University staff strike action ‘very much on the cards’

Thousands of non-teaching staff in universities across the UK are being balloted on strikes in a row over pay, threatening disruption from next month.

Unite, which represents 20,000 technicians, laboratory assistants, administrators and other workers, said its members had suffered a “pay drought” for the past five years.

Voting will start next week and end on October 14, and today’s announcement follows a similar move by the lecturers’ union.

Unite said its members’ real pay had been eroded by about 13% since 2008, arguing that they needed a substantial rise to retain dedicated staff.

National officer Mike McCartney said: “For the last five years, our members have suffered a pay drought and seen their take-home pay seriously eroded since 2008.

“On one hand, you have highly-paid vice-chancellors travelling the world extolling the virtues of Britain’s universities and drumming up overseas students and foreign funding, yet the staff that keep Britain in the top 10 of the world’s universities face reduced incomes.

“The employers have shown a callous disregard when it comes to fair pay treatment for their staff and now strike action is very much on the cards.”