Staff Strike At Brighton University Over Pension Cuts, Pay, Working Conditions

Brighton University staff have joined staff from 67 other universities UK-wide, including The University of Sussex, striking against pension cuts, pay and working conditions.

Strikes will impact over a million students over the 10 days of strikes, five of which took place last week, two this week  (Mon and Tue) and three next (Mon - Wed).

Picket lines will be held outside main university entrances on each of the ten strike days.

The University College Union told us:

Staff at the University of Sussex are striking for ten days in two disputes, the first is over cuts to pensions and the second is over deteriorating pay & working conditions. 

In total, staff at 44 universities began strike action last Monday (Feb 14) after university employers refused to withdraw cuts to the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) or accept UCU’s compromise proposals which would have seen staff and employers pay slightly more to protect benefits and resolve the pension dispute.

Last week the pension scheme trustee USS, which runs the scheme, confirmed UCU’s proposals are viable and implementable. UUK’s proposals, which will see 35% cut from the guaranteed retirement income of members, are set to be formalised on 22 February.

Today (Feb 21) strike action over pay and working conditions will also start.

Twenty-four more universities will join the strikes, including the University of Brighton. This will bring the overall total to 68 universities.

This dispute is over a 20% real terms pay cut over the past 12 years, unmanageable workloads, pay inequality and the use of exploitative and insecure contracts, which are rife across the sector.

Altogether, more than 50,000 staff are expected to walk out with well over a million students set to be impacted.

The final day of strike action in week three has been called to coincide with the student strike on Wednesday 2 March, organised by the National Union of Students (NUS).

The NUS is supporting UCU’s industrial action and is calling for better working conditions, pay and pensions for staff.

Staff are also engaged in action short of a strike (ASOS) which involves working strictly to contract, not covering for absent colleagues, not rescheduling lectures or classes cancelled due to strike action, or undertaking any voluntary activities.

To resolve the pension dispute UCU is demanding employers revoke the cuts to staff pensions and formally accept the union’s compromise proposals [NOTE 4].

To resolve the pay & working conditions dispute UCU is demanding a £2.5k pay increase for all staff, as well as action to tackle unmanageable workloads, pay inequality and the use of insecure and exploitative contracts.

In December 2021, staff at 58 universities took three days of strike action. Following a successful reballot over Christmas, staff at ten more universities join this wave of strikes.

The union says universities can more than afford to meet the demands of staff. University finance figures, from 2019/20, show total income across the sector was £41.9bn with reserves of £46.8bn. 

UCU general secretary Jo Grady said:

"The action that will hit 68 universities is down to vice chancellors who have failed staff and students. They have pushed through brutal pension cuts and done nothing to address falling pay, pay inequality, the rampant use of insecure contracts and unmanageable workloads.  

"Throughout these disputes, our union has offered simple solutions that would avert industrial action and benefit the sector in the long-term, but time and again employers have chosen to continue pushing staff to breaking point, all whilst the sector continues to bring in tens of billions of pounds each year.

"To avoid this period of industrial action all vice chancellors had to do was accept UCU’s viable pension proposals and take action over worsening pay & working conditions. That they didn’t is an abject failure of their leadership.

"Students are standing by our members because they know that staff working conditions are their learning conditions. And they know that this sector, which is awash with money, can afford to treat its staff with dignity. As ten days of action begins (on Monday 14th) vice chancellors need to urgently get around the table and help UCU resolve these disputes."