Northumbria University staff vote overwhelmingly in favour of a strike

Northumbria staff are set to strike after UCU Northumbria announced that Northumbria staff voted to start industrial action.

364 UCU Northumbria members out of 544 voted in favour of striking, and 490 voted in favour of “Action Short of a Strike” meaning other additional industrial action.

The demands fuelling the potential strike include: no less than a £3,349 pay rise, a true 35-hour week, and NO mandatory teaching on-campus during the pandemic.

The union has stated that they will “not be pressured into unsafe working conditions…being ‘Covid secure’ is a myth”.

A strike would cause yet another obstacle for this year’s students, though there are many in support. A petition has even been set up by Northumbria students in a show of their solidarity.

90 per cent of staff voted for #ActionShortOfaStrike, this basically means staff will do all of their contracted work and no more, not undertaking any extra work or voluntary duties and not working more than 35 hours a week. This would allow teaching to go on as normal for students. 

The national UCU has said that Northumbria is the first in the UK to win a ballot over safety relating to Covid-19 and could lead to other ballots around the country “if employers continue to fail to prioritise the concerns of staff”.

UCU Northumbria has not given a date for when their industrial action will start.