Universities say they will keep teaching despite strike

iNews 13 November 2021

Universities in the United Kingdom have said that face-to-face teaching will continue for students this winter even if academics go ahead with plans to strike, writes Will Hazell for iNews. University bosses said that because strikes had occurred in every year since 2018, they had become “more used” to dealing with them and mitigating their impact.

Last week, members of the University and College Union met legal thresholds for strike action at 58 universities in two separate ballots over pensions and pay. The union’s leadership is set to meet on Friday to decide next steps, with strikes potentially starting before Christmas.

Professor Alistair Fitt, the vice-chancellor Oxford Brookes University, who sits on the Employers Pension Forum, said his peers at other universities were focused on “minimising any disruption to students and other staff”, while Professor Mark Smith, the vice-chancellor of the University of Southampton and chair of the Universities and Colleges Employers’ Association, which represents universities in pay negotiations, said: “Since 2018, universities have become more used to dealing with [strikes], because it’s happened on several occasions unfortunately.”
Full report on the iNews site

Receive email updates from UWN

Global newsletters    Africa newsletters    Other
    (other includes related events and webinars)

Data will be processed according to our standard terms & conditions.

Sponsored Article

Apply for Wege Prize – Change the world and earn cash rewards

Ferris State University staff

Around the globe, university students with big ideas for making their communities and the world better and helping solve some of today’s biggest problems – pollution, hunger, waste, and more – are applying for Wege Prize, an international design competition with a prize pool of US$65,000.

Promoted by Ferris State University.

Sponsored Article

Sustainability-centred Impact Hub at Stellenbosch University

Stellenbosch University staff

Stellenbosch University’s vision to be a systemically sustainable institution addressing continental and global sustainable development challenges is beginning to bear fruit. Not only is it educating future leaders, policy-makers and professionals in this space, but it is also finding solutions through research, training and development.

Promoted by Stellenbosch University.

Sponsored Article

Supporting Pride is about commitment to campus diversity

University of Victoria staff

ABET, the global accreditor of science, computing, engineering and technology programmes, is supporting Pride Month and prioritising equality, diversity and inclusion. It believes collaboration between a diverse pool of talent is a vital contributor to finding the best solutions to the world’s problems.

Promoted by ABET.

Sponsored Article

Ground-breaking research on seawater biodesalination

UAE University staff

As water scarcity reaches critical levels globally, a research team at the United Arab Emirates University seeks to revolutionise seawater desalination practices, offering a path to mitigate water scarcity while championing environmental preservation.

Promoted by United Arab Emirates University.