receiving a pay rise worth just 3% this year following over a decade of below-inflation pay awards.

UCU is demanding a meaningful pay rise to deal with the cost-of-living crisis as well as action to end the use of insecure contracts.

In a meeting between employers and trade union on Monday 16 January, the Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA) refused to move from an updated 4-5% offer made last week. UCU said the offer is 'not enough'.

UCU general secretary Jo Grady said, “Whilst the cost-of-living crisis rages, university vice-chancellors are dragging their feet and refusing to use the vast wealth in the sector to address over a decade of falling pay, rampant casualisation and massive pension cuts.

“On 1 February, 70,000 university staff will walk out alongside fellow trade unions and hundreds of thousands of other workers to demand their fair share.

“UCU remains committed to reaching a negotiated settlement, but if university employers don’t get serious and fast, more strike action fill follow in February and March.”

The University of Roehampton has been approached for comment.

Like Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More

This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism.

Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets.

We've always done that and won't be changing, in fact we'd like to do more.

However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do.

We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area.

A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site.

One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute.

If you do support us in this way we'd be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor.

For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you'd like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site.