Dear comrades,
Next week we will be joining staff from universities across the country in two days of strike action.
➡️ Why are we going on strike?
📅 Strike dates
1️⃣ Tuesday 10th March
2️⃣ Wednesday 11th March
🪧 Picket details
1️⃣ Tuesday 10th March
Workplace pickets, 10:00 – 12:00
- Arts Complex, 3-5 Woodland Road, BS8 1UJ
- Arts and Social Sciences Library, 5 Tyndall Ave, BS8 1TJ
- Augustine’s Courtyard, Orchard Lane, BS1 5DS
- Bill Brown Design Suite, Queen’s Building, Woodland Rd, BS8 1TH
- Biomedical Sciences Building, Tankard’s Close, University Walk, BS8 1TD
- Geographical Sciences, University Rd, BS8 1SS
- Great George Street, 31 Great George, BS1 5QD
- Howard House, Queen’s Ave, BS8 1SD
- Priory Road Complex, 8 Woodland Road, BS8 1TN
Lunchtime picket, 12:00 – 14:00
- Wills Memorial Building, Queen’s Rd, BS8 1RJ
2️⃣ Wednesday 11th March – The Big One!
Wednesday is a postgraduate open day and so campus will be very busy. Members who took part in industrial action in Summer 2023 will remember that combining our strike action with open days generated significant media coverage and was a large factor in bringing the senior leadership to the negotiating table.
We need to repeat this impact on Wednesday with a large, visible presence at all locations that are listed in the open day activities.
This is our chance to engage with prospective students and parents, encourage their support, and make them aware that staff conditions will directly affect their degree.
If you can only make it to the pickets on one day, please make it Wednesday!
Campus tour pickets, 10:00 – 11:00
- Arts Complex, 7 Woodland Road, BS8 1TB
- Life Sciences Building, Tyndall Avenue, BS8 1TQ
- Merchant Venturers Building, Woodland Road, BS8 1UB
- Priory Road Complex, Priory Road, BS8 1TN
Core picket, 11:00 – 12:00
- Wills Memorial Building, Queen’s Rd, BS8 1RJ
Rally, 12:00 – 13:00
- Wills Memorial Building, Queen’s Rd, BS8 1RJ
Faculty pickets, 13:00 – 16:00
- Fry Building, Woodland Road, BS8 1UG
- Priory Road Complex, BS8 1TN
- Queen’s Building, University Walk, BS8 1TR
- Wills Memorial Building, Queen’s Road, BS8 1RJ
🫂 Tuesday and Wednesday, 09:00 – 16:00
Quiet picket, placard collection, rest, snacks, coordination
UNISON office
1D Priory Road
BRISTOL
BS8 1TX
🧑💻 Online picket
💌 Worried about joining a picket line?
For many of our members, February was the first time they had joined a picket line, and many were slightly wary. Here’s what some of them had to say:
“It was a bit daunting joining a picket line for the first time, because I’m usually someone who spends my day in front of a computer screen with limited face to face contact. After my initial nerves subsided, I really enjoyed getting the opportunity to speak to staff (and students!) I wouldn’t usually come into contact with.
Listening to experiences of staff who’ve had to go through restructures, threat of redundancy or who are much more impacted by the below inflation pay rises, gave me a greater sense of perspective on my reasons for striking.
I really enjoyed the sense of community and was struck by how much people actually really care about their jobs and in many ways love working for the university.
Listening to other people’s experiences on the picket line helped spur me on to carry out the full three days of strike. It was also obvious that we need to be out on the street to be noticed and make the strike worthwhile.”
– Theresa
“It was lovely to feel a part of the wider community and get to know my colleagues beyond a screen. The sense of community was incredibly empowering and uplifting, despite the rain, and it was a great reminder that we are not just cogs in a machine upholding this institution, but are hardworking humans that deserve better working conditions and fair pay.
It’s the most fun I’ve had with my colleagues in a while!”
– Aniqah
“For me, going on strike was like taking a deep, nourishing breath of fresh air after being underwater for too long. It’s an act of authenticity, of community and of solidarity. You are reminded that you are seen, that you matter, and that your fellow workers will fight for you. And that you will fight for them too.”
– John
➡️ To get an idea of what the picket line will be like, check out our posts from the February dates on our Instagram!
🍞 UoB Unison food bank
During this strike action, to aid our members, we have opened a Unison Food Bank to help with the effects of pay lost over strike days. During the strike days Lisa Murphy will be in the Office in Priory Road from 9.30-10.30 to accept any/all donations. The following week w/c 16th March we will then ‘open’ for collections and drop off on either Wednesdays 9am-5pm or Thursday afternoon (2-4pm). We can only accept ‘shelf’ food, nothing that requires refrigeration!
➡️ Suggested food bank donations
See you on the picket lines! 🫡
UoB Unison committee