We spoke to students and staff at the UCU strikes

Since Monday (14/02), the Cambridge branch of the University and College Union (UCU) have joined national strike action over pensions, pay and working conditions.

UCU members, along with postgraduate and undergraduate students, have been attending daily picket lines at Senate House, the Sidgwick Site, and the Downing Site during the industrial action. Rallies have also been held every day at midday, whilst a programme of free public education events have run alongside industrial action.

On a rainy Tuesday morning and a somewhat milder Wednesday morning, we spoke to students and UCU members on the picket lines to hear more about the aims of the strike and its progress.

On the aims of the strike:

The first week of industrial action has been a response to proposed changes to staff pensions, which the UCU say would equate to a 35% cut to guaranteed retirement benefits for a typical USS pension scheme member.

Ann Alexander, Chair of the UCU Strike committee, told The Tab, “We’re fighting for a higher education system that is worthy of the students that study in it, the people who work in it, and that means people not being robbed of their retirement money”.

The pension fund reserve “went up from just over 60 billion last year to around 90 billion today, so, clearly, there is money there to provide everyone with a decent pension who needs it.”

Further industrial action is scheduled over subsequent weeks to address what the UCU describes as the ‘Four Fights’: pay, casualisation, workloads, and equality.

A postgraduate PhD student told The Tab that “the supervision work we do is casualised, it’s insecure, it’s low paid, but it also is fundamental to how the uni runs.”

He added that “we can get better conditions, we can get job security, we can get contracts, we can get better pay that is more reflective of the amount of work that we have to put in, but the only way that we can do that is if we’re organised and if we do it together.”

Fergal, another PhD student, commented that “supervisors don’t get contracts, which means we don’t get rights like sick leave, maternity pay.” Incorporating unpaid supervision preparation, “we have supervisors earning less than minimum wage for their supervisions, not getting worker’s rights, it’s basically the gig economy before the gig economy existed, which is not fair.”

Meanwhile, undergraduate student Samuel commented “I believe that all the staff at Cambridge deserve far fairer recompense for the work they do than they get. I think there’s a big discrepancy between the very senior staff in the colleges and the university complex as a whole, and the people who are doing a lot of the real work”.

On student solidarity:

In a recent press release by the UCU, Cambridge SU Postgraduate President Anjum Nahar claimed, “the demands of the UCU strikes are demands which, if won, will fundamentally improve the student experience. Better working conditions for staff means higher quality teaching for students.”

Eve, an undergraduate student attending the picket lines, told us that “student solidarity is very important because otherwise, we’re kind of undermining what the strikes mean.”

Image Credits: Cambridge UCU

Undergraduate student Kat also asserted that “I’m here just to show solidarity with the staff because I recognise that a uni that supports its staff is also a uni that supports its students. I’d encourage all students to come out to the picket line. I know it can be a little intimidating if you haven’t been before, but everyone’s really friendly, it’s a great way to meet people.”

Rowan, a postgrad, highlighted the importance of postgraduate solidarity, stating that “a lot of us, particularly PhDs in Cambridge, end up involved in the direct delivery of teaching, in producing academic work, and so while you might kind of think of yourself as still a student, you’re very much starting, particularly in the way that Cambridge works, to blur into being a worker for the university and creating those profits for the university.”

On the atmosphere at the picket lines:

Despite the weather, all those who spoke to The Tab were positive about the atmosphere at the pickets and the response from students to the strike action. Undergraduate student Nick described the atmosphere as “very supportive”, whilst Kat, also an undergraduate, commented “I think we’ve got a lot of energy going. We’re trying to keep it up as the week goes on.”

Chair of the UCU Strike committee Ann Alexander highlighted the positive response from students, with “full backing from the SU”, as well as “students bringing tea and coffee and biscuits to us, which they organise incredibly well and we’re incredibly grateful for the solidarity and support.”

On the University’s receptiveness to UCU demands:

Those who spoke to The Tab were generally optimistic that the University has some sympathy for UCU demands. Ann Alexander commented “the Vice-Chancellor and other senior members of the university have said that they agree with us to a certain extent about the problems with pensions scheme, about the valuation methodology that has been used to arrive at these particular disastrous cuts,” adding “we hope that they will speak up about this”.

Ted, a Research Fellow, told The Tab the University are “in theory very supportive of us… but they also seem a bit reluctant to go out and bat for us and put that case to other employers.”

Meanwhile, PhD student Fergal stated, “We believe that on the pensions and on getting paid for supervision training we can and we will win.”

The University of Cambridge has been approached for comment.

UCU strikes are scheduled to continue from Monday 21st to Tuesday 22nd February and from Monday 28th February to Wednesday 2nd March.

Feature Image Credits: Cambridge UCU