The strike action follows the rejection of a pay offer from UCEA that UCU determined “falls way short.”
The University and College Union (UCU) announced today that every college and university across the UK will participate in an 18 day strike between February and March. There will also be a marking and assessment boycott taking place in April, affecting summer graduations, unless disputes are resolved.
The strikes are a direct response to pay disputes, working conditions and pension attacks. UCU demands include a pay raise that will “deal with the cost-of-of living crisis as well as action to end the use of insecure contracts,” according to the UCU website statement.
Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA) made an offer in pay disputes on 11 January, which was rejected today by the UCU’s Higher Education Committee (HEC) because “it falls way short of what you deserve,” UCU spokesperson said in a video posted on Twitter along with the strike announcement.
The pay offer was worth between 4% and 5%, but the UCU decided it was “not enough,” according to the announcement on their website. At a meeting today, HEC decided to take strike action, re-ballot staff at all 150 universities and renew mandates.
“Today our union came together to back an unprecedented programme of escalating strike action,” UCU general secretary Jo Grady said in the statement. “The clock is now ticking for the sector to produce a deal or be hit with widespread disruption.”
Specific dates of the strike action are to be announced next week.
