Gillian Harrison

ALT Why we are on strike at Leeds University. What is the Marking and Assessment Boycott (MAB)? From 20th April 2023, Leeds University UCU members have been engaging in a MAB. Pay and working conditions negotiations between unions and the employer’s governing body, UCEA, reached an impasse in March, and after UCU renewed our mandate to take action for the next six months, UCU’s Higher Education Committee (HEC) called this action to further pressure our employers into returning to the negotiating table. Does a MAB work? Last year, Leeds UCU along a number of branches engaged in a MAB in relation to pension restoration and our 4 fights disputes. The outcome was a number of unis calling on UUK (employers representative) to come back to the negotiating table. Our national pensions negotiators credit our participation in the MAB last year with changing employers on USS and putting us on track to reinstating our pension benefits. Collective action works!

ALT Is this MAB working? Yes! Universities such as Cambridge, Sussex and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine have written joint statements with their local UCU branches calling on UCEA to rethink its position on national negotiations on pay, anti-casualisation, workloads and equal pay. Why are we on strike? While some universities are not deducting for participating in the MAB, others have imposed deductions that are lower than 100%. The University of Leeds is threatening to dock 100% of our pay for participating in the MAB. This means 100% deductions for up to 3 or 4 months regardless of whether staff continue to fulfil the rest of their duties. What do we want? The University backs down on their threat of 100% salary deduction for participating in the MAB. The Vice Chancellor has the power to negotiate with us. She has raised the stakes for both staff and students higher and refused to meet with our Branch President to negotiate a way forward.