UNISON members are currently involved in disputes over pay. They have now secured a mandate to strike over the 2022/23 pay award of 5-8%.

Previously, UNISON rejected a 3% pay award from the University and Colleges Employers Association in May, with staff asking for a pay increase 2% above the rate of inflation, which is currently 10%. UNISON are asking for a pay rise which keeps up with inflation for everyone working in higher education.

These issues are negotiated at a national level between representative bodies of Universities and workers. Strikes are a legitimate tactic used by trade unions when they feel that the bodies they are negotiating with are not meeting their demands or making a reasonable compromise to resolve the issues they raise, and are generally seen as a last resort. 

Staff in more than 20 universities across the UK will be taking strike action on this issue.

You can see more information here. UNISON have also put together an information leaflet which you can access here.

The next strike days have been confirmed for July 31, and Tuesday 1, Wednesday 2, and Thursday 3 August.

Strike action has already taken place on the following dates:

• Thursday 15, Friday 16, Saturday 17, Sunday 18 and Monday 19 June.
• Thursday 1 June
• Thursday 16 and Friday 17 February (on the date in bold, UCU strikes also took place). Please note that strike dates from 20 February onwards were called off after a breakthrough in negotiations, and to allow intensive talks to take place. UNISON action had originally been due to take place on 22 February. Following this, the 2022/23 pay award of 5-8% was decided.
• Monday 26 September, Tuesday 27 September and Wednesday 28 September.
• Thursday 24 November
• Wednesday 30 November

Action short of a strike means that staff will not be doing any work beyond what is required to fulfil their contract; this includes not working extra hours, not covering for absent colleagues, not rescheduling lectures or classes cancelled due to strike action and not undertaking any voluntary activities. 

No, not all staff will be on strike. UNISON members have secured a mandate to go on strike, but other staff are members of other unions. It will largely be professional services staff who take strike action with UNISON, however other staff also have a mandate to strike with UCU (Universities and Colleges Union) also taking strike action on 24 and 30 November. Staff do not have to notify the University before they go on strike so we cannot know exactly who will strike on any given day. 

A picket line is a boundary established by staff on strike, especially at the entrance to the place of work, which striking staff ask others not to cross. It is likely that you will see picket lines outside some University buildings on strikes days, with staff holding placards, handing out campaign materials and talking to students and staff about their cause. In our experience they are peaceful and friendly demonstrations, so please don’t feel like there is anything to be nervous about if you see them.

Students who experience disruption due to the industrial action are eligible to claim from the Industrial action reimbursement fund for costs incurred, for example childcare, subsistence and travel.

If you are looking for compensation as a result of lost teaching, the process is lengthier.

The University will be putting mitigations in place to make up for the impact of the strike on your studies. Because mitigations can include changes to assessment, it may not be clear how the strikes have impacted on you and how this impact has been mitigated for until after the exam boards have met following the May/June exams.

If you feel that the University has failed to put the right arrangements in place, you have the right to make a complaint. You can ask for financial compensation as a possible outcome, but there is no guarantee that this will be successful, particularly as the Student Agreement under section 7 outlines that the University is not liable in the case of strikes if they have taken reasonable care to prevent them happening.

If you are thinking about making a complaint, we would encourage you to wait to see how the University responds to the impact of the strike first. This is so you can explain why the arrangements that have been made have not mitigated the impact on your studies. 

Before making a formal complaint, contact your school office to find out what mitigations have been put in place for any lost teaching/education, or to find out when the mitigations are likely to be known. The university may not be able to advise you about mitigations immediately as first, they will assess the impact the industrial action has had, which may take some time. You can see more guidance on how Universities are expected to respond here.

If you have contacted your school and found out what mitigation is, or will be put, in place and you feel that your concern or complaint cannot be resolved by the school, please complete the Industrial Action Complaint form. If you have further queries about the complaints process, you can email uob-ia-complaints@bristol.ac.uk. 

If you do decide to make a complaint, the SU’s independent Academic advice service is on hand to help you. Our advisers can give you information about the complaint process and feedback on draft complaint forms.

The SU will also be working with the University to decide where with-held pay will be spent, as well as lobbying to ensure that it is spent in the interest of students. Officers will work towards increasing transparency with regard to the expenditure of with-held pay.

Yes, Bristol SU supports our striking staff, however we do recognise the impact it may have on students and we’d like to mitigate this where possible.

In November 2021 we took a motion to Student Council to hear from elected representatives about how students feel about the upcoming industrial action and to make sure we put student needs at the heart of our response. This motion, with amendments, was passed and is now active policy for three years. You can view the amended motion here. 

The motion sets out actions for Bristol SU to follow in response to University Industrial Action.

Whilst this existing policy is related to another union’s strikes, we believe this gives us a mandate to support UNISON in the first instance.

There will be picket lines on Thursday 16 February from 08:30-11:00. This will be followed by a joint UCU and Unison Rally. Come along and show your support.

UNISON members of staff are from professional services therefore teaching from UNISON action shouldn't be affected, but support for academic work could be disrupted, such as library access, course admin and timetabling.

Only some lectures, seminars and tutorials will be cancelled due to strike action. Striking staff do not need to notify the University before they go on strike, so it is not possible to know in advance which teaching will be affected. In our experience, many striking staff will choose to let students know in advance if they are going to go on strike. We will be working with our network of course reps to look for ways that we can help disseminate any information about cancelled teaching to affected students. 

The SU are working to mitigate the impact of the strikes on student’s educational experience. If you have concerns about how the strikes are affecting your education, please speak to your Course Representative.   

Picket lines are likely to be peaceful and friendly. We know that UNISON members appreciate the show of solidarity from students who choose not to cross the picket lines, e.g. by not attending teaching on strike days. If you do not cross the picket line, the University expects you to take personal responsibility for missed teaching and learning.  

It is possible that university facilities will be affected by the strike action, however the university will prioritise essential services.

Some student services staff may be members of UNISON and on strike, but the services will generally remain open. If individual appointments are cancelled, you will usually receive an email to let you know in advance. The Wellbeing service will be prioritising telephone lines whilst the strike action is taking place.

Your visa should not be affected by strikes.

If you have a viva that is scheduled for a strike day, the University should email you on an individual basis to let you know whether the viva will be taking place. You should assume that your viva will go ahead unless you hear otherwise.

Make sure you take time to de-stress and talk about what's bothering you with those around you. The student counselling service have lots of tools for relaxation and stress management that you can find here.

You may also want to speak to someone within the University and you can find details of the support available here: https://www.bristol.ac.uk/students/wellbeing/.

If you feel that you have been unfairly impacted by the strikes, you can speak to one of our Academic Advice team who can advise you on how to tell the University about any extenuating circumstances, submit a complaint, or even appeal a final result.

To contact a member of the Bristol SU Academic Advice team, please email bristolsu-advice@bristol.ac.uk.

Student Expense Fund 

If you have experienced disruption due to the industrial action, you may be eligible to claim for out-of-pocket expenditure. 

Further details, including how to make a claim, can be found here.