These are the 18 days that Liverpool lectures will be striking this term

Yesterday the University and College Union announced the dates of the wave of strikes happening in the next two months. This is set to be the largest striking action to hit universities in the UK. These 18 days of striking action also mean that students will be loosing more than 40 per cent of their planned teaching during this time.

The striking dates are the following:

• Week 1 – Wednesday 1 February
• Week 2 – Thursday 9 and Friday 10 February
• Week 3 – Tuesday 14, Wednesday 15 and Thursday 16 February
• Week 4 – Tuesday 21, Wednesday 22 and Thursday 23 February
• Week 5 – Monday 27 and Tuesday 28 February and Wednesday 1 and Thursday 2 March
• Week 6 – Thursday 16 and Friday 17 March
• Week 7 – Monday 20, Tuesday 21 and Wednesday 22 March

Universities are facing unprecedented strike action

So where are the vice-chancellors?

Here’s a message to them:

Stop hiding, and start telling staff and students why you refuse to settle these disputes#ucuRISING pic.twitter.com/alVrQJEbii

— UCU (@ucu) January 24, 2023

The 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.”

Jo Grady stated further: “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.”