Notification of Industrial Action- May 2026

The UCU regional office has just notified management of our plans for upcoming industrial action.

We will be taking strike action on:

• Thursday 7th – Friday 8 May 2026, and;
• Monday 11th – Thursday 14 May 2026.

This is a total of six days’ strike action, which we know will cause substantial disruption at the tail-end of the semester across the university. Strike action is always a last resort, but members have told us through numerous general meetings and other communications that they are deeply concerned about the threat that forthcoming restructures in Chemistry, East Asian Studies, and Materials Science and Engineering pose to job security in those departments, together with wider issues of ever-increasing workload and job cuts across the institution.

We are also calling on members to take the following forms of action short of strike, starting from Thursday 7th May:

• not covering for absent colleagues, vacant posts, or posts that are discontinued due to change management;
• not rescheduling lectures or classes cancelled as a result of strike action;
• not sharing materials relating to lectures or classes cancelled as a result of strike action;
• not undertaking any voluntary activities;
• not undertaking duties which are not commensurate with the grade of the post; and
• not using personal devices to conduct work.

Our negotiators will meet again with management to seek to resolve our dispute on Friday 1st May. We expect this industrial action will further incentivise management to make our members a meaningful offer. We will keep you updated on the progress of our negotiations.