The University of Nottingham says it is disappointed that some of its staff members will be going on strike as part of a nationwide demand for better pay and conditions. The University and College Union (UCU) announced on Tuesday (November 8) that more than 70,000 staff at 150 universities would be going on strike for three days later this month.
They are demanding a "meaningful pay rise" and an end to the use of insecure contracts, with the UCU saying that a third of academic staff are on some form of temporary contract. The union confirmed that whilst Nottingham Trent University would not be affected by the strikes, some staff members at the University of Nottingham would be joining the industrial action.
Jo Grady, the general secretary of the UCU, said: "Campuses across the UK are about to experience strike action on a scale never seen before. 70,000 staff will walk out and make clear they refuse to accept falling pay, cuts to pensions and insecure employment.
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"This is not a dispute about affordability - it is about choices. Vice-chancellors are choosing to pay themselves hundreds of thousands of pounds whilst forcing our members onto low paid and insecure contracts that leave some using foodbanks. They choose to hold billions in surpluses whilst slashing staff pensions."
But a University of Nottingham spokesperson said: "We are disappointed that UCU will undertake national industrial action that will affect every university in the country. The university will remain open throughout the period and we will make every effort to minimise disruption for students.
"We have already implemented local pay increases on top of the UCEA national award, to provide a further 3% uplift for colleagues in addition to the national award of 3%. We are also implementing a three-year pay award for lower paid staff of 16.5% that exceeds any other offer available in the higher education sector.
“The university will continue to work with our UCU branch to progress local agreements to address some of the issues under dispute including pay, pensions, gender pay and casualisation." The strike dates will be on November 24, November 25 and November 30.
Jo Grady added: "'UCU members do not want to strike but are doing so to save the sector and win dignity at work. This dispute has the mass support of students because they know their learning conditions are our members' working conditions.
"If university vice-chancellors don't get serious, our message is simple - this bout of strike action will be just the beginning."
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