Commenting on today’s strike action, University and
College Union (UCU) general secretary Jo Grady said:
‘Today’s picket lines are huge. 70,000
university staff have turned out like never before, defying
bullying tactics from management to show they will no longer
accept falling pay, pension cuts, brutal workloads and
gig-economy working conditions. If vice-chancellors doubted the
determination of university staff to save our sector then today
has been a rude awakening for them.
‘We have been overwhelmed by the support of thousands of students
who have joined us on the picket lines. They recognise that
vice-chancellors are wrecking the sector for staff and students
alike and are determined to stand with us and fix it.
'Our members deserve a proper pay rise and the money is there to
deliver it. Vice-chancellors now need to urgently address the
concerns of staff otherwise our 70,000 members will escalate this
dispute into next year'
Notes
University staff on the ground have reported the biggest picket
lines they have ever seen along with huge student support. Please
use UCU’s Twitter account to
download and publish images of picket lines.
70,000 staff at 150 universities across the UK are
striking in disputes over pensions, pay and working conditions.
The National Union of Students is backing university
staff taking strike action.
In the pay and working conditions dispute, UCU balloted 145
institutions. The union’s demands include a meaningful pay rise
to help staff deal with the cost-of-living crisis, an agreed
framework to eliminate insecure employment practices such as
temporary and zero hours contracts, and action to address
dangerously high workloads. Since 2009/10 staff pay has declined in value by 25%
relative to RPI, due to a series of below inflation pay awards.
In the pension dispute UCU balloted at 67 institutions. The union
is demanding employers revoke the cuts and restore benefits. The
package of cuts made earlier this year will see the average
member lose 35% from their guaranteed future retirement income.
For those at the beginning of their careers the losses are in the
hundreds of thousands of
pounds.
