UCU announce ballot dates

by Chris Hamer and Jamie Jubon

The threat of industrial action by lecturers at University of the Arts London (UAL) has again re-emerged, as the University College Union (UCU) announced the dates that it would be balloting members on whether to take industrial action.

The UCU will be balloting members from Friday 7 May until Tuesday 18 May and a strike will be called in the near future if members vote in favour.

In a letter to students, Nigel Carrington, rector of UAL, announced: "The ballot will open on Friday 7 May and close on Tuesday 18 May.

"If UCU members gain a majority vote and take industrial action, this will regrettably lead to the disruption of student learning and access to facilities across the University."

The strike had previously been delayed after a ballot sent by the UCU to its members calling for a strike was challenged by UAL.

The possibility of strike action within UAL will again spark fears by students as to how their end of year exams and revision will be affected, with many students fearing that parts of the colleges could be closed, stopping them from being able to access specialized equipment or studying areas.

Carrington also said: "The impact of this potential action is likely to be felt in different ways, depending on your course and College.

"Each Head of College will be providing regular updates on any possible disruptions by email, Blackboard sites and the University portal, which is my.arts.ac.uk."

On the subject of forthcoming redundancies at UAL, Ron Todd of the UCU predicted more to come at London College of Communication, and at Central Saint Martin’s College, when the latter moves into its new building at King’s Cross.