After their press release on February 11, the UCU has begun their planned industrial action across the University’s campus in response to the University’s declaration of voluntary severance. As voluntary severance has come to an end on March 21, the University will now consider moving into a phase of redundancy. Future and current jobs remain on the line, both for current staff and current students who have been working towards careers in this field; undergraduate, masters, and PHD alike.
What both UCU branch chair, Matt Perry, and secretary, David Bates, say to remember is that “all this pain” is shared between both staff and students.
The Courier spoke to students from various schools about how they feel the strikes have impacted them. A second year Biology student talked about their thoughts on the growing absences in their timetable saying “it’s hard to pick apart a PowerPoint”. They said that while they “wholeheartedly” support the industrial action they are having to “backtrack” on their learning.
It feels like I'm putting my 100% in but I'm not getting the same back from the University
An international student shared their perspective with us: “I obviously support the staff [members] that are striking, however the situation is very frustrating because I am losing valuable teaching time in my final year. As an international student it feels like I’m putting my 100% in but I’m not getting the same back from the University. It feels like they aren’t trying enough”.
For students who are working on their final dissertation, the emotional impact of the industrial action has never been more prominent. One third year Journalism student commented “I feel very abandoned” after explaining their minimal supervision for their project. A similar message was reflected amongst other students; expressing how unfair it feels to know some students receive full supervision, while others are left to navigate unguided. A third year Media student expressed a similar sense of dread, saying “it’s frustrating for students who need more support”. A fourth year Modern Languages student described being witness to the experience as “eye-opening”. It’s become clear when speaking to students at the University, the consensus is that industrial action is necessary.
Some lecturers across the University have opted to send out an informative email while they strike, giving students some more information on the University’s financial situation from their perspective. “Their capital investment budget [is] higher than since the pandemic” stated one email, finishing with “Choosing to cut jobs is a choice.”
Matt Perry said ultimately it comes down to this, “higher education needs reform”. The UCU have since launched a vote of no confidence against Vice-Chancellor Chris Day which is now open for everyone. If you want more information you can go to the Newcastle University website, nusu.co.uk, or the Newcastle University section of the UCU website, or, past articles from The Courier Online.
A spokesperson from Newcastle University said: “We respect the right to take part in industrial action and we understand it is not a decision that is taken lightly. However, we are disappointed that UCU has called for this action while we are still in a period of consultation.
“Our goal during strike action is to minimise the impact on students’ educational experience, focusing on fair treatment for all and maintaining academic standards while enabling students to progress or achieve their awards. We are also reimbursing travel and other expenses, such as childcare, for any students who arrive on campus to find that all of the scheduled teaching events have been cancelled as a result of the strikes. More information about this and the other support we have in place is available on our website: https://enquire.ncl.ac.uk/en/can-i-get-a-refund-of-my-travel-costs-if-i-arrive-at-university-to-find-my-lectures/seminars-are-cancelled-due-to-strike-action.
“The financial challenges we are facing are being felt by universities across the UK and are based on a combination of structural underfunding, rising costs, and shifts in international student markets. Decisions on how we respond to these pressures are always taken with the long-term interests of our University in mind, including input from staff and student representatives on our governing bodies. We want to work constructively with our unions to build a more sustainable future while supporting our community throughout this challenging time.”