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UK campuses hit by biggest ever university strike over pay, pensions

Saturday, 26 November 2022 3:14 AM [ Last Update: Saturday, 26 November 2022 3:14 AM ]

Saeed Pourreza

Press TV, London

This is not a lecture, but a picket line: These lecturers, librarians and researchers are out here as part of a massive strike across the country. 150 universities are involved in three days of industrial action affecting Up to 2.5 million students; action these students support.

The list of grievances is long. Trade unions say staff pay and pensions have declined by 25 and 35 percent respectively since 2009 in real terms while workloads have increased. Lecturers earn an average of 55 thousand dollars a year. Academics are increasingly being offered short term contracts; meaning many have to reapply for their jobs every few months.

The average undergraduate degree costs around 35 thousand dollars in tuition fees. That’s excluding books, travel and accommodation. Students from outside the UK pay double or more. If you're a teacher, one of your main tasks is to steer pupils into work and to show them that at the end of the day, education pays, that it has societal value but the reality is some of the brightest brains in Britain are now struggling to make a living.

Compare that with the average vice chancellor’s pay, which is six and a half times greater than the average staff member's. This is the latest in a wave of escalating industrial action taking place across the UK. Workers in several other sectors such as the postal service, transportation and health also walking out for similar reasons.

Negotiations between university staff and management are ongoing. Meanwhile frustration among academics is growing that universities are putting profit before people.

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