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| University staff to strike over pay and pensions | |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Some students have supported university staff in their previous strikes over pay and pensions | Some students have supported university staff in their previous strikes over pay and pensions |
| University lecturers, librarians and admin staff across the UK will strike over pay and pensions, the University and College Union has announced. | University lecturers, librarians and admin staff across the UK will strike over pay and pensions, the University and College Union has announced. |
| A total of 70,000 UCU members at 150 universities were asked to vote in two separate ballots - one on pay and working conditions, and another on pensions. | A total of 70,000 UCU members at 150 universities were asked to vote in two separate ballots - one on pay and working conditions, and another on pensions. |
| Strike dates are yet to be decided. | Strike dates are yet to be decided. |
| Employers have previously said universities have done their best to support staff in tough times. | Employers have previously said universities have done their best to support staff in tough times. |
| Students - some of whom have supported previous strike action by university staff - could face lectures being cancelled or rearranged. | Students - some of whom have supported previous strike action by university staff - could face lectures being cancelled or rearranged. |
| The Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA), which represents university employers across the UK, proposed a 3% pay increase for staff this academic year, with 9% for those on the lowest pay grades. | The Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA), which represents university employers across the UK, proposed a 3% pay increase for staff this academic year, with 9% for those on the lowest pay grades. |
| But UCU members want a pay rise to take the rising cost of living into account - much like unions in other sectors that have pushed for strike action in recent months. | But UCU members want a pay rise to take the rising cost of living into account - much like unions in other sectors that have pushed for strike action in recent months. |
| Inflation - the rate at which prices rise - is close to 10%, the highest level for 40 years. That means workers' living costs are rising faster than their wages, leaving them worse off. | Inflation - the rate at which prices rise - is close to 10%, the highest level for 40 years. That means workers' living costs are rising faster than their wages, leaving them worse off. |
| Why is everyone going on strike? | Why is everyone going on strike? |
| 'I back the strikes but could they disrupt my degree?' | 'I back the strikes but could they disrupt my degree?' |
| In the pay-and-working-conditions dispute, the UCU wants staff to get a 12% pay rise, or Retail Price Index (RPI) plus 2%. It also wants to address "dangerously high workloads" and scrap "insecure work practices", such as zero-hours contracts. | |
| Members at 147 universities were asked to vote in this ballot. There was a 57.8% turnout and 81.1% of those voted for strike action. | |
| In the separate pensions ballot, members at 67 universities were asked to vote. Turnout was 60.2% and 84.9% voted for strike action. | |
| This is the first time a ballot by any education union has passed the legal threshold of 50% turnout across the country - enabling it to call a national strike - rather than in individual universities, which would have allowed only staff in those institutions to strike. | |
| "Today, history has been made," said UCU general secretary Jo Grady. | |
| She said the "stunning" results showed university workers were "ready and willing to bring the entire sector to a standstill if serious negotiations don't start very soon". | |
| "University staff are crucial workers in communities up and down the UK. They are sending a clear message that they will not accept falling pay, insecure employment and attacks on pensions," she added. |