Maximum Disruption: Lecturers Plan Class Walkouts

Starting from the 23rd January, the University and College Union (UCU), will stage a series of 2-hour strikes aimed at disrupting teaching.

A continuation of two one-day strikes last term, UCU members will be walking out of lectures and tutorials to protest low pay. University staff have been offered a 1% pay rise, but claim they have faced a 13% pay cut in real terms since October 2008.

Spreading the word

UCU have chosen the 2-hour model because it maximises “disruption of activity on the campus on a rolling basis while minimising the loss of pay for members.”

“Targeting action around the busiest parts of the working week over short durations enables us to disrupt lectures and classes without member losing a day’s pay, something that would definitely happen in a one-day strike.”

The strikes will take place on Thursday 23rd January between 11am and 1pm, Tuesday 28th January from 2-4pm, and Monday 10th February from 9am-11am.

The union claim tens of thousands of classes will be at risk of cancellation.

A University and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA) spokesman “expressed disappointment at UCU’s latest tactic…this time targeting students” and called the strikes “a cynical move”.

UCU general secretary, Sally Hunt, defended the actions, saying: “Any kind of disruption is always a last resort but, after five years of pay suppression and members 13% worse off in real terms, we have little option but to escalate our action.”

If no agreement is reached, UCU members may boycott exam marking.

The UCU are aiming for a better turnout this time