Union Council unanimously votes to support staff strikes
The Union Council has unanimously voted to pass a motion supporting the Joint Trade Unions’ industrial action.
The Joint Trade Unions (JTU), which represents all three of Imperial’s recognised labour unions, obtained a six-month striking mandate in September. Members of each union had independently voted for strike action following a dispute with the College over the 2025-2026 renumeration package.
The motion, authored by Philippe de Saint-Seine, a postgraduate representative to the Council for Natural Sciences, resolved to “support University staff and workers participating in industrial action”. This includes continuing to provide the trade unions with “logistical support for their picketing material” and a promise to “support” their negotiating stances.
“The current industrial action is, as I see it, driven by two main points,” de Saint-Seine told Felix, “First, the erosion of staff pay. Inflation was 4% nationally last year.
“Second, the felt lack of a meaningful dialogue between management, staff, and indeed, students, resulting in decisions regularly prioritising infrastructure.”
The representative denounced “decisions being made without consultation of the people most affected” such as the 2024 Imperial rebrand and the December rent increases.
The motion highlighted the real-term erosion of staff pay, the increase in the university’s student to staff ratio, and Imperial’s refusal to adjust salaries following its admission that the benchmarks used were flawed. It also resolved to assess the strike’s “level of disruption” at all teaching levels, finding that “the University may not be able to deliver all their learning outcomes to students because of industrial action.”
De Saint-Seine told Felix: “The avid, passionate learners who deserve being taught lose out the most from this disfunction they cannot solve. For you, I am sorry it has come to this (again). I am most sorry for the students whom I will not teach genuinely fun sessions this term because of the pay dispute.”
The motion was passed on Thursday 20th November with 28 votes in favour and five abstentions, following an extraordinary online voting session.
The last wave of strikes will take place from Tuesday 25th to Friday 28th November. A JTU representative told Felix that another mandate was likely to be approved if Imperial did not return to the negotiating table by the end of the first.
An Imperial College London spokesperson said: “We remain committed to ensuring that staff are appropriately recognised and rewarded for the vital role they play. In uncertain times it is important that we plan for the long-term future of our institution for the benefit of our students and staff.”
“I believe the current industrial action will force University management to reconsider its position, at least on staff pay,” de Saint-Seine said. “Will they also learn how to listen to us?"
