We write as students, parents and university staff, asking you to urgently find a way to settle a dispute which is hurting students across the UK, and threatens to undermine the future of Higher Education in this country. The University and College Union's current Marking and Assessment Boycott (MAB) is the most recent development in a long-running industrial dispute. It has affected students across the UK, leaving many finalists without degrees, and creating uncertainty and disappointment for many more. In response, the Universities and Colleges Employers Association has imposed severe pay deductions on participating staff.

We are delighted that UCEA and UCU have at last reopened negotiations. However, UCU has informed its members that UCEA is not willing to redress pay deductions as part of a resolution. This stance runs counter to what we understand to be otherwise constructive negotiations. We urge you to agree to pay restoration as a pragmatic step in resolving the dispute, and a powerful statement of your support for staff and students.

University staff care deeply about their students. The majority of staff who have participated in the Marking and Assessment Boycott have continued to work more than full time to teach and support their students, deliver research, and take forward the complex, demanding administration of the modern university. They have done so in the face of up to 100 percent pay deductions. The deductions imposed have been inequitable and punitive, and have created division, exacerbated mental ill health, and intensified financial insecurity for hard-working staff during a cost of living crisis. They have been counterproductive, strengthening resolve among union members and creating unmanageable workloads, with a particular impact on poorly-paid Professional Support staff. And they have little support among students.

It is devastating to see University Executive Boards refuse to acknowledge the passion and commitment of their academic staff or to recognise and appropriately reward the thousands of hours of discretionary labour that fuel UK Higher Education.