British university employees plan another 10 days of strike on salaries and pensions | Universities

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Union leaders have said more than a million students at 68 universities across the UK will face further strikes, with up to 10 days of campus strikes starting next month.

The Union of Universities and Colleges (UCU) said more than 50,000 university employees are expected to take part in the latest round of measures on pensions, wages and working conditions, starting with a five-day strike starting February 14.

Last month, employees of 58 institutions took part in a three-day strike as part of a bitter and long-running campaign that the union described as a “battle for the future of higher education”.

Employees take action on two separate disputes. The first relates to pension cuts for members of the University Scheme (USS), which provides pensions to older UK universities. The second relates to low wages and issues such as the unsafe fixed-term contracts used to hire an increasing number of faculty members.

The USC said that if no agreement is reached in upcoming talks, 44 institutions will participate in the first week of work, a five-day withdrawal due to the USS dispute; 68 institutions will participate in two working days starting from February 21 on pensions, wages and conditions; 39 institutions will participate in three days of struggle starting on February 28 over wages and working conditions.

UCLA Secretary General Joe Grady said: “For a sector worth tens of billions of pounds and enjoying record levels of student growth, it is a shame that employees in return are getting ferocious cuts to pensions, lower wages and being pushed to the bottom point. deteriorating working conditions.

Universities UK, which represents employers in the pension dispute, replied: “Evidence from employers shows that UCLA industrial action is not having the desired effect, with levels of disruption reported per strike lower since 2018.”

“Instead of this disruption continuing, UCSD should engage constructively in this year’s multi-employer negotiation round (2022-2023) in which the It is scheduled to start at the end of March.

The National Student Union came out in support of the measure and called on its members to take part in a student strike on March 2, to coincide with the last day of UCLA’s action. “We will continue to stand with employees in their struggle because nothing about this broken system is inevitable,” said its national president, Larissa Kennedy.

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