University staff set for strike action

MORE than 70,000 lecturers and other staff at 150 universities will strike for three days later this month in a long-running dispute over pay, working conditions and pensions.

The University and College Union (UCU) said the strikes – on November 24, 25 and 30 – will be the biggest ever to hit UK universities and could impact 2.5 million students.

The union said disruption can be avoided if employers make improved offers, but warned that strike action will escalate in the new year alongside a marking and assessment boycott if the dispute is not resolved.

Union members will also begin industrial action short of strike action from November 23, which includes working to rule, refusing to make up work lost as a result of strike action and refusing to cover for absent colleagues.

The strikes come after UCU members overwhelmingly voted in favour of industrial action last month in two national ballots over pay and working conditions as well as pensions.

UCU general secretary Jo Grady said: “Campuses across the UK are about to experience strike action on a scale never seen before.”

Raj Jethwa, chief executive of the Universities and Colleges Employers Association, said: “There will be disappointment across the sector at UCU’s decision to call three days of strike action later this month.