First day of Lancaster UCU strikes announced

70,000 members of the UCU will be striking on the 1st February for 18 days. These strikes are scheduled to take place over February and March, with specific dates being announced next week.

Staff within the union are striking in an ongoing campaign for better pay, pensions and the end of insecure contracts in the face of the cost of living crisis.

In a meeting between employers and trade unions, the Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA) refused to move from an updated 4-5% pay increase offer made.

UCU said the offer was “not enough”, and that the “clock is ticking” for university bosses to avoid a widespread disruption this academic year.

This first day of strikes coincides with TUC’s ‘Protect the Right to Strike’ day, with five other unions confirming they will join in the action against the Conservative governments plans to introduce strict anti-strike measure through parliament.

Throughout this striking period, students are expected to lose up to 41% of the total teaching time,  accumulating to around £3700 of student fees for the year.

With staff already striking for three days throughout last term, this adds up to a total of 21 days of teaching time lost due to strike action with even more strikes being threatened if “employers don’t get serious and fast”. 

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