Cambridge Student Union (SU) have in a meeting tonight (25/10) passed a motion which pledges to support striking workers, as well as students affected by strikes, in the event of a vote in favour of industrial action from the University College Union (UCU).

The UCU ballot closes next Thursday (04/11) and could see strikes take place before Christmas; the SU’s motion states that regardless of whether it passes, they will continue to support the union’s campaign for better working conditions and pay.

69% of the council members voted in favour of the motion and 11% against, with the remaining 20% abstaining from the vote.

Proposed by SU Women’s Officer Milo Eyre-Morgan and seconded by Taylor Hughson, the motion allocates £250 from the Council Free Budget for use on flyers, posters and picket line support.

Pledging to “inform and educate students about the ballot and its results”, the motion also emphasises that “expressing solidarity should not come at the expense of academic performance.”

The resolution was passed with an amendment from Christ’s College JCR Vice-President Tamsin Wood which stipulates that the SU will ensure picket-line free access to the Student Services Centre at New Museums site, “so that students may be able to continue using the university counselling and/or Disability Resource Centre without dissuasion.”

The amendment follows a 2019 controversy in which the then Disabled Students’ Officer of the now-reformed CUSU, issued a formal apology after urging students not to cross picket lines to access the Disability Resource Centre and University Counselling Service.

The issues about which the UCU will strike in the event of a ‘yes’ vote concern pensions, pay, workloads, casualisation and equality failings.