Open letter from the Vice-Chancellor to students - 22/11/2019

Dear student,

From Monday 25th November 2019 some academic and professional services staff who are members of the University and College Union (UCU), will start an eight-day period of strike action over pay, working conditions and pensions.

From the outset, I want to offer my sincere apologies for any inconvenience this may cause.

Whilst I fully respect the rights of colleagues to take part in strike action, my priority throughout the strike period is to ensure that any disruption to education and the student experience is minimised.

For some of you, there will be limited - if any – impact.

The University will remain open and we will continue to do everything possible to reduce the impact on your studies. Libraries, student support and wellbeing services will continue to operate during the period.

We anticipate that most of the teaching will still go ahead. However, in some areas there is likely to be a significant impact.

Those members of staff who decide to strike are under no obligation to tell us in advance.

This makes planning extremely difficult, and it could result in some lectures and seminars being cancelled at very short notice, and without advance warning.

Where we do know of missed teaching in advance, we will make every effort to tell you. Information will be available via your School. You will be updated by Learning Central and via text message.

For those of you who are affected, I am sure you will have questions.

We have created dedicated pages on the student intranet where we have set out answers to the type of questions we think you are likely to ask.

These will be regularly updated to provide you with key information.

I am also aware that Schools and Colleges will also be providing opportunities for students to meet with staff, to address questions and concerns.

Finally, I am keen to see this situation resolved as soon as possible, and to avoid further strike action this academic session.  As a University we cannot solve these issues on our own.

Pay and pensions are negotiated nationally on behalf of universities. Where I can influence and make Cardiff University’s case, I will remain a strong and active voice.

I hope we can avert further strike action and achieve a joint and fair solution, as none of us want your learning to be disrupted.