Students end occupation of Bristol University building

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Students have ended their occupation of a landmark university building after nearly two weeks.

The group of 12 Bristol University students emerged from the listed Wills Memorial Building after barricading themselves in its Great Hall on February 28.

They were greeted by dozens of supporters as they exited the building holding rucksacks, sleeping mats and other belongings.

The occupiers, dubbed ‘Wills Occupy’, relied on deliveries of food and hygiene products from the public facilitated by security staff.

Speaking to Bristol24/7, the activists said they are not done with their dispute with Bristol University, saying “this is just the beginning”.

Students emerged from Wills Memorial Building after being holed up for 11 days – photo: Meg Houghton Gilmour

The 11 day protest was staged in solidarity with the long-running Universities and College Union (UCU) strike taking place in Bristol and nationally.

Members of UCU across the country joined the picket lines aiming to resolve ‘four fights’- revolving around pay, casualisation, equality and workload. Monday, March 7 marked the end of the latest round of scheduled strike action.

The union, who expressed solidarity with the occupiers in a statement published on Twitter, has accused university leaders of “failing staff and students”, subjecting them to “devastating cuts to pensions and deteriorating pay and working conditions”.

Higher education staff could face a 35 per cent cut to their guaranteed retirement income.

Occupiers of Wills Memorial Building initially issued a list of four specific demands.

The students said they were prepared to occupy the building, part of the Law and Earth Sciences schools, until their demands were met. These were:

• No repercussions for the student occupiers of the Wills Memorial Building
• Support the UCU proposal for changes to the pension plans
• Reverse the decision to deduct pay from staff taking Action Short of a Strike (ASOS)
• Spread money deducted for strike days over numerous monthly payslips

Students called time on their protest after nearly two weeks, vacating the university premises at midday on Thursday, March 10.

The decision to stand down comes after negotiations with university management. It was agreed that occupiers would not face disciplinary action, terms of ASOS were clarified and strike day pay losses would be spread over a maximum of five days per month.

But the agreement did not solve the ongoing issue between the UCU and the university. UCU have warned that further strike action is on the table before Easter.

Students used tables and chairs to barricade themselves inside the Great Hall – photo: @anna_lrtgrn / Twitter

Management agreed to concede to their demands and the occupation was set to end on Tuesday,  however the university then backpedaled on the decision, accusing the occupants of carrying out “arguably violent acts”.

In a statement published at the time, a Bristol University spokesperson said: “Contrary to statements from the occupiers, the University remains committed to not taking action in relation to peaceful protest. We also always support the right of members of our university community to work in a safe and caring environment.”

“We received additional information yesterday that suggests there may have been unacceptable behaviour and, if further action is required in this case, we will follow our acceptable behaviour policy. Our position on spreading strike deductions across two months, as has always been our approach and agreed with our UCU branch, remains unchanged.”

Main photo: Meg Houghton Gilmour

Read more: Students barricade themselves in Wills Memorial Building 

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