‘Inevitable’ strike action set to hit UK Universities this term
The UCU say they ‘have no option but to escalate’ after talks with employers over pensions break down.
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UCU members across 152 universities will be balloted on 18 October over possible strike action in the Autumn Term. The strikes have been proposed in response to Universities UK (UUK)’s cuts to pension benefits. Results will be considered by the union on 8 November, leading to potential strikes before Christmas.
The UUK suggest that pension benefits cannot remain at the same level, due to an estimated £13bn-£17bn shortage in funding. Their proposed solution is pension cuts to university staff, which would lead to a typical employee suffering a 35% loss to their guaranteed retirement benefits.
The UCU argues that the valuation has now become inaccurate, as it was ‘carried out at the start of the pandemic when markets were crashing’. It made its own proposal in response, however the two parties failed to come to an agreement. The UCU blames this on employers refusing ‘to agree to a small increase in their own contributions’. The pension benefit cuts hit particularly harshly in the wake of the pandemic, with university staff working hard to adapt to online teaching.
The proposed strikes also respond to ‘The Four Fights’: pay, workload, casualisation and equality. There has been a 20% drop in pay between 2009 and 2019 for university staff, leading the UCU to fight for a £2.5k pay increase. The potential strikes also address the gender pay gap, currently at 15.5%, as well as equality in employment, as under ⅓ of professors in the UK are women and just 1% are black. The prevalence of zero-hour contracts along with frequently unmanageable workloads lead to increased pressure on staff to strike.
These issues faced by university staff have had a long-term presence, with over 50,000 UCU members at 74 universities taking part in strikes between November 2019 and February 2020. The strike action was only cut short at this point due to the pandemic. Strikes also took place in 2018, making the possible strikes in 2021 the fourth in four years.
This level of disruption, especially alongside the pandemic, has hugely compromised the university experience for many students. This has led to concerns over the potential for disruption and student claims for tuition fee refunds if these strikes go ahead.
The UUK has responded to the UCU’s ballot by stating that the ‘assessment of the scheme’s costs means reforms are needed; no change is not an option.’ It has also labelled the strikes as ‘irresponsible’, making ‘students and staff suffer’.
This claim is contradicted by the National Union of Students (NUS)’s support for the campaign. President of NUS Larissa Kennedy has said that ‘Staff working conditions are student learning conditions and we stand shoulder to shoulder with our educators in fighting for a more just education system’, adding that ‘students will hold employers responsible’ for the failure to come to a settlement.