Outrage as students warned they will be ‘marked down’ if they fail to cross picket lines

Students at Leicester University have been told if they miss lectures in solidarity with striking UCU members they will be marked down as “absent”.

The move was condemned by UCU general secretary Jo Grady, who tweeted: “It is a disreputable attempt to coerce students to cross pickets. Not only is this designed to fragment staff / student solidarity but it is harmful to international students and others subjected to attendance monitoring regimes.”

UCU members 74 universities are tomorrow due to begin 14 days of strikes in the largest wave of strikes ever seen on UK campuses.

Another UCU member tweeted: “We’ve just received an email stating that the university will be deducting the pay of all staff unless they report into a coordinators office on strike days to confirm they are not on strike.”

Jo Grady replied: “I’ve received reports that employers are using the threat of punitive strike pay deductions to coerce staff to toe the line in various ways. This ranges from attempts to curtail where pickets & demos occur, to demands staff report strike action early.”