University of York staff set to strike for 18 days this term

Staff at the University of York will be striking for 18 days between February and March.

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.

The UCU has not yet said the exact dates uni staff will be striking and has said this will be confirmed next week.

York has already seen three days of strike action this academic year and A York Tab survey found that 69 per cent of York students supported the strikes.

The union says “the clock is ticking” for university bosses to avoid widespread disruption this year. They are campaigning for a significant 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.

Universities gave staff a pay rise of three per cent this year (with inflation currently over 10 per cent), after what the UCU calls “over a decade of below-inflation pay awards”.

UCU general secretary Jo Grady 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.

“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.”

Related stories recommended by this writer:

• ‘Lecturers are exhausted and overworked’: What York students think about the strikes

• Strikes start today, here’s how they will affect you as a York student

• University of York lecturers will be striking for three days this month