An extra strike day at York has been announced for this month

The University and College Union (UCU) has announced that there will be an additional strike day taking place at York in March.

The extra day of strikes will be on Wednesday 15th March, in addition to those set to take place on Thursday 16th, Friday 17th, Monday 20th, Tuesday 21st, and Wednesday 22nd.

The UCU’s General Secretary, Jo Grady, announced the news on their website, saying that whilst progress has been made in negotiations, they now aim to put maximum pressure on employers in order to achieve their demands.

70,000 UCU members across 150 Universities will now strike on March 15th.

Negotiations continue. Keep voting yes. Keep building for the picket lines. Keep the pressure on.#ucuRISING pic.twitter.com/5B5sR3uKjr

— Jo Grady (@DrJoGrady) February 28, 2023

She said: “I’m pleased to say – that whilst Acas talks take place on a confidential basis, I can say that we are making progress across a range of subjects at Acas and will bring your more information on that as those talks come to a natural conclusion.

“What you also saw last week was that the employer chose to put out their pay offer and make it clear that it is final and that universities can implement the initial element of that pay offer. We need to be absolutely crystal clear, this is not a pay offer that has been agreed with us as a union, or any of the other unions involved in the negotiations.

“But we aren’t gonna be phased wither. That is why in addition to the industrial action that you already have called on March 16, 17, 20, 21, 22, the Higher Education Committee have decided to call industrial action on March 15.”

She also said how the additional strike day will act to balance the five days of strikes that didn’t go ahead, saying that it aims to “focus the employers mind as talks come to a conclusion”.

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In an email to students, Vice-Chancellor, Charlie Jeffery, said that he was “very sorry” to say that the additional day of strike action had been announced. He said: “While challenges remain, significant progress has been made. We have a window of opportunity to push on and achieve a settlement, and I have been strongly encouraging all parties to work together to grasp it”.

He described the call for more strikes as “really disappointing” and “deeply frustrating given there have been some very constructive talks in the national negotiations on both pay and pensions”. He assured that the university will do all it can to support students during this period, pointing to the university’s industrial action support page as a source for advice and guidance.

Related stories recommended by this writer:

• Strikes Day Two: Everything that happened at the York Uni picket line today

• ‘Teaching UK undergraduates loses universities money’ says York Vice Chancellor

• The next two weeks of strikes at Uni of York have been called off