Leicester UCU Statement

Published: 26th May, 2021

In a recent statement, Leicester UCU stated that we actively discouraged prospective students from applying to the University of Leicester. We know that not all of our members agreed with this.

We feel that the Executive Board has created a toxic atmosphere at the University of Leicester which is not conducive with a productive and nurturing learning environment. In recent years, there have unfortunately been countless instances of strike action which have impacted on students – something none of us in Leicester UCU have wanted. Students who have come here in recent years have faced prolonged disruption to their education. This is not the fault of Leicester UCU, but a failure of the Executive Board to work with us to create a positive working environment.

But, it is clear that some members do not agree with what we said about discouraging students to come here. 

At a committee meeting, in light of our members’ feedback we discussed this topic. There were a variety of diverse views – as there are across our membership. We concluded that, going forward, we will not have a committee position of discouraging students from applying to study at the University of Leicester. However, we support individual members of staff who hold strong convictions on this one way or the other, to act with their conscience. 

At the moment, we have seen no meaningful engagement from the Executive Board and so we are forced to move to full strike action. We have told them we intend to fully strike on June 9th, 10th and 11th. 

We want to create an environment which is truly welcoming to students and staff alike. The Executive Board needs to engage with Leicester UCU to resolve this dispute. We are able to listen and react to what our members are telling us, we call on the University to listen and react to what staff are telling them: cancel the redundancies today.