Issue 1420 Monday 14th Feb 2022
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thecourieronline.co.uk
Biphobia in the dating world
LEGO!
And Star Wars! The complete saga, finally out this year
This Valentine’s Day, Emma Bausen reflects on past experiences
Pesticide approved
Relationships | page 14
Science | page 11
Gaming | page 31
Thiamethoxam for beets beats the bees
UCU to strike for ten days Becca Alexander - News sub-editor
For the first time in two years, lectures are cancelled by striking staff
D
espite failing to reach the turnout threshold in the strike ballots conducted last term, members of Newcastle University’s branch of the University and College Union (UCU) have been successful in their vote to undertake industrial action in semester two. Newcastle, alongside 68 other UK universities – including Durham and Northumbria – will strike over both the USS dispute and the Four Fights dispute. Therefore, Newcastle staff who chose to strike will do so on the following dates: 14-18 February, 21-22 February, 28 February, and 1-2 March. The January reballot saw 50.6% of Newcastle UCU members cast their vote, of which 80.4% indicated they were prepared to take industrial action that consisted of strike action. Upon the proposition of taking action short of strike action (ASOS) – usually denoting working only to contracted hours, not undertaking voluntary activities etc – support was greater, with 90.2% voting in favour. The UCU are striking over two separate disputes. The USS dispute refers exclusively to pension concerns, where employers are proposing 35% cuts to already falling staff pensions. The wider Four Fights dispute is cited by the UCU as against declining pay, unsafe workloads, failure to make universities spaces of equality and employment that increasingly depends on casualisation. Most Newcastle students will be somewhat used to seeing picket lines on
campus, with strike action occurring in 2017-20, but student opinions on staff strikes still remain divided. While some feel that industrial action will have a damaging and irreversible influence upon their university learning, others express unwavering solidarity with staff. A third-year Newcastle University history student stated that although staff should have the right to strike, they believe industrial action is “disenfranchising students, especially
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final years”. “We’ve experienced enough disruption given Covid, it’s ostracising the student community further and many are unwilling to engage with the NUSU poll in the first place”. In contrast, another Newcastle student recognises that the “working conditions of staff directly translates to the learning conditions of students”, stating their belief that students should support the cause and not cross a picket line. Mirroring this division, Newcastle
University Student Union introduced an online poll asking students for their stance on UCU industrial action. Results of the poll show that, out of the 1600 students who cast a vote, 53.3% voted to indicate they were in support of UCU strike action. NUSU have previously been neutral on past periods of industrial action, but last semester Student Council supported a motion to hold a cross-campus poll on any further proposed industrial action.
To reflect this, the Student Union have informed the university that the student community support the strike. The SU continue to stress that, regardless of their stance, their main priority lies within supporting students. Supporting the UCU, the National Union of Students (NUS) has asked students to ‘strike for education’ on 2 March, with a Teach In planned to be held in central London (though plans to extend this appear to be in the making).
Image: Twitter (@NewcastleUniUCU)
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