May 22, 2022

Striking UK Universities Set to Cool Off Protests Over Pay and Working Conditions

U Universities in United Kingdom that were protesting poor working conditions and pension cuts seem to be cancelling their plans of a mega protest next week. Inconvenience to graduating students was the reason some unions decided to stop protests. According to sources, around 41 branches of university unions have decided to call off their strike slated for next week. The source further added that only 20 union branches plan to continue the protest.

In response to branch and member opposition, the executive union decided to stop national action and let campuses opt to support the strike or not. The threat of union boycotts has seen an aggressive response from some university leaders. A few universities plan to hire external staff to cope with the absence of protesting unions.

…Higher Education Institutions have a duty to protect their students and they are legally entitled to fully withhold pay for this boycott…

The declining numbers of striking unions suggest that members are losing enthusiasm for industrial action, including a dispute over pensions that span more than a year. The universities of Edinburgh and Durham were among those to pull out of the boycott last week. While some universities solved the disputes with negotiations, others have set strict rules against the striking workforce.

Managers at Sheffield, Leeds, and Dundee have warned staff that they face having 100% of their pay docked if they take part in the boycott, which includes not marking the end of year exams and dissertations.

Durham’s UCU branch has negotiated a deal believed to be feasible for all parties involved. Sources say a payout of up to £1,000 was offered to each employee, as well as joint statements and commitments on workload and pensions as part of the deal.

Raj Jethwa, CEO the Universities and Colleges Employers Association, said: “Higher education institutions must protect their students and they are legally entitled to fully withhold pay for this boycott.”

Amidst disputes, universities have announced redundancies and restructuring methods to cope with funding and student enrolment challenges. Many universities such as Wolverhampton have chalked out plans to reduce course intake and the number of courses owing to budgets and lack of student enrolments. While the situation looks bleak, university leaders hope to iron out issues to ease burden on students and universities.

Posted in News and tagged News, UK, Protests, University Leaders, Universities in UK
Bookmark the Permalink