Planned strike action to start on Thursday 24 November 2022

A message from the Vice‑Chancellor, Professor Katie Normington

Dear students,

I am writing to advise you about the strike that has been called by the lecturers’ union and the impact that could have and the steps we are taking to ensure that this has a minimal effect on you.

The University and College Union (UCU) has held a national ballot and will be asking its members who are academic staff to take strike action for three days, starting Thursday 24 November. This will include some staff who are members at DMU.

The dispute has arisen because staff are not happy with the 3% cost-of-living pay rise they have been given this year. I have made clear that I sympathise with their position, given spiralling living costs. DMU is part of the collective body for pay awards and we do not negotiate locally on the matter. Given the costs the university is facing, we are unfortunately not in a position to make a greater pay award.

UCU has announced its members intend to strike on:

• Thursday 24 November
• Friday 25 November
• Wednesday 30 November

I would like to reassure you that this will not involve all staff members. However, those taking strike action are not required to say in advance when they are cancelling classes. We are working hard to avoid or minimise disruption to your studies as much as possible and we are in close communications with De Montfort University Students’ Union (DSU) to ensure there is the right support available. During this period, please:

• Continue to attend timetabled events unless you hear otherwise
• Utilise physical and online resources (Blackboard, the Library, Labs etc.)

We understand this will be an unsettling time for you and you may have many questions on how this may impact your studies and learning outcomes, so we have created a list of FAQs to address these as best we can at this stage.

If you have any other questions or queries please email industrialaction@dmu.ac.uk.

Thank you for your understanding and I know that this is disappointing, given all the disruption of the pandemic, but I also know we have very committed and dedicated staff and they will not have taken the decision to strike lightly.

Best wishes,

Katie