Dear Colleague

Following my email on 7 November, you will be aware that the Universities and Colleges Union (UCU) have announced their intention to engage in eight days of strike action starting next week from Monday, 25 November to Wednesday, 4 December 2019.

As I mentioned previously, we appreciate that the decision to engage in industrial action is not taken lightly and no members of staff wish to disrupt the education of our students. This remains a national dispute and there is nothing that the University can do unilaterally to resolve this issue other than to reiterate that we, as employers, remain open to further talks at a national level to avoid the planned action. We continue to work constructively with our local UCU colleagues to make positive progress on those issues that we can directly influence at Queen's such as gender pay gap, workload and casual contracts.

I recognise that if the strike action goes ahead, the next two weeks will be a difficult period for all concerned and I hope and expect all colleagues to continue to treat each other with respect and in a professional manner.

Support and Information

Dedicated FAQs pages have been created to provide information and support to both staff and students and to help keep you up to date with the latest support and information:

• FAQs for staff in relation to industrial action
• FAQs for students in relation to industrial action

Staff and students are encouraged to check these webpages regularly for updates.

The University's immediate priority is to mitigate the impact on our students and I would like to thank colleagues in advance for their flexibility and support as we make every reasonable effort to ensure students are not disadvantaged. Interventions will be put in place at a local level to minimise the disruption for students and these will be tailored to meet the needs of individual Schools and Directorates.

We appreciate that the many staff will not be taking part in the industrial action. However, all staff will be required to confirm whether they did, or did not, participate in each period of discontinuous strike action by completing an online form. When you are required to complete this form, an email will be issued to all staff asking you to do so. Information relating to the implications for staff pay are included in the FAQs.

Further Information

If you have any queries in relation to industrial action, please visit the FAQs page or contact the HR Hub: hrhub@qub.ac.uk; extension 3000.

Thank you again for your continuing patience and commitment throughout this difficult period.

I will continue to keep you informed of developments.

Best Wishes

Ian

Professor Ian Greer
President and Vice-Chancellor