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Strikes 2020… Day 12: Wild times!

Published: 11th March, 2020

Luckily it was a beautifully sunny day on Leicester UCU’s pickets today, but still very cold so yesterday’s furry attire came in handy once again. And we welcomed a new furry friend brought down by one of our #Profs OnPickets Today was the 12th day of the current 14 day stint (that’s Day 20 if you include the…

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Strikes 2020… Day 11: Friendship and Solidarity

Published: 10th March, 2020

Friendship and Solidarity are major themes on the #LeicsUniStrike picket lines every day but, well, today was extra special. Most importantly, we want to highlight the extraordinary work of precariously employed staff at the University of Leicester today in tackling endemic problems caused by precarity in Higher Education. During the November-December strikes, one of our…

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Strikes 2020… Day 10: Women to the Front

Published: 9th March, 2020

As we head into the final week of the current strike action, day ten of #UCUStrikesBack was dedicated to International Women’s Day. Read on for details of all today’s action, but first, looking ahead to tomorrow: At 9am, a group of precarious workers at the University of Leicester will meet with our Vice-Chancellor Nishan Canagarajah…

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Greater participation = quicker resolution!

Published: 6th March, 2020

                                    We need you – and you are so welcome! Dear Colleagues! We know you can hear us. And we know that you see us every day, too. Just like we see you going to work. All this despite our shared concerns about the strike, the future of our sector, and the care that our…

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Strikes 2020: Day 9… a new banner

Published: 5th March, 2020

There was much excitement this morning, as we unwrapped our brand new banner – designed by textile artist Cath Long after an ideas workshop she ran with us on December 13. It is an object of great beauty, it includes images of now-iconic features of our picket lines – the purple trombone, for example –…

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From Leicester UCU to UC… solidarity!

Published: 4th March, 2020

Struggles for fair pay, fair treatment at work, and fair pensions have no borders. In the U.K., we confront the dreadful impact of the hostile environment as well as the consequences of marketisation of our education sector. In France, teachers, as well as workers from many other sectors, went on a strike and took to…

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Go with the flow…

Published: 28th February, 2020

Print it out, put it on your office door! (Thanks to folk at Manchester UCU: Michael Sanders and Placard Stick Tips.)

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Strikes 2020: Day 5… giving up?

Published: 26th February, 2020

This morning’s headline: the University of Leicester students’ union voted last night ‘with an overwhelming majority’ to support our strikes. We are, of course, very grateful for their solidarity – we hope we will soon have the chance to reciprocate. As trailed in yesterday’s report, we decided to mark the first day of Lent –…

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Strikes 2020: Day 4… Fat Tuesday

Published: 25th February, 2020

Today was Shrove Tuesday. Having already practised our pancake-making skills during the last strike, one of our members suggested we picketed Mardi Gras [Fat Tuesday] style. Masks, beads and feathers were aplenty, we danced and sang, and one member turned up in beach gear – indeed, he seemed to bring the sunshine with him, which…

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Strikes 2020: Day 3… staying dry

Published: 24th February, 2020

The current pattern of weather continued today. While we’re lucky enough not to be flooded in central Leicester, the constant rain and wind on this morning’s pickets made it challenging to keep our placards and ourselves dry. At least our loudspeaker is waterproof! Our theme for the day (before seeing the weather forecast) was #petsonpicketlines and…

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