The UCU announces ten days of strikes in dispute over pensions, pay and working conditions

Staff at UCL and 67 other universities are to take part in strike action this Spring Term, and over a million students might be affected.

Photo by Sean Wallis on flickr

Jo Grady, UCU general secretary, has announced the dates of the strikes concerning pensions, pay and working conditions. She called them a "fight for the future of higher education". The industrial action will take place UK-wide over three consecutive weeks, starting Monday 14 February and ending Wednesday 2 March.

UCL staff are striking over the ‘Four Fights’ dispute, taking part in the industrial action for up to 5 days including 21 and 22 February as well as 28 February, 1 and 2 March. They aim to combat low pay, unmanageable workloads, the use of exploitive fixed-term contracts, and unequal treatment.

The first five days of the strike, from 14-18 February, will focus on the USS pension cuts and will be supported by staff working for 44 institutions. During the second week of strikes the pension and the ‘Four Fights’ will be on the agenda, with all 68 universities striking. The last week of strikes will take place between 28 February and 2 March, and now will focus on pay and working conditions exclusively. Unions consider the marking and assessment boycott as another step in fighting for their rights.

The National Union of Students (NUS) has called its members to go on strike on 2 March to align with the last day of union strikes and support staff in their struggles. Jo Grady suggested in her letter to UCU members coordination with students as a way to increase unions leverage over employers. Considering the results of the UCL Student Union referendum, with 60% voting to support staff strikes, students are eager to help. 

In December, university staff from 58 universities went on 3 days of strike due to the same ongoing problems of pension cuts and pay and working conditions. The UCU had warned employers that universities will seek further strike action in February if their demands over pensions, pay and working conditions were not met.

A meeting is planned for 11 February between the UCU and Universities UK, the representative of employers, to consider the new USS pension proposal. Students need to sit tight and look at how the situation continues in the upcoming weeks.