Uni students plan legal action after lecturers’ strike
UNDERGRADUATES WANT COMPENSATION FOR LOSS OF TEACHING TIME
STUDENTS are planning legal action against the University of Manchester over strike action taken by lecturers.
Around 90 students have joined a ‘class action’ lawsuit following disruption caused by staff walk-outs in February and March this year.
The strike, organised by the University College Union, was held due to a row over pensions, and affected 65 university institutions across the country.
It’s understood that during talks between the student union and Manchester University, one suggestion has been that graduation fees - of £35 - could be waived in compensation for lost teaching time.
Now students from the university have joined angry undergraduates from across the country in signing up to a website offering to take joint legal action against higher education institutions – known as a group litigation order.
It means all the claims can be grouped together and heard at the same time if the lawsuit goes ahead.
University institutions could end up paying out millions of pounds if the lawsuit is successful.
The website was set up by specialist law firm Asserson, and has seen 88 students from the University of Manchester apply, along with thousands from other universities.
Shimon Goldwater, a senior solicitor at the firm, said they will decide how to proceed over the next few weeks. He said: “Over 20,000 undergraduates attend each large UK university, paying approximately £500 compensation each to 20,000 students would cost £10m.”
Some students at the University of Manchester plan to put pressure on the university directly, rather than joining the class action set up by Asserson.
David Huish, an MA student in international relations at the University of Manchester, is one of the founders of Facebook group ‘Take Action! UoM.’
Members of the group are planning to make formal complaints against the university directly, and if they are dissatisfied with the response, they will contact the Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education for review. David said: “The strike meant we missed about four weeks of teaching in the middle of our academic term. We are not going to get the hours back.”
A University of Manchester spokesman said: “The university is always keen to resolve student issues without the need for legal action as we don’t think it necessarily benefits either party – we believe that we have the means within the University to resolve matters in an amicable and collegiate way.”