Staff at University of West London to strike

UCU members at the University of West London will be on strike on tomorrow (Tuesday 28 June) as part of a wave of nationwide strikes in a row over pay and conditions.

University staff have timed their action to coincide with a university conference on teaching and learning. Striking staff will form a picket line outside the main entrance from 8am requesting that academic staff, external speakers and attendees withdraw from the event. They will also be asking academics not to work that day and to support the campaign for fair pay.

The dispute has arisen following a pay offer of just 1.1% from the universities' employers, the Universities and Colleges Employers Association. UCU said universities can afford to pay more and the offer did little to address the real-terms pay cut of 14.5% that members have suffered since 2009.

The squeeze on staff salaries comes despite vice-chancellors enjoying a 6.1% pay hike. The union has also called for universities to commit to closing the gender pay gap and reducing the proportion of staff on casual and zero-hours contracts. On average, female academics are paid £6,103 less a year than their male counterparts, while 49% of university teachers are on insecure contracts.

Since 2010 the amount spent on staff by universities as a percentage of total income has dropped by 3%. However, the total of cash reserves has rocketed by 72% to stand at over £21bn. The nationwide strikes over pay began with two national strike days in May and now UCU members at separate institutions are striking to disrupt local events such as open days and graduation ceremonies. More details are available here and via the Twitter hashtag #FairpayinHE.

UCU representative at the University of West London, Alan Outten: 'We want the expertise and dedication of all staff to be acknowledged. Our targeted strike action is a result of the employers' failure to deal with the declining real-terms pay of university staff or tackle the problems of growing numbers of zero-hours contracts and the persistent gender pay gap.'