The UCU has announced an additional day of strikes which will be taking place on the 15th of March. This comes in addition to the original planned strike days of March 16th and 17th. This strike date was agreed upon by the union’s higher education committee in a meeting on the 24th of February. It will be followed by the original planned dates of the 20th, 21st and 22nd of March.
See also: Weather Warnings Issued For Snow And Ice
On the 24th of January, the UCU released a timetable of their upcoming strike days. This included a total of seven weeks of industrial action, with a no action week beginning on the 6th of March. The action is seeking a pay rise due to inflation and the cost of living crisis, as well as a greater work-life balance for staff.
As of the 28th of February, the union was in talks with Acas, the conciliation service of the UCEA (Universities And Colleges Employers Association). UCU is also in the process of reballoting its members to consider further strike action.
Jo Grady, General Secretary of the UCU, stated: “I’m pleased to say that whilst Acas talks take place on a confidential basis, we are making progress across a range of subjects and will bring you more information as those talks come to a natural conclusion.
“The employer chose to put out their pay offer and make it clear that it is final and that universities can implement the initial element of that pay offer. We need to be absolutely crystal clear; this is not a pay offer that has been agreed with us as a union, or any of the other unions involved in the negotiations.
“The reasons we’ve added this additional date is to focus the employers mind as talks come to a conclusion this week and especially early next week. They need to have on them the maximum amount of pressure.”
The UCEA released a statement on the 24th of February, where Chief Executive Raj Jethwa said: “Following yesterday’s constructive Acas-facilitated talks between UCEA and trade unions, further progress has been made towards the review of the national HE pay spine. While we look forward to progress in Phase two of the talks – which include important non pay issues – through Acas next week, HE institutions have been advised of the pay uplift to be implemented in March.”
See also: ‘My Life Had Changed’: The Diabetes Football Community Founder Channelling Pain Into Positive Action
