UK Universities Hit By Strike Action Over Pay And Pensions
Starting on Wednesday, universities in England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland would face three days of strikes resulting in over a million students being affected, causing lectures and tuition to be put on hold. The University and College Union (UCU) accused its left-wing members of blocking progress over possible deals. Staff backed a ballot on strike action at 58 universities, including the largest such as the Open University and University College London. In Greater Manchester alone, more than 100,000 postgraduate and undergraduate students will face disruptions, with strikes taking place at the University of Manchester, Manchester Metropolitan and Salford universities, and the Royal Northern College of Music.
The dispute is partially related to the University Superannuation Scheme (USS), which provides pensions to the UK’s older universities, research institutes, and academic think-tanks. The two sides are also arguing over low pay, insecure fixed-term contracts used to employ more teaching staff, and some issues with pensions. Just before the strike, Universities UK, which represents employers in the pension talks, claimed that the UCU’s leadership was being attacked by a small group of its members affiliated with the Socialist Workers Party. Universities UK said a possible pension deal was undermined by the union’s own negotiators, but the UCU spokesperson urged Universities UK to reveal the real impact of their pension cuts.
Vice-chancellors from universities have not shown any signs of compromise, with some angry at the union’s actions and the absence of negotiations. UUK reported the revisions to pensions on retirement amounted to cuts of 10% and 18% to make the fund remain financially sound. However, the union’s own model shows a typical lecturer on an annual wage of £39,000 could face a cut of 35% to their defined and guaranteed benefits. On the other hand, a USS trustees’ model illustrates a deeper reduction of 41% in future benefits.
UCU’s general secretary Jo Grady said re-balloting on strike action would take place at 42 universities where the ballot failed by narrow margins, and the strike would continue into the next year. Most universities voted to strike on both the pensions and pay ballots. But some only met the requirements for the pay ballot, while others such as Imperial College London are striking solely over pensions.
The strike will cause disruption to students who have missed months of in-person teaching and in-campus activities due to the pandemic. The National Union of Students and some student unions have supported the strike. Among the surveyed students conducted by the NUS, 73% supported the UCU’s action while 9% opposed it.
