UNI WORKERS PLAN ‘BIGGEST’ WALKOUT

Action wanted over pay, conditions and pensions

LECTURERS and other staff at Staffordshire University and Keele University will go on strike later this month in a row over pay, pensions and working conditions.

Members of the University and College Union at Staffs Uni, Keele and 148 other universities will stage walkouts on November 24, 25 and 30, following strike ballots last month.

There will also be industrial action short of striking on November 23, including working to rule.

The UCU says 70,000 of its members will be involved in the ‘biggest ever’ strike to hit higher education, affecting 2.5 million students, unless employers ‘act fast and make improved offers’.

UCU members at Staffs Uni will be taking strike action over pay and conditions, while those at Keele will be striking over pay, conditions and pensions.

In the pay and conditions dispute, the union wants a ‘meaningful’ pay rise, above the three per cent increase offered by employers earlier this year, as well as an end to ‘insecure’ temporary contracts.

The UCU says the pay offer is insufficient for staff due to rocketing inflation and the cost-of-living crisis.

In the pensions dispute, the UCU has called on employers to reverse cuts and restore benefits, saying its members stand to lose an average of 35 per cent from their guaranteed future retirement income.

The UCU claims the university sector can afford to meet these demands after generating record income of £41.6 billion last year.

UCU general secretary Jo Grady said: “70,000 staff will walk out and make clear they refuse to accept falling pay, cuts to pensions and insecure employment.

“UCU members do not want to strike but are doing so to save the sector and win dignity at work.’

The strike action is being backed by the National Union of Students.

NUS vice president higher education Chloe Field said: “Staff teaching conditions are students’ learning conditions, and we must fight together for a fairer, healthier education system.”

The Universities and Colleges Employers Association says there will be ‘disappointment’ at the UCU’S strike announcement.

Raj Jethwa, UCEA’S chief executive, said: “Any threats of industrial action will do nothing to support students, staff or the many HE institutions working hard to avoid redundancies or maintain staffing levels, having delivered the August pay uplift.

“UCU needs to provide its members with a realistic and fair assessment of what is achievable before encouraging strike action directed at students.”