University strike action won’t impact on graduation days

Bosses reassure students events will still go ahead

Fears university strikes could affect graduation ceremonies this summer have been dismissed following the latest round of industrial action.

Bosses at the University of Kent moved to reassure students the end-of-year events will go ahead despite a planned staff walkout.

It follows yet another strike by lecturers on Tuesday morning as part of a long-running pay dispute involving members of the Universities and College Union (UCU).

A university spokesman said: “Congregations will go ahead as planned. Academic staff only attend if they want to be present when the students they have taught receive their degrees.

“There are some administrative and management staff who are UCU members and may take action.

“However, we do not believe that this will have an impact on congregations.”

On Tuesday, staff formed a picket line between 8am and 10am outside the Jarman building on the university’s Giles Lane campus.

Owen Lyne, the University of Kent UCU branch secretary, said: “We are fighting for fair pay, but also making a stand against the increasing use of temporary contracts which undermines the academic role, and against the insidious pay inequality that sees many women earning less than men for doing the same job.”

The dispute centres around a six-year wrangle over what the UCU has described as a “squeeze on staff salaries”.

‘Universities need to recognise staff will no longer accept their pay being held down’

It claims workers have received what amounts to a real-term pay cut of 14.5% in that time, branding a 1.1% salary hike offer as “an insult to the hard work and dedication of higher education staff”.

Sally Hunt, UCU general secretary, said: “Universities need to recognise that staff will no longer accept their pay being held down while a few at the top enjoy the rewards of increased money for universities.

“Nobody wants to take industrial action, but clearly enough is enough.”

The University of Kent added that it does not expect industrial action to delay the release of examination results next week.

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University of Kent staff staged another strike on Tuesday