11th December 2019 14:59
By Blue Tutors
UK University staff have begun an 8 day strike over pensions, salary and working conditions. Reported on the BBC, the strike will affect 60 institutions, roughly half of all universities, and follows a similar strike in early 2018. Lecturers and support staff will not work again until the 4th of December and when they return they will stick to their contract, not cover for absent staff and refuse to reschedule the lectures missed.
The University and Colleges Union (UCU) say that there has been a real terms reduction in salary, changes to pensions making staff worse off, and that the 15% gender pay gap has not been addressed. Jo Grady, a spokesperson for the UCU said that this follows higher education making a lot of money over the last 10 years, and they have reached breaking point.
The University and Colleges Employers Association said that they have committed to increased contributions from 18% to 21.1% of salary representing £250m more pre year. The UCU demands are 22.7% but this means £373 more per year which would mean reducing funding in other areas including number of staff, student support, available courses and would lead to increased class and lecture sizes.
Many staff involved in the industrial action believe that it is a necessary evil to improve working conditions and ultimately the quality of education they can deliver for students. However, students are understandably disappointed with the lectures they will miss and the lack of support for 8 days. This is even more frustrating for students who were involved in the strike 21 months ago.