UEA lecturers are going on strike

Lecturers who are a part of the UCU (university and college union) and have a pension scheme in the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) are going on strike next month.

The decision to strike comes after 88 per cent of union members voted for strike action against changes to their pension. These changes could result in a possible loss of a typical lecturer loosing around £200,000 in retirement. The strike is affecting countless other universities across the country including Kings College London and the University of Cambridge.

The strike will officially start taking place on the 22nd of February. However, due to that being 'reading week' for many students, it is expected that the start date will be delayed at UEA. The strike will start with two striking days in the first week, leading to three in the second, then four and finally five. This means that the strike could span over a month, affecting teaching for a really substantial amount of time if no agreement is made.

We reached out to both the University and the SU for a comment. Commenting on the issue SU Postgraduate Education Officer Madeleine Colledge said: “No Trade Union takes industrial action lightly- and it shouldn’t surprise us that staff are concerned that having had years of pay restraint they’re now facing a huge cut in their retirement income.

"The debate around pensions nationally tends revolve around pitting the young against the old, but this shouldn’t be a race to the bottom where we drag down the standards of others because of the poor pensions schemes on offer nationally. We should be supporting the academics who co-create our education with us."

She continued: “Like other SUs, we will be pressuring University management to take responsibility for reducing disruption, and will be taking all steps to ensure there is early and good communication about industrial action with students.”

A spokesperson for the University told us: "The national Joint Negotiating Committee has voted to approve Universities UK's proposal for changes to the USS pension scheme and, as a result, we have been informed UCU will take industrial action. It is important that the potential impact on students is minimised and UEA will be putting in place measures to minimise any disruption arising from the UCU industrial action.”

Adding that they would inform us of any new contingencies for students when they have more information.