Thousands of university students are facing freshers’ week disruption as lecturers at more than 50 universities go on strike across the UK.
Five-day walkouts over pay and working conditions are coinciding with “important” introductory weeks when many first-year undergraduates settle on to their campuses.
The action, organised by the University and College Union (UCU), will result in staff striking from Monday to Friday at 42 universities, and for at least one day at a further ten institutions.
Staff at more than 140 universities were scheduled to strike, but the protest was scaled down after dozens of union branches reached agreements with their universities following “constructive” talks.
Jo Grady, general secretary of the UCU, said “important” introductory lessons and sessions during freshers’ week would be disrupted for first-year undergraduates as well as for older students returning to campus.
Staff at some sites are walking out on different dates, while action short of a strike will also continue, such as lecturers refusing to cover for absent colleagues or reschedule cancelled lectures and classes.
Universities affected include Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool, Edinburgh and Durham. In a message to students, Grady said that her members “don’t want to be here”, adding that the union had succeeded in calling strike action off at some universities.
“If you are a student heading to university where strike action is, or the parent of one, I need [you] to understand that we have done everything possible to avoid this,” she said. “But we still have university employers choosing industrial action over peace on campus.”
In a separate statement, she said: “Solidarity to our 42 higher education branches on strike this week as part of our long-running pay and conditions dispute. We are here because universities are home to some of the most vindictive and cruel managers of any sector in the UK. Support every branch.”
The Universities and Colleges Employers’ Association (UCEA) said this year’s pay deal was the highest offer in 20 years. However, the UCU is calling for an above-inflation pay rise and an end to insecure contracts. The walkouts follow a grading boycott which resulted in some students graduating without their final mark.
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The union also said halting some action would give branches the chance to focus on organising a re-ballot of members to continue taking industrial action in the long-running national dispute. The current mandate is due to expire at the beginning of October, but if further action is accepted by members, strike action could continue into next year.
Julian, 19, a first-year computer science undergraduate at the University of Manchester, decided to join the picket line and told the BBC: “If [staff] are treated fairly, my quality of teaching will improve.”
Bee Hughes, 34, a senior lecturer at Liverpool John Moores University, was also on the picket lines, calling for better pay and an end to casual contracts. “Usually you don’t even know if you’re going to have a contract until the last minute. You can’t plan your future,” Hughes said.
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Raj Jethwa, chief executive of the UCEA, said: “Students and staff will welcome the announcement that UCU has stood down next week’s strike days at the majority of institutions. It is still disappointing that a number of UCU branches will see attempts to carry out strike action.
“A crucial element of resetting industrial relations in the sector is developing a shared understanding of affordability. For the sake of students and staff alike, it is now vital to work together to bring to an end the sector’s recent cycle of industrial disputes.”
