UNIVERSITY staff at Aberystwyth, Lampeter and Bangor are to go on strike for three days later this month.

University and College Union (UCU) members voted last month to strike over pay, working conditions and pension cuts.

The union has this afternoon announced that members will go on strike on Thursday, 24 November; Friday, 25 November and Wednesday, 30 November.

Nationwide, UCU says over 70,000 university staff at 150 universities will walk out on these days.

The National Union of Students (NUS) has backed the strikes, which will be the biggest ever to hit UK universities and could impact 2.5 million students.

Staff will also begin industrial action short of strike action from Wednesday 23 November, which includes working to rule, refusing to make up work lost as a result of strike action and refusing to cover for absent colleagues.

The strikes come after UCU members overwhelmingly voted ‘yes’ to industrial action last month in two historic national ballots over attacks on pay and working conditions as well as pension cuts. Despite the result, vice-chancellors have not made any improved offers.

In the pay and working conditions dispute, UCU’s demands include a pay uplift of 12 per cent or Retail Price Index (RPI) plus two per cent, an agreed framework to eliminate insecure work practices such as zero hours contracts, and action to address dangerously high workloads.

In September, Aberystwyth University, along with other employers, offered a standard three per cent pay increase.

In the pension dispute, UCU is demanding that employers reverse their decision that saw the introduction of severe benefit cuts and a 2.5 per cent inflation cap for staff in the USS pension scheme, and pressure the scheme’s managers to restore benefits to 2021 levels.

Speaking to the Cambrian News before the ballot, John Gough, President of UCU Aberystwyth Branch said: “The current cost-of-living crisis is exposing the fact that our pay has not kept up while our pensions are being eroded by inflation. Many members will have difficulty paying rent, heating, buying essentials. Members feel that they have no alternative but to vote for strike action.

“Students know that the staff work hard to support them. However, the working conditions of staff are the learning conditions of students. We need to be paid fairly! We want to thank them for the incredible support they are giving us.”

A spokesperson for Aberystwyth University said before the ballot: “We fully appreciate that the current economic climate presents significant challenges for individuals and institutions alike.

“With this in mind, the university has taken the decision to implement UCEA’s proposed three per pay increase at an early stage, from the beginning of August this year, in line with the offer made as part of UK-wide pay negotiations.

“As a Real Living Wage employer, our lower paid employees will benefit from the recently announced 10.1 per cent increase later in this academic year.

“The university recognises fully the concerns of staff but we also have a duty to ensure we are in a financial position to fulfil any pay increase whilst protecting jobs and the excellent student learning experience for which Aberystwyth University is renowned.”

Following today’s announcement, UCU general secretary, Jo Grady 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.

“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.

“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.”