Revealed: Here are the dates for the 18 days of strike action at Sheffield universities

The University and College Union (UCU) has announced all the dates that Sheffield Hallam and University of Sheffield staff are striking this term.

The 18 dates of industrial action at both Sheffield universities will fall across February and March, in what the UCU calls “unprecedented strike action”. The dates are as follows:

Week one – 1st February

Week two – 9th and 10th February

Week three – 14th, 15th and 16th February

Week four – 21st, 22nd and 23rd February

Week five – 27th and 28th February, 1st and 2nd March

Week six – 16th and 17th March

Week seven – 20th, 21st and 22nd March

If the action goes ahead, it will be the biggest series of strikes to hit UK campuses.

70,000 staff members across 150 universities are calling for employers to improve on the 4-5 per cent pay offer to deal with the cost-of-living crisis, alongside action to end the use of insecure contracts.

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.

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“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.”

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