Southampton Uni lecturers to strike for over three weeks’ worth of teaching days this term

University of Southampton lecturers and staff are set to go on strike for 18 days before Easter – over three weeks’ worth of teaching days.

The University and College Union (UCU) has announced that 70,000 staff at 150 UK universities will be striking for 18 days in February and March, as staff are in an ongoing campaign for better pay and pensions, among other things.

We have already seen three days of strikes at almost every university in the country, including Southampton, before Christmas of this academic year, as well as up to 18 days of strike action at over 140 universities last academic year.

A Tab investigation this summer found Russell Group unis saved £11million in withheld pay whilst lecturers were on strike last university year.

The UCU is yet to confirm the exact dates uni staff will be striking, and has said this will be announced next week.

The union is campaigning for a meaningful pay rise to ease the cost of living crisis, the ending of use of insecure contracts, and are demanding unis revoke cuts to pensions and restore benefits.

Jo Grady, the UCU general secretary, said: “Today our union came together to back an unprecedented programme of escalating strike action. The clock is now ticking for the sector to produce a deal or be hit with widespread disruption throughout spring.

“University staff dedicate their lives to education and they want to get back to work, but that will only happen if university vice-chancellors use the vast wealth of the sector to address over a decade of falling pay, rampant insecure employment practices and devastating pension cuts. The choice is theirs.”

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