Three days of strike action begins at University of Cumbria's Lancaster campus

The University and College Union’s (UCU) demands are for a pay increase in line with inflation, plus agreed actions to tackle precarious employment, excessive workloads and unpaid work, and gender, ethnic and disability pay gaps.

The University and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA) has made a 3% pay offer, but UCU explain that this offer and the most recent inflation data mean that the value of pay had fallen by around 25% since 2009 and that a 3% offer represents a real terms pay cut.

University of Cumbria staff in Lancaster will be striking today, Thursday November 24, and also on November 25 and 30.

Chair of the University of Cumbria branch, Scott Inglis, said: “No member wants to be on strike. We’d rather be getting on with our jobs, but our position is untenable. We urgently call on management side to engage meaningfully with UCU to resolve this dispute.

“Students pay an incredible amount of money per year and are being taught by burned out staff who are under pressure to do more and more with less and less. Increasing use of precarious contracts means that staff and students have little stability and continuity in their academic programmes. This is simply unfair on everyone involved and one of the major reasons students support our action.

“Strike action seems to be the only way we have left to get management to listen to this, even though it will cost us all a day’s wages for every day we are on strike.

“We simply cannot afford not to do this, which is why we are committed to industrial action. We have three days to force management to listen but make no mistake we have a mandate for further strike action and will use that if needs be.”

UCU points out that many students support their action, because they understand that for universities to function well, staff need to have good working conditions.

One current student at the University of Cumbra, Hannah Cousins, said: "As university lecturers prepare to walk out of campuses to fight for better pay and conditions in their workplace, student solidarity is vital in turning this collective action into real change.

"Their working conditions are our learning conditions, and as a current student, I send my full support to University of Cumbria lecturers taking a stand against casualisation, poverty wages, excessive workloads and attacks on pensions.

"Vice-chancellors and senior management must negotiate in good faith with UCU members for the benefit of both students and staff at the university – anything short of this will be an attack on us all."

A University of Cumbria spokesperson said: “The strike action proposed by UCU is part of a national dispute.

“We recognise that the decision to take industrial action is not taken lightly and we respect colleagues' right to take part.

“The University of Cumbria has discussed the matter constructively with UCU locally, and all parties are committed to handling the action and any associated impact on students in a responsible and sensible way.

“The university will make every effort to minimise the impact of the action on our students and to ensure that no student is materially disadvantaged as a consequence of the industrial action.

“Our campuses and all other university resources and support will remain open and available to all students during the strike.”