University Strikes across the region

from Mersey News Live 1:8 December 1 2021

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Three Liverpool universities to go on strike this week

University of Liverpool, Hope University and LIPA are striking over pay and pensions this week. OLI JOHNSON looks into the action and talks to those affected.

University strikes are happening again. From the 1st December to 3rd December, 58 universities across the country – including Liverpool - will be hit with strike action.

University and College Union (UCU) members were balloted over two issues in November, one over pension cuts and one over pay and working conditions.

Three Liverpool institutions are taking part in the university strikes: the University of Liverpool, Liverpool Hope University and The Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts (LIPA). Uni of Liverpool are striking over both pay and pensions, and Hope University are striking over pay only. LIPA are one of six universities who are seeing action short of strike, over pay. This term means that their staff will be working strictly to contract and taking on no addition duties.

The general secretary of the UCU, Jo Grady, talked about the need for industrial action and how it is needed for universities to take staff concerns seriously. She said: “A resolution to this dispute is simple. But if employers remain intent on slashing pensions and exploiting staff who have kept this sector afloat during a pandemic then campuses will face strike action before Christmas, which will escalate into spring with reballots and further industrial action.”

Ms Grady added: “University bosses refuse to revoke unnecessary, swingeing pension cuts or even to negotiate on issues like casualisation and the unbearably high workloads that blight higher education.”

There have already been multiple strikes this year, in May/June, August and September. Lucy, 19, a second-year law student at University of Liverpool, had her first year of uni completely online, and was greatly affected by the assessment and marking boycott. Here is what she said about the strikes this month: “It’s really frustrating I only have two contact hours a week anyway for one of my modules, and this week I have none because of the strikes.”

Nicole, also 19, a History student at University of Liverpool, also expressed her frustration at the strikes: “The strike this week doesn’t help. It’s annoying because I want to get a first and this will affect my grades.”

The UCU are determined and work very hard in their effort to improve university working conditions, but in the eyes of some students, they are disregarding arguably the most important people at the university, the people who are there to learn and get a degree.

The National Union of Students national president Larissa Kennedy is attempting to get the message across to students that they should be supporting the strikes if they want to minimise disruption in the future. She said: “Many postgraduate students who are on casualised teaching contracts will be striking. The onus for minimising disruption for students lies with university bosses: they must come back to the table to address the clear issues in how higher education is currently run.”

Larissa Kennedy also mentioned the fact that university vice-chancellors’ average total pay packets have risen to over £269,000 per year and said: “It’s clear employers can afford to resolve their dispute with UCU over staff pay, which has fallen by an average of 20% in real terms since 2009.”

The UCU balloted Liverpool John Moores University over pay and working conditions but LJMU didn’t get over the threshold so there won’t be strike action before Christmas, however the staff are going to be reballoted before December 1st.