University strike disrupts freshers' week as staff slam 'very worst employers'

Staff at more than 40 UK universities are striking this freshers’ week as a long-running dispute over pay drags on.

The academic year has begun – but lecture halls and labs at dozens of universities are part-empty. Some 20,000 staff at 42 universities will take part in industrial action between Monday (25 September) and Friday (29 September), as the University and College Union (UCU) demand above-inflation pay rises and an end to insecure contracts.

Strikes at a further 89 universities were called off after local UCU branches reached agreements with their employers. The union said the strikes “will now be targeted at the very worst employers”.

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“The strike action… stands as a reminder to all employers that if you behave egregiously, you will face further disruption,” said UCU general secretary Jo Grady.

Why are university staff striking?

UCU members at 42 universities will strike for five days – from today, Monday (25 September), to Friday (29 September) ­– while staff at a further 11 institutions will strike for one additional day. A full list of which universities are striking is available here.

The Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA) offered higher education unions a pay uplift of between 5%-8% – the most significant increase in 20 years.

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But this is a real-terms pay cut, the union insists, after annual inflation peaked at an eye-watering 11.1% in October 2022. In a ballot earlier this year, 56% of voting UCU members chose to reject the offer

In addition to a wage increase, UCU are calling for an end to precarious zero-hours contracts and “punitive” pay deductions.

They are re-balloting at 143 universities, with voting open until November. If this ballot is successful, staff will take industrial action “well into 2024”.

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The latest strikes come after a marking boycott over the summer left thousands of final exams and dissertations ungraded.

Raj Jethwa, chief executive of the UCEA, described the continued action “disappointing”.

“For the sake of students and staff alike, it is now vital to work together to bring to an end the sector’s recent cycle of industrial disputes,” he said.

But staff insist that the rising cost of living leaves them with no choice but to strike. Meanwhile, upper management continue to cash in. In 2021-2022, the average salary for vice-chancellors of Russell Group universities was £413,000.

“The cost of living crisis is a million miles away from the world of vice chancellors: massive six-figure salaries, luxury housing, and corporate waste,” UCU posted on Twitter.

“It’s time for VCs to join us in the real world and pay staff fairly.”