In recent years thousands of students in higher education have seen their studies disrupted due to industrial action led by the University and College Union (UCU) in their fight against Vice Chancellors. In November 2022, the UCU led the largest university strike to date with over 70,000 staff members across the UK striking for better pay, pensions, and working conditions.
On April 20, members of the UCU across 145 universities in the UK began a marking and assessment boycott. This action began after staff were sent pay deduction threats of up to 100% from some universities.
The boycott means that some staff who are members of the UCU stopped doing all work related to students’ summative assessments, including exam preparation, marking, and invigilating.
