Newcastle University teaching staff who are part of the University and College Union (UCU) will strike for five days later in June.
The UCU branch said it was disappointed that bosses at the university had imposed "disproportionate and punitive" pay deductions on union members who have taken part in the nationwide marking boycott. Union members said they were also frustrated that - unlike other universities including the University of Cambridge - management would not issue a joint statement with the union calling for further pay negotiations.
This comes during a protracted dispute between staff and the Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA) over a range of issues related to pay and working conditions. As part of this, union members are not marking work produced by students towards their final degrees.
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The UCU branch said it was frustrated that a meeting with the university's vice chancellor Professor Chris Day did not result in the university altering its position.
And now the union branch has confirmed it has notified university bosses of plans for strike action on June 23, 26, 27, and 28 and 29.
A spokesperson for university said it is 'extremely disappointed' by the industrial action.
In a statement, the union branch added: "Newcastle University UCU requested the meeting following joint statements between other UCU branches and their Vice Chancellors that called for a return to negotiation. The Vice Chancellor had responded swiftly and positively about such a meeting.
"Newcastle University UCU had hoped that such an initiative could contribute to the restoration of talks regarding the dispute. Unfortunately, the Vice Chancellor refused point-blank a joint statement including pay."
The union also criticised the continued regime of pay deductions for marking - claiming that it was disproportionate and that "they are imposing indefinite 50% pay deductions for tasks that tend to be between 1% and 15% of staff workload". The UCU has also highlighted that students are sympathetic to the strike action - with both the Newcastle University Student Union and the National Union of Students petitioning for both the UCU and UCEA to return to pay negotiations.
In the statement, the Newcastle UCU officials continued: "The local UCU branch is extremely disappointed at the Vice Chancellor and the Head of HR's refusal to backtrack on disproportionate deductions or a joint statement that calls for a return to pay negotiations. Students and staff will suffer as a consequence."
With regard to the newly-announced strike action, they added: "Regrettably, the strike days have been notified as of Friday: a response to the senior leadership's intransigence, isolation and lack of willingness to listen to staff or students."
A spokesperson for Newcastle University said: “We are extremely disappointed by the ongoing industrial action and the impact and anxiety that it is causing for our students.
“Our priority as always is to minimise the impact on our students’ education and also the pressure on colleagues who are continuing to support them through this period of action.
“Our no detriment approach will ensure, where possible, that all our students can graduate or continue on their education or career journey without being disadvantaged. It will ensure we maintain academic standards and the integrity of our degrees. All work will be marked, although some may be delayed.”
The UCEA said earlier this week that those taking part in the marking boycott should stop "trying to target" students - and that there was "simply no need" for the action. The UCEA claims "employers are at the table to negotiate, as they have been for months". However the UCEA's position is "that the 2023-24 pay uplift talks are complete" - though it wishes to discuss "related items".
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