University of Birmingham strike confirmed, with 11 days in February and seven in March
There will only be nine teaching days in February
Yesterday, on January 24th, the University and College Union (UCU) announced the dates of the 18 days of strikes that will take place over the next two months. If all dates of strikes go ahead, this will be the largest coordinated series of strikes to hit UK universities.
The striking dates were announced via the official UCU twitter and the dates are as followed:
- 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
There will be a meeting between UCU members and the university employer representative of the Universities and Colleges Employers Association. This meeting will take place on January 25th, this meeting is to negotiate terms and see if the strikes can be prevented. The only way the strikes will not go ahead is if the employers substantially improve on the pay offer of 4-5 per cent to avoid disruption.
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.”
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