As many colleagues will be aware, the University and College Union (UCU) members have been taking industrial action for several years to address:
- rapidly deteriorating working conditions, systemic workplace inequalities and long-term real-terms pay cuts faced by university staff;
- deeply unjust and financially indefensible cuts made to our collective pension fund.
In the 2022-2023 academic year, 70,000 university staff at over 145 institutions won two consecutive national ballots and took strike action. This is unprecedented and a considerable victory in and of itself given the excessively restrictive trade union laws that govern industrial relations in the UK. Collective action has brought us closer to a resolution in the pensions dispute, but it has, unfortunately, not produced sufficient movement in the pay and working conditions dispute.
The union members are now engaged in a Marking and Assessment Boycott (MAB) to compel employers back to the negotiation table. While marking and assessment-related duties constitute a small percentage of our workloads, many universities have responded to this legal industrial tactic by threatening to dock 100% of our pay. These punitive pay deductions will have a significant impact on all participating UCU members, but they will impact most harshly on our early-career and precarious colleagues—disproportionately women and people of colour—who are already struggling with low pay and job insecurity.
We are therefore calling upon our international networks to release statements of support for UCU members and highlight/criticise the punitive measures adopted by universities and their representative organisation UCEA (Universities and Colleges Employers Association).
What can you do to support UCU members?
- Sign our open letter: If you would like to add your name to our brief open letter you can do so by filling this form.
- Send us your own solidarity message: You can also send us a personalised note to express your support. With your consent, we can add your message to the open letter and circulate it on social media. Please also consider expressing your support via your own social media accounts.
- Bring solidarity motions to your union branch: If you are part of a workplace union at your own institution, please consider bringing a solidarity motion to your next union branch meeting. A solidarity statement released publicly by your union branch would be much appreciated.
- Contact University Vice-Chancellors: Vice-Chancellors are in a key position to influence the bargaining position of UCEA. We would greatly appreciate it if you could contact them and express your support for UCU members. You can use the union’s email template to contact VCs.
- Contact your own networks: Feel free to share this page and the open letter with your own networks.
Click here to access our open letter against punitive deductions for UCU industrial action.
Signatories
Last update: 23 May 2023
| Name | Institution |
|---|---|
| Dr Amira Abdelhamid | University of Portsmouth |
| Dr Joscha Abels | University of Tübingen |
| Professor Fiona B. Adamson | SOAS University of London |
| Dr Ilias Alami | Uppsala University |
| Dr Greg Albo | York University |
| Dr Francesco Amoruso | Tampere University |
| Professor Felix Anderl | University of Marburg |
| Dr Diego Andreucci | University of Barcelona |
| Dr Alexander Anievas | University of Connecticut |
| Dr Fulya Apaydın | Institut Barcelona d’Estudis Internacionals |
| Dr Roberto Aringhieri | University of Turin |
| Dr David Attewell | University of Zurich |
| Dr Uğur Aytaç | Utrecht University |
| Professor Mona Baker | University of Oslo |
| Professor Banu Bargu | University of California, Santa Cruz |
| Dr Tom Barnes | Australian Catholic University |
| Dr Núria Araüna Baró | University Rovira i Virgili |
| Dr Valeria Bello | Ramón Llull University |
| Dr Paul Beaumont | Norwegian Institute of International Affairs |
| Professor Jacqueline Best | University of Ottawa |
| Dr Ali Bhagat | Saint Mary’s University |
| Dr Adi Saleem Bharat | University of Michigan |
| Dr Arda Bilgen | LSE |
| Professor Renate Bridenthal | City University of New York |
| Dr Alexi Brooks | University of Wisconsin-Stout |
| Dr Gareth Bryant | University of Sydney |
| Dr Richard Budd | Lancaster University |
| Olivia Butler | Uppsala University |
| Dr William Callison | Uppsala University |
| Lucy Carolan | Newcastle University |
| Dr Claudio Cattaneo | Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona |
| Dr Jana Cattien | University of Amsterdam |
| Dr Carolina Cepeda-Másmela | Universidad Javeriana, Bogotá |
| Professor Iain Chambers | Università di Napoli “L’Orientale” |
| Dr Hannah Chapman | University of Oklahoma |
| Dr Liberty Chee | Ca Foscari University of Venice |
| Dr Ramón I. Centeno | Universidad de Sonora |
| Dr Tom Chodor | Monash University |
| Professor Mònica Clua Losada | |
| Professor Blanche Wiesen Cook | John Jay College & the Graduate Center, City University of New York |
| Ewan Coopey | Macquarie University |
| Dr Maria Micaela Coppola | University of Trento |
| Elizabeth Cox | York St John University |
| Dr Adriano Cozzolino | Università della Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli” |
| Dr Guy Crawford | Queen’s University |
| Dr M. Kerem Çoban | Kadir Has University |
| Dr Antonia Lucia Dawes | King’s College London |
| Carlo De Gaetano | Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences |
| Audrey Deveault | Goldsmiths, University of London |
| Dr Rachele Dini | University of Roehampton |
| Andrew Dockett | Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences |
| Professor John Dryzek | University of Canberra |
| Professor Rosaleen Duffy | University of Sheffield |
| Dr Chandni Dwarkasing | SOAS University of London |
| Dr Daniel Edmondson | York St John University |
| Professor Steve Ellner | Universidad de Oriente |
| Dr Mariano Féliz | Universidad Nacional de La Plata |
| Dr Jana Fey | University of Sussex |
| Dr Desiree Fields | University of California, Berkeley |
| Dr Graham Finlay | University College Dublin |
| Dr Adam Fishwick | University of Akureyri |
| Professor Barbora Foley | Rutgers University-Newark |
| Dr Philippe M. Frowd | University of Ottawa |
| Dr Jasmine Gani | University of St Andrews |
| Cynthia Gao | New York University |
| Professor Jorge García-Arias | University of Leon |
| Dr Gustavo García-López | University of Coimbra |
| Dr Giulia Giorgi | University of Milan |
| Tony Gregory | UWE Bristol |
| Dr Marco Guidi | University of Glasgow |
| Dr Caroline D. Hardin | Western Washington University |
| Dr Ronald Hartz | Universität Duisburg-Essen |
| Dr Christian Henderson | Leiden University |
| Dr Richard Helliwell | RURALIS - Institute for Rural and Regional Research |
| Professor Tracey Hill | Bath Spa University |
| Dr Daniel Hirschman | Cornell University |
| Dr Kelley Holley | Rochester Institute of Technology |
| Dr Laura Horn | Roskilde University |
| Dr Aida A. Hozić | University of Florida |
| Professor Suzan Ilcan | University of Waterloo |
| Dr Beste İşleyen | University of Amsterdam |
| Dr Ana Ivasiuc | Maynooth University |
| Dr Alke Jenss | Arnold Bergstraesser Institute |
| Dr Ari Jerrems | University of Western Australia |
| Eun A Jo | Cornell University |
| Dr Melissa Johnston | University of Queensland |
| Dr Bonn Juego | University of Jyväskylä |
| Dr Laura Jung | University of Graz |
| Dr Isaac Kamola | Trinity College |
| Dr Sarrah Kassem | University of Tübingen |
| Professor Patricia Keeton | Ramapo College |
| Dr Christopher Kirkland | York St John University |
| Dr Višnja Kisić | Forest University |
| Elisabeth Koch | University of California, Los Angeles |
| Professor Insa Koch | University of St Gallen |
| Dr Kai Koddenbrock | University of Bayreuth |
| Dr Panagiota Kotsila | Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona |
| Professor David Laibman | Brooklyn College & the Graduate Center, City University of New York |
| Shreeta Lakhani | SOAS University of London |
| Professor Erick D. Langer | Georgetown University |
| Dr Ganaele Langlois | York University |
| Dr David Lawson | University of Bristol |
| Dr Stephan Liebscher | Free University Berlin |
| Dr Imogen Liu | Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam |
| Dr Matthias Leese | ETH Zürich |
| Professor Jens Lerche | SOAS University of London |
| Professor Sonia Lucarelli | University of Bologna |
| Dr Vincenzo Maccarrone | Scuola Normale Superiore |
| Professor Megan MacKenzie | Simon Fraser University |
| Dr Maria Mälksoo | University of Copenhagen |
| Rachael Malott | Carleton University |
| Dr Nuno Marques | KTH Royal Institute of Technology |
| Dr Carl G. Martin | Norwich University |
| Dr Claire M. Massey | University of Rostock |
| Dr Gillian Mathys | Ghent University |
| Professor Greggor Mattson | Oberlin College and Conservatory |
| Dr Dóra Mérai | Central European University |
| Professor Sandro Mezzadra | University of Bologna |
| Dr Laura Mills | University of St Andrews |
| Dr Alison Milner | Aalborg University |
| Dr Paul C. Mishler | Indiana University |
| Dr Stephen Montgomery | University of Bristol |
| Professor Adam David Morton | University of Sydney |
| Dr Sara C. Motta | University of Newcastle |
| Professor Samuel Moyn | Yale University |
| Dr Can E. Mutlu | Acadia University |
| Professor Deborah Mutnick | Long Island University |
| Professor Daniel Mügge | University of Amsterdam |
| Suraj Nair | SOAS University of London |
| Professor Andreas Nölke | Goethe University Frankfurt |
| Paul O’Donovan | University College Cork |
| Dr Daragh O’Reilly | University of Sheffield |
| Professor Gerardo Otero | Simon Fraser University |
| Dr Umut Özsu | Carleton University |
| Dr Polly Pallister-Wilkins | University of Amsterdam |
| Dr Leo Parascondola | William Paterson University |
| Dr Juan Pablo Pardo-Guerra | University of California, San Diego |
| Professor Heikki Patomäki | University of Helsinki |
| Professor Jamie Peck | University of British Columbia |
| Dr Oscar Perea-Rodriguez | University of San Francisco |
| Professor Nina Perkowski | University of Hamburg |
| Dr Dieter Plehwe | Berlin Social Science Center |
| Dr Aleksandra Piletić | University of Amsterdam |
| Professor Stefano Ponte | Copenhagen Business School |
| Professor Richard S. Pressman | Saint Mary’s University |
| Professor Sujatha Raman | Australian National University |
| Dr Claire Ravenscroft | International Christian University |
| Professor Jacob Remes | New York University |
| Dr Raquel Ribeiro | Universidade Nova de Lisboa NOVA/FCSH |
| Professor Lisa Richey | Copenhagen Business School |
| Daniel Rosenblum | Uppsala University |
| Dr David Rossati | Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam |
| Dr Alina Sajed | McMaster University |
| Rohit Sarma | Central European University |
| Dr Emilio Sauri | University of Massachusetts Boston |
| Dr Gabi Schlag | University of Tübingen |
| Dr Moritz Schmoll | Université Mohammed VI Polytechnique |
| Dr Benjamin Schuetze | Arnold Bergstraesser Institut |
| Dr Rachel Schwartz | University of Oklahoma |
| Dr Somdeep Sen | Roskilde University |
| Professor Sima Shakhsari | University of Minnesota |
| Professor Nandita Sharma | University of Hawaii at Mānoa |
| Dr Hariati Sinaga | University of Indonesia |
| Dr Subir Sinha | SOAS University of London |
| Professor Quinn Slobodian | Wellesley College |
| Zinaïda Sluijs | Uppsala University |
| Professor James Smethurst | University of Massachusetts Amherst |
| Professor Susanne Soederberg | Queen’s University |
| Professor Vicki Squire | University of Warwick |
| Dr Meg Stalcup | University of Ottawa |
| Professor Margaret Stevens | Essex County College |
| Dr Maurice Stierl | University of Osnabrück |
| Dr Maria Dyveke Styve | European University Institute |
| Professor Darko Suvin | McGill University |
| Dr Hanna Szemző | Metropolitan Research Institute |
| Dilruba Taş | University of Florida |
| Dr Lana Tatour | University of New South Wales |
| Dr Diana Teggi | The Open University |
| Dr Chon Tejedor | University of Valencia |
| Dr Vineet Thakur | Leiden University |
| Dr Charlie Thame | Thammasat University |
| Dr Sergio Tirado-Herrero | Universidad Autónoma de Madrid |
| Professor Tiziana Terranova | Università di Napoli “L’Orientale” |
| Professor Cihan Tuğal | University of California, Berkeley |
| Dr Ethemcan Turhan | University of Groningen |
| Dr Mirjam Twigt | Leiden University |
| Dr Ahmad Rizky M. Umar | University of Queensland |
| Dr Kayhan Valadbaygi | Leiden University |
| Professor Michel Vandenbroeck | Ghent University |
| Dr Peter Verovšek | University of Groningen |
| Dr Feliciano Castaño Villar | University of Jaén |
| Nikolaos Vrantsis | Uppsala University |
| Professor Alan Wald | University of Michigan |
| Dave Watton | University of Birmingham |
| Dr Carola Westermeier | Giessen University |
| Dr Tom Western | University College London |
| Dr Emily Kidd White | Osgoode Hall Law School |
| Dr Angela Wigger | Radboud University |
| Dr Zhun Xu | John Jay College & the Graduate Center, City University of New York |
| Dr Deniz Yonucu | Newcastle University |
Please contact me if you spot any errors on the list of signatories.
