The University of Cambridge have today issued a joint statement with their — recently recognised — branch of the University and College Union (UCU), calling for the resumption of strike negotiations which could end the Marking and Assessment Boycott.

The statement expresses a desire to have the dispute resolved “urgently” so that exams can be marked in time for graduation: “Any dispute plainly requires negotiation…We therefore call for negotiations between UCEA and UCU to restart to reach an agreed settlement. This needs to happen urgently, for the sake of our students, staff and members.”

The marking boycott began on 20 April, a marked escalation after five years of walkouts by the union on issues of pay, pension, casualisation, working conditions and equality. According to the UCU, Cambridge’s statement represents the first time a major institution and their union branch have come together to call for talks to restart.

The statement called the marking boycott “regrettable” acknowledging that it’ll “have a significant impact on students at Cambridge, and across the country”. The statement follows last week’s vote against emergency powers that would have enabled some students to graduate on time, without a full complement of examiners present.

The University and UCU continued, writing that current finalists have had their degrees impacted significantly by the pandemic and stressing that “the boycott also means that some international students may not be able to apply for post-study graduate visas on completion of their course.”

“No-one wants students to suffer further, and we are deeply sympathetic to the strength of feeling in our student body. For many, including staff, this is a stressful and anxious time.”

The statement comes the same day as a rally organised by the #SettleTheDispute campaign, a student organised effort launched last Sunday (14/05) to demand universities across the country take all action to end the Marking and Assessment Boycott.

1,436 Cambridge students have signed an open letter to the University, and a rally, coordinated with parallel events at universities across the country, will take place at 12pm today (22/05).

Confirming that the rally would go ahead as scheduled, organiser Bella Cross said: “This is the result of student staff solidarity — and look what we can achieve when we stand together… come and celebrate this win and call on the UCEA to get a wiggle on! We still want to graduate!”

This is a breaking news story, more updates to follow.