UCU announces global boycott of Leicester University, as staff begin industrial action
The University and College Union have announced that the University of Leicester has been sanctioned with a global boycott called ‘greylisting’ on 4 May.
The Union is calling for academics to join in with its boycott as staff begin their industrial action to oppose the proposed 145 redundancies.
Greylisting the university would mean that UCU members would refuse to attend, speak at, or organise conferences, apply for or accept positions or give lectures at the university.
UCU general secretary Jo Grady said: “We will not stand back and allow the University of Leicester to be destroyed by dismal management.
“Nor will we allow staff and students to pay the price for catastrophic failures of governance. It is rare for UCU to call for a global academic boycott, and doing so reflects the seriousness of the situation.”
Staff at Leicester University are beginning action short of a strike today, which includes a marking and assessment boycott, after staff voted to take industrial action.
The Leicester UCU twitter account posted: “the @uniofleicester is now a global academic outcast thanks to the gross mismanagement and egregious behaviour of the Executive Board”.
The President of the Students’ Union Mia Nembhard tweeted: “This is HUGE. The loss of engagement with the wider academic community will be a substantial loss for students and staff alike.
“This is a testament to the seriousness of concerns raised very early on. @uniofleicester wake up!”
A University of Leicester spokesperson said:
“It is regrettable that the UCU union has decided to proceed with strike action and has called for a global boycott.
“Our priority remains ensuring our current students can complete their assessments for this academic year, and that our finalists can graduate and take the next steps in their journey.
“We have asked UCU to meet us on several occasions, but so far they have declined. However, we will continue to try and engage with them.”
Jo Grady added: “Leicester staff have the support of the whole union in their ongoing action; we all stand alongside them in this fight against brutal job cuts.
“The university needs to lift its threat of compulsory redundancies if it wants to end this dispute.”
Toby Cray is a second-year journalism student. You can find him on Twitter here
Image taken by LSM member Ollie Monk @britwithacamera
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