The Students’ Guild have voted to support the UCU cause as a result of an online poll they held. 78% of students have voted to support the cause, with 2,427 students voting.
The Guild ran the poll from 11 Nov to 20 Nov, with the multiple choice question “What stance do you have regarding the strike action?” 41.12% of students voted to support the strike cause and strike action, and 37.12% supported the cause but not the action. 11.91% of students supported neither the cause nor the action, and 9.85% of students said they had no official position.
Elected officers will be a presence on both the Streatham and St. Luke’s picket lines
The Guild have explained their proportional support strategy, stating that they would now support social media campaigns for the strike, as well as elected officers being a presence on both the Streatham and St. Luke’s picket lines. For students who support the cause but not the strikes the VPs will meet with Mike Shore-Nye to raise concerns, and for students who support neither they would engage and signpost as much as possible. A full statement from the Guild can be found here.
In a statement released today, the Guild expanded on the results of the poll, saying “we will be offering proportional support and action based on this.” 82% of PGR students supported the strike cause, and the Guild state that “Sunday Blake, VP Postgraduate, has a mandate to support postgraduate students, and the strength of this result will reflect on her action and support during the strike.”
When the UCU Ballot announcing the possibility of strike action was announced, the Guild put up a statement, where it refers to participation in the poll as “absolutely essential that we hear from as many students as possible so we are representing the student body as best as possible.” In this statement, they had also impressed that they would be working with the University and the UCU in feeding back information, specifically around support and mitigation.
The Exeter branch of the UCU is collecting a hardship fund, for staff affected by the 8 days of industrial action. If you can donate, please find the details here.
Editor: Harry Caton
