Confirmed: UCU has announced all 18 strikes dates in February and March for London unis

Our hearts are with the grads


The Universities and Colleges Union (UCU) has confirmed the dates of all strikes they previously announced over February and March.

70,000 staff at 150 UK universities, including 31 in London, will be walking out for 11 days in February and seven in March “unless university employers make substantially improved offers in disputes over pay, working conditions and pension cuts.”

If all strikes are followed through, students will have lost over four weeks of teaching this academic year due to industrial action.

Here are the dates announced:

• Wednesday 1st February

• Thursday 9th and Friday 10th February

• Tuesday 14th, Wednesday 15th, and Thursday 16th February

• Tuesday 21st, Wednesday 22nd, and Thursday 23rd February

• Monday 27th and Tuesday 28th February

• Wednesday 1st and Thursday 2nd March

• Thursday 16th and Friday 17th March

• Monday 20th, Tuesday 21st, and Wednesday 22nd March

The UCU represents academic staff at higher education institutions across the UKs.

It announced last week that members will strike for 18 days before Easter after employers tried to settle the disputes with a pay rise offer that’s “not enough.” There might also be marking boycotts that “strategically target the summer finals” if a settlement is not reached by April.

UCU general secretary Jo Grady said: “The university sector in the UK has over £40bn sitting in reserves, but instead of using that vast wealth to deliver a cost-of-living pay rise and reverse devastating pension cuts, university vice-chancellors would rather force staff to take strike action and see campuses shut down.

“There is a clear route out of these disputes, but at present vice-chancellors lack the political will to take it. They are failing staff who want to get back to work, and students who want to get on with their studies.

“Students understand that staff working conditions are their learning conditions and we are proud to have their support in these disputes. A system that relies on low pay and the rampant use of insecure contracts is a system which fails everyone.

“A resolution can be reached, but that is in the gift of university vice-chancellors who need to urgently reassess their priorities and deliver a deal that benefits staff and students. From February, our union will begin reballoting its members to allow action to continue through the rest of the academic year, should they continue to drag their feet.”

These 31 London universities will be affected by the upcoming strikes:

  1. Birkbeck, University of London
  2. Brunel University London
  3. City, University of London
  4. Courtauld Institute of Art
  5. University of East London
  6. Goldsmiths, University of London
  7. University of Greenwich
  8. Imperial College London
  9. King’s College London
  10. Kingston University
  11. London Metropolitan University
  12. London School of Economics
  13. London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
  14. London South Bank University
  15. Middlesex University
  16. Queen Mary, University of London
  17. Roehampton University
  18. Royal Academy of Music
  19. Royal Central School of Speech and Drama
  20. Royal College of Art
  21. Royal College of Music
  22. Royal Holloway, University of London
  23. Royal Veterinary College, University of London
  24. Senate House, University of London
  25. SOAS, University of London
  26. St George’s, University of London
  27. St Mary’s University, Twickenham
  28. University College London
  29. University of the Arts London
  30. University of West London
  31. University of Westminster

Related stories recommended by this writer:

• Here’s how the university strikes will impact you as London students

• UCU announces 18 days of strikes over the next two months at more than 30 London unis

• ‘We need education to change’: The head of UCU on how the strikes are affecting students