University staff in the UK has agreed to find a solution to end the strike. The reason for the strike was pay, working condition, and pension.
Over 70,000 University employers at around 150 universities in the UK were on strike. The reason for the strike is known to be pay, pension, and working condition.
University and College Union (UCU) consisting of more than 120,000 staff has agreed to end the strike by finding a way out.
UCU, the Universities and College Employers Association (UCEA) will negotiate on Monday, 13 February 2023 along with four other higher education unions. The other unions comprise EIS, GMB, UNISON, and Unite, they will enter negotiation under the guidance of the Advisory, Conciliation, and Arbitration Service (ACAS).
The discussion is likely to address problems like salary, workload, working conditions, and pension. As per UCU, the strike will continue until they find a solution.
As per Jo Grady, general secretary of UCU, “The sector has more than enough money to pay and treat people fairly.” He further claimed that the union is waiting to find an appropriate solution to their problem that will bring an end to the strike.
The union of teachers is being supported by the National Union of Students (NUS). Even, the vice president at NUS, Chloe Field, blames the vice-chancellor for the negligence in the matter. According to Field, such disruption in the educational sector has never been seen. Further, he claimed, that students are facing inconvenience as the number of teaching days lost is huge.
University employers have so far planned 18 days of strike in February and March, this will impact 2.5 million students in the country. The decision has come into effect after 80 percent of the staff rejected a 5 percent increase in their pay. Though there is no other proposal by their end to settle the dispute.
The number of academic staff in the UK working in higher education is 224,530 in 2020-21. The number of male employees (118,695) is higher than females (105,440).
