University lecturers in more days of strike action as pay dispute continues

UNIVERSITY staff are taking part in three days of industrial action.

Members of the University and Colleges Union (UCU) at Leicester, Loughborough and De Montfort universities voted to take part in 18 days of industrial action over February and March.

University managers said they have plans to manage the latest disruption.

A spokesman for the Loughborough branch of the UCU said: “A majority of UCU members at Loughborough voted strongly in support of the action.

“We are hoping that ongoing national negotiations on pay and pensions will end favourably.

“Our action has already resulted in positive movement on the pay front, with an improved pay offer.

“However, negotiations on pay are ongoing, as the offer of a pay rise between 4 and 5 per cent was not deemed sufficient, with wages having been cut every year since 2008.

“Year on year, staff have been asked to work longer hours for essentially less pay, while having our pension benefits (deferred pay) cut by up to 35 per cent for some members. Our members do not take industrial action lightly.

“We are dedicated educators who would much prefer to be at work providing our students with the best possible learning experience.

“The decision to lose pay and disrupt students has not been easy, but insufficient movement through national negotiations and concerns about our futures and the future of the sector have brought us to this point.”

According to the UCU, 70,000 members across the country are taking part in the action.

Further strike dates also look possible, with members being re-balloted before the end of next month.

UCU general secretary Jo Grady said when the strikes were announced: “While the cost of living crisis rages, university vicechancellors are dragging their feet and refusing to use the vast wealth in the sector to address over a decade of falling pay, rampant casualisation and massive pension cuts.”