UCU members at 63 universities today continue strike action in their fight against deteriorating pay & working conditions.

The dispute is over a 25.5% real terms pay cut over the past 13 years, unmanageable workloads, pay inequality and the use of exploitative and insecure contracts, which are rife across the sector.

Staff, who have already taken two days of strike action over pay and working conditions this year, are walking out today, tomorrow and Wednesday.

The final day of strike action next week has been called to coincide with the student strike on Wednesday, organised by the NUS. The NUS is supporting UCU’sindustrial action and is calling for better working conditions, pay and pensions for staff.

Staff are also engaged in action short of a strike (ASOS) which involves working strictly to contract, not covering for absent colleagues, not rescheduling lectures or classes cancelled due to strike action, or undertaking any voluntary activities.

[...]

UCU’s Higher Education Committee met on Friday to consider the next steps in both disputes and is due to make a further announcement later this week.

UCU general secretary Jo Grady said: “This continued industrial action will hit 63 universities and the responsibility of vice-chancellors who have done nothing to address falling pay, pay inequality, the rampant use of insecure contracts and unmanageable workloads.

“Our union has offered simple solutions that would avert industrial action and benefit the sector in the long-term, but time and again employers have chosen to continue pushing staff to breaking point, while the sector continues to bring in tens of billions of pounds each year.

“Students are standing by our members because they know university staff are overworked and underpaid. And they know that this sector, which is awash with money, can afford to treat its workers with dignity.”