Email sent to members on Wednesday 27th May. Zoom link removed for security.
Dear members,
We’re inviting you to a members meeting at 2pm on Monday 1st of June. We wanted to update you on how the consultation process is going on, but also have a space to discuss industrial action.
As you will have seen, in addition to calling a marking and assessment boycott (MAB) from May 20, UoN UCU has also called strike action from June 1. The strike action was called in response to our employer threatening 100% pay deductions for staff who take part in the MAB. Why did we feel we had to do this? The point is that a MAB is not a strike. Crazy as it may seem, that means an employer can deduct all of your pay for taking in a MAB and still expect you to come to work. Legally, you cannot refuse to come to work in these circumstances without running the risk of being fired. To safely stay away from work entirely, you have to be on strike, not just on a MAB.
Naturally, we think this is ridiculous. We don’t believe any of our members should be required to work for free. The only way for us to mitigate this was to call a parallel strike, alongside the MAB. This now allows members taking part in a MAB to stay away from work if they wish by simultaneously striking. Members who have no marking and assessment at this time, and are therefore unable to MAB and have no need to take part in a parallel strike, should consider if they would be better off donating generously to the solidarity fund to help sustain the action of others. Details on how to donate are given below.
We can explain more at the members meeting and can also answer any questions you might have. We would also strongly encourage you to speak to your rep and colleagues in your area as we know industrial action works best when carried out collectively like this.
In solidarity as always,
Donations can be made via bank transfer to:
UCU Nottingham LA63 Hardship Fund
Account number: 20346359
Sort code: 60-83-01
Reference: Solidarity 2026