UK. More universities join strike action over pay and pensions
Strike action at UK universities has spread to 68 institutions as staff blamed bosses for failing to make improved offers on pensions, pay and working conditions.
The University and College Union said today (February 21) more than 50,000 staff have a mandate to strike and over a million students are being impacted.
Strikes initially began at 44 universities last week (February 14) and a further 24 have joined today.
The union, which represents all university staff, said new retail price index figures of 7.8 per cent means staff pay has fallen by more than a quarter (25.5 per cent) in real terms since 2009.
There has also been a 35 per cent cut to university staff’s guaranteed pension income.
Demands by staff include a £2,500 pay rise for all university employees.
However, UCU said the university employer representative, Universities and Colleges Employers Association, has refused to move on its offer of 1.5 per cent increase on existing salaries for 2021/22.
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