On Friday 25 April, Durham UCU gave the University notice of further continuous action short of strike (ASOS) comprising of a marking and assessment boycott. The boycott will start on Monday 12 May 2025.
This latest threatened action is not only unnecessary but will also unsettle students as they start the examination period. We would urge the local branch of UCU seriously to reconsider this threat, especially with students in mind.
Any boycott will create significant extra burdens for Professional Services staff at a very difficult time.
It will likely slow down responses to voluntary severance applications as both industrial action and the voluntary severance process are managed by the same small teams of colleagues.
Members of Durham UCU recently voted in favour of industrial action in response to cost-saving measures that are required to ensure the University’s financial sustainability.
The University aims to achieve the necessary financial savings by voluntary measures, and we have been consistently emphatic about this. However, we are not able to rule out the need for compulsory redundancies to put us in a more sustainable financial position.
It is likely to be mid-May before we know if we have done enough to achieve the required savings through voluntary severance. This timeline has been shared with our four campus trade unions, including Durham UCU, and our staff.
It is disappointing that Durham UCU has chosen to take industrial action ahead of it being known whether we have achieved our financial savings through voluntary measures.
This action is unnecessary at a time when we are trying hard to make savings through voluntary means and as we let staff know about the outcomes of their voluntary severance applications.
The University will continue to ensure our students are appropriately supported and to minimise any impact on those who are affected by this action.
If there are further developments, we will continue to keep our community informed.
/prod01/prodbucket01/media/durham-university/external-location-photography-/campus-shots-/71753.jpg)