Scheduled strike action at Durham for the next two weeks has been paused

Durham University has confirmed that the seven strike days which were due to take place over the next two weeks have been paused and will now no longer go ahead.

This announcement comes as negotiations have commenced between the University & Colleges Employers Association (UCEA) and joint Higher Education unions, including the University and College Union (UCU).

The current UCU  industrial action has been in response to disputes over pay, pensions, job certainty and the gender pay gap, and the eighteen days of action this term follow on from the three days of strikes last November.

There are seven strike days which will no longer go ahead due to the pause, and these days would have added up to over £300 in lost tuition fees for students who would have been affected by them.

The strike days affected by this pause include:

• Tuesday 21st February
• Wednesday 22nd February
• Thursday 23rd February
• Monday 27th February
• Tuesday 28th February
• Wednesday 1st March
• Thursday 2nd March

These days of strikes will go ahead as normal university term days, and there have been no announcements yet about the remaining planned strike days after this two week period.

In an email to students sent this morning, the university says it “welcomes this positive development”, and details of the full joint statement between the UCEA and Higher Education unions can be found here.

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