Two weeks of UCU strikes announced for February and March

Universities across the nation will be hit by more strike action by the UCU, it has been announced today.

The University and College Union (UCU) has stated that there will be 14 days of industrial action at 74 universities, including the University of Liverpool. The strike action is scheduled to take place from Thursday 20th February, concluding in a week-long walkout from the 9th to the 13th March 2020.

The strikes, similarly to 2019, are over pensions and universities’ failure to “make significant improvements on pay, equality, casualisation and workloads.” The UCU has also stated that they are prepared to take further strike action in the future if these issues are not resolved.

This new strike involves 14 more universities than in 2019, and will consequently affect an additional 200,000 students.

‘We have seen more members back strikes since the winter walkouts and this next wave of action will affect even more universities and students. If universities want to avoid further disruption they need to deal with rising pension costs, and address the problems over pay and conditions.’

UCU General Secretary Jo Grady

The full strike dates are:

• Week one – Thursday 20 & Friday 21 February
• Week two – Monday 24, Tuesday 25 & Wednesday 26 February
• Week three – Monday 2, Tuesday 3, Wednesday 4 & Thursday 5 March
• Week four – Monday 9, Tuesday 10, Wednesday 11, Thursday 12 & Friday 13 March

Full list of Universities affected by strike action 

Both disputes (47):
1. Aston University
2. Bangor University
3. Cardiff University
4. University of Durham
5. Heriot-Watt University
6. Loughborough University
7. Newcastle University
8. The Open University
9. The University of Bath
10. The University of Dundee
11. The University of Leeds
12. The University of Manchester
13. The University of Sheffield
14. University of Nottingham
15. The University of Stirling
16. University College London
17. The University of Birmingham
18. The University of Bradford
19. The University of Bristol
20. The University of Cambridge
21. The University of Edinburgh
22. The University of Exeter
23. The University of Essex
24. The University of Glasgow
25. The University of Lancaster
26. The University of Leicester
27. City University
28. Goldsmiths College
29. Queen Mary University of London
30. Royal Holloway
31. The University of Reading
32. The University of Southampton
33. The University of St Andrews
34. Courtauld Institute of Art
35. The University of Strathclyde
36. The University of Wales
37. The University of Warwick
38. The University of York
39. The University of Liverpool
40. The University of Sussex
41. The University of Aberdeen
42. The University of Ulster
43. Queen’s University Belfast
44. Birkbeck College, University of London
45. SOAS, University of London
46. The University of Oxford
47. The University of East Anglia

Pay and conditions dispute only (22):
1. Bishop Grosseteste University
2. Bournemouth University
3. Edge Hill University
4. Glasgow Caledonian University
5. Glasgow School of Art
6. Liverpool Hope University
7. Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts
8. Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh
9. St Mary’s University College, Belfast
10. Roehampton University
11. Sheffield Hallam University
12. The University of Brighton
13. The University of Kent
14. Bath Spa University
15. Royal College of Art
16. University of Huddersfield
17. University of Winchester
18. University of East London
19. Leeds Trinity University
20. UAL London College of Arts
21. De Montfort University
22. University of Greenwich

USS pensions dispute only (5):
1. Scottish Association of Marine Science
2. Institute for Development Studies
3. Keele University
4. King’s College London
5. Imperial College London

If you would like to read the full UCU statement on the strikes, click here

Source: UCU

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