University strikes: Will my lectures be cancelled?

Staff from 68 UK universities will take part in a wave of strikes over the next three weeks.

Some are striking over pay and working conditions, others over pensions – but for most who are taking action it is about both.

In relation to pay, the University and College Union (UCU), which represents staff at institutions across the UK, has called for:

The pension dispute has been smoldering for more than a decade, but has been reignited by the evaluation of a pension scheme used by academic staff – the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS).

The UCU said that assessment was “flawed” because it came at the start of the pandemic, “when global markets were collapsing”.

And the USS has now said its wealth is £25bn higher than it was at the time of the valuation.

Retaining this rating would reduce members’ guaranteed retirement income by 35%, says the UCU.

The first week of this wave of action will take place at 44 institutions over five days from February 14th to 18th and will focus on pensions.

In the second week there is a two-day strike – 21 and 22 February – over pensions, wages and working conditions in 68 facilities.

Week three includes 63 institutions over three days from February 28th to March 2nd.

The final day coincides with a student strike organized by the National Union of Students.

Those involved in the action include some of the largest in the UK in terms of student numbers – such as the Open University, University College London and the University of Manchester.

But to put that number in context, last year 271 UK higher education providers submitted data to the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA).

Staffers from 58 universities went on strike for three days in December – but in a snap election over Christmas, 10 more universities voted to join them.

It’s unclear where or how many tutorials and lectures will be affected, as union members are not required to tell their employers at the university if they intend to quit.

Many universities have told students they want to minimize disruption and have advised them to attend ongoing courses.

Some have encouraged students to ask their faculty to let them know when they are on strike “out of courtesy”.

The union says more than a million students could be affected by the latest round of strikes.

But the executive director of the Employers’ Association of Universities and Colleges (UCEA), Raj Jethwa, said there had been “a low level of disruption” from “a small minority” of UCU members.

Mr Jethwa has previously described industrial action as an “unrealistic attempt” to force all 146 employers to reopen a completed national wage round “aimed at harming students”.

Regarding casual contracts and workload, he said: “We made repeated offers to work together in these areas for two years, but the UCU turned them down.”

There have been countless meetings to try and resolve the pension dispute between the USS, the UCU and Universities UK (UUK), an organization representing 140 institutions.

And late last month, the UCU put forward a series of proposals calling for pension protections.

In return, there would be a small increase in contributions for both members and employers before a new “evidence-based assessment” of the system.

UUK said it has increased its employer contributions to the scheme by 53% since 2009.

It is consulting with its members to see what they think of the UCU’s proposals, but said its main concern remains protecting the “future affordability and sustainability” of the pension system.

A UUK spokesman added: “It is not in the interests of staff or students for employers to agree to UCU’s totally unaffordable demands on pensions and salaries, which would harm education and research and force job losses.”

In total, both salaries and pensions are on strike at 39 universities:

Five will see strikes just over pensions:

Another 23 will see strikes just over pay: