On Monday, the eighteenth day of our strike action, the Executive Committee of Cambridge UCU met with the Vice Chancellor of the University of Cambridge, Stephen Toope. We made it clear that the Vice Chancellor urgently needs to reassure his staff he had their interests at heart, not just in these ongoing disputes, but in the future as well. We noted in this context that Cambridge was one of only a handful of institutions that refuses to recognise UCU, a fact that goes against the University’s professed commitment to improving the working conditions of its staff.
We are pleased to announce that, at this meeting, Cambridge UCU was officially invited to submit a formal claim for recognition. This is a hugely significant step, and it’s down to the strength of our strikes. Without the continued commitment of staff and students over the past four weeks, and the pressure we’ve exerted on the University together, we wouldn’t have secured this concession. This is not the end of our campaign for recognition: over the coming months, we’ll need hard work on both sides to reach an agreement that allows our members’ voices to be heard. But is a real and promising beginning. Together we fight, together we win!