If this is your first time experiencing a strike, you might come across some terms you've never heard of before. Unions will use specific vocabulary to describe industrial action, which can be confusing to those unfamiliar. We're here to help. Check out our jargonbuster below to learn more about the strikes. 

UCU - University and College Union. A trade union that represents a large number of academic staff including lecturers, professional service staff, postgraduate students and graduate teaching assistants. 

Industrial action - Employees taking protest action against their employer over workplace issues, including but not limited to pay, pensions, working conditions.

Strike - A form of protest where employees refuse to work. 

Picket line - The boundary established by striking workers, especially at the entrance to the place of work, which others are asked not to cross. Staff may also protest with placards on this boundary.

Casualisation of work - When a workforce’s employees are less frequently given permanent contracts and more frequently hired on insecure, temporary or casual job contracts (such as zero-hour contracts).

Pension - A regular payment made during a person's retirement from an investment fund to which that person or their employer has contributed during their working life.