Following the decisive ‘yes’ vote – UCU members are on strike with Unison and Unite in defence of our living standards on 31st October – Halloween Day. We have seen a fall in the real value of our wages of 13 per cent in the last three years. Now we have been offered a miserly 1 per cent and a refusal to negotiate on other important issues. Meantime universities have built up huge reserves and Vice Chancellors have awarded themselves hefty increases in their salaries.
But the anger runs much deeper than pay. Lecturers and academic related staff have faced increased workloads and are constantly bombarded with targets on publishing and the ‘student experience’ while the students that we teach are saddled with a lifetime of debt.
Please find here a leaflet you can use in your branches to build the strike.