Students may become “more passionate” about the lecturer strike when they hear of a planned marking boycott, said SUBU student representative.
Lecturers at Bournemouth University have been taking part in industrial action, but the Students’ Union of Bournemouth University (SUBU) say students do not seem to have been affected to the degree they expected.
SUBU launched a student poll asking: “Should SUBU support UCU & UNISON strike action by BU staff relating to their current national pay negotiations?”
Out of 16,683 students at the University, 85 voted.
“This issue did not ignite the passions of the students as much as we thought it would,” SUBU’s Toby Grey. “Many lectures aren’t actually striking, just the select few from the UCU.”
As most of the lectures haven’t been affected there seems to be less student engagement in this issue than one may expect.
University and College Union (UCU) General Secretary Sally Hunt said, “The marking boycott will come into effect from Monday 28 April” and is a result of no significant change in policies.
“This is a serious but unavoidable step for which the union will need to fully prepare members,” Hunt said.
The nation-wide UCU and UNISON strike against a proposal of a 1% wage increase has been ongoing, resulting in cancelled lectures and disruptions to student learning.
SUBU say they are currently in negotiations with their executive committee to work out what steps they will take if lecturers do start to boycott their marking.
“Our first concern is the students,” said Mr Grey.
SUBU will have an open meeting on 13 March in the Marconi Lecture Theatre, to discuss issues of concern to the students.
Take part in our poll and tell us what you think….
