By A new wave of industrial action has hit universities in the United Kingdom as thousands of staff have reportedly embarked on an industrial action.
According to reports, the strike was to demand better pay and working conditions, pension scheme, among other issues affecting the university system.
BBC reported that in terms of salary, the University and College Union (UCU), the body representing varsity staff across the UK, is demanding a £2,500 pay increase for members. Other demands also include an end to “pay injustice” and zero-hours contracts as well as action to tackle “unmanageable workloads”.
The union and the UK government had been in a long-standing debate over the issue of pension. However, serious concerns have been raised on the valuation of the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS), the pension scheme used for academic staff in varsities, which the UCU had described as “flawed”.
The industrial action will hold for 10 days and spread across three weeks. In its first week, the strike would address address pension-related issues, and slated to hold in 44 varsities across the UK between February 14 to 18.
Next would be a two-day march over pensions, pay, and working conditions which is billed to hold on February 21 and 22 across 68 institutions.
No fewer than 63 institutions will embark on a three-day strike in the third week from February 28 to March 2.
The last day of the industrial action will coincide with another strike organized by the National Union of Students — a group of students drawn from UK’s most-populated institutions such as the Open University, University College London, and the University of Manchester.
As concerns grow over the disruption this development might cause to the UK education system, the UCU has disclosed that more than a million students may be affected by the latest round of strikes — amid serious concerns over possible cancellation of most lectures.
