70,000 staff start the biggest ever university strike today
John Moores, LIPA, Hope and the Uni of Liverpool are among the institutions involved.
Staff at 150 universities, including LIPA, Hope and the Uni of Liverpool begin their three days worth of industrial action today.
70,000 university staff are taking part in the strike over pay, conditions, and pensions.
The University College Union (UCU) is a national trade union for teaching staff.
In a recent ballot for industrial action 81% of lecturers across the country voted ‘yes’ to strike.
Three days worth of strikes have been confirmed starting today (24th November) and Friday 25th November and the following Wednesday 30th November.
The UCU said the strikes will be the biggest ever to hit UK universities and could impact 2.5 million students.
Dr Bee Hughes from John Moores Uni chairs their UCU.
Unions say staff haven’t had a real pay rise since 2009, which in reality is a 25% pay put.
However, Bee told us the industrial action is about much more.
They said "Sector wide, there are a number of really shameful pay gaps.
"There's a 15% gender pay in higher education, 17% ethnicity pay gap and we know there's a 9% disability pay gap.
"Universities are meant to be places where people can grow and develop, but our staff are also facing these deep inequalities"
As well as pay gaps Bee said some casualised lecturers and academics can suffer the most as they don’t have security of other staff.
Bee told us: “We know that people across higher education are using foodbanks, we know that people are struggling to pay their rent and their bills.
"We have even heard in recent years, some of our casualised members go to work and teach students in the day and then are sleeping rough and being homeless outside of work.
"It’s really an endemic issue within higher education."
In a letter to Liverpool John Moores University students, UCU wrote: “We want to start by saying none of us want to go on strike. That might sound like a ridiculous thing to say at the beginning of what could be a very significant round of industrial action in higher education, but we hope you’ll bear with us as we explain; what this means, what we’re fighting for and how it’s come to this.
The letter goes on to explain the huge reaction to the ballot and then says: 'Whenever a university goes on strike, its senior management loves to put pressure on staff to tell them in advance that they won’t be coming into work.
'Honestly, this is pretty sketchy (all trade union membership is confidential to prevent employer discrimination) as it means that employers can then do loads of things to find cover staff and reschedule things to minimise student disruption. In effect saying to staff “we don’t care if you strike”. Not only is this incredibly sleazy, but it also reduces the impact of the strikes. So, although it kills us to do so, most UCU members don’t inform students in advance about their attendance that day.
'We hope you know that this gives us heaps of anxiety because we LOVE our students and we know how disruptive this can be for you. And we won’t be rescheduling our lectures or providing PowerPoints or recordings for those lectures on Canvas.
'But it has to mean something when we withdraw our labour. It’s the last thing we ever want to do and is literally the last thing we have in our bag when it comes to negotiating with our employers.
'We’re in this position because we’re broken. For years, employers have forced more and more work on teaching staff, knowing that we care about the student experience as much as students do. We want the best for you, and that’s been exploited by asking every employee to do the work of two people, then three, then four… We’re at breaking point and don’t have the time and resources to give you the teaching you deserve. On top of this we haven’t had a real pay rise since 2009. For 13 years, which in reality is a 25% Pay Cut.
'So brilliant staff are burning out and leaving the sector, or having no other choice but to take other jobs.'
The union said employers imposed a 3% pay rise this year following 13 years below inflation pay awards.
UCU general secretary Jo Grady said: ‘University staff are taking the biggest strike action in the history of higher education. They have had enough of falling pay, pension cuts and gig-economy working conditions - all whilst vice-chancellors enjoy lottery win salaries and live it up in their grace and favour mansions.
‘Staff are burnt out, but they are fighting back and they will bring the whole sector to a standstill. Vice-chancellors only have themselves to blame. Their woeful leadership has led to the biggest vote for strike action ever in our sector."
Some university workers say if nothing is done they are prepared are to take even bigger action in the New Year.