University strikes cause disruption for third week

UCU members across the country are on their third week of strikes, with members taking action against inequality, pay and pensions.

At 9am this morning a picket line was formed outside the Media City campus, with universities across the country also partaking in strikes desperate to improve the quality of their work environments. There are three planned strikes for this week, with a further four weeks set to follow.

If all planned strikesgoes ahead, then it will become the largest to ever affect universities across the country. 70,000 Union members are planning to participate in the strikes in a dispute over an improved pay offer of 4.5%, and equal pay, in an attempt to avoid disruption at any cost.

Since 2009, lecturing staff have experienced a 25% pay cut, as a result of inflation, and more recently with the cost of living crisis. The university pension scheme was also cut in 2020 by 35%, as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic.

The intention behind this request is partially as a result of the cost of living crisis, which has affected individuals all over the country, with some university staff essentially on zero- hour contracts, and only receiving pay when they are delivering lectures.

Dr Gary Morrisroe is a TV and Radio production lecturer at the University of Salford who is involved in the strikes. He said: “Enough is enough. We’ve been on strike as the UCU, or the University College Union for about four or five years since 2018, and the issues haven’t gone away, they’ve got worse, they’ve been exacerbated.

“There’s massive casualisation in the sector, which means you’ve got lecturers, hat are on pretty much zero- hours contracts, so they’re only paid to work in the class. They don’t get paid over summer, they don’t get paid over Easter, they don’t get paid over Christmas”

Despite some students having their learning disrupted as a result of the strikes, many are in full support, recognising the impact which taking action and striking does for employers.

The strikes are intending to resolve the issues which employers have highlighted, with this action the last resort to try and force some action.