Workers in various industries have been going on strike, with no signs of industrial action slowing in 2023.
Among the nurses, ambulance workers and train workers walking out of work in respective disputes over pay and terms and conditions are staff in universities – as a row continues over pay, high workloads and pensions.
On February 3, the University and College Union (UCU) announced its members rejected a 5% pay deal from Universities and Colleges Employers’ Association (UCEA) and said that more walkouts are to come over the next two months until a new offer is made.
So, just when are the next university strikes, and which institutions are set to be affected?
Here’s all you need to know.
When are the university strikes in February 2023?
There are numerous strike dates planned for February and March 2023 – with the next dates being Thursday, February 9 and Friday, February 10.
The UCU lists the following February and March dates:
Upcoming university strike days, as per UCU’s website
- Thursday, February 9
- February, February 10
- Tuesday, February 14
- Wednesday, February 15
- Thursday, February 16
- Tuesday, February 21
- Wednesday, February 22
- Thursday, February 23
- Monday, February 27
- Tuesday, February 28
- Wednesday, March 1
- Thursday, March 2
- Thursday, March 16
- Friday, March 17
- Monday, March 20
- Tuesday, March 21
- Wednesday, March 22.
These planned strike dates follow action on Wednesday, February 1, which saw around 70,000 staff from 150 universities walk out.
The union says the total 18 days of action will impact 2.5 million students.
Of course, if the dispute is resolved before these dates, it’s possible that some strikes may be suspended or cancelled.
On February 3, the UCU reiterated its intention to strike, saying: ‘The union has confirmed that strike action will resume next week and continue through February and March unless a much-improved pay offer is made alongside commitments on workload and casualisation.’
UCU general secretary Jo Grady added: ‘My message is very simple: our members have seen through your pleas of poverty as you sit on over £40 billion of reserves […] Get serious and make a proper offer – or get out of the way.’
For its part, UCEA made a ‘full and final’ pay offer on January 26, calling it ‘fair in the circumstances’ and noting the ‘challenging financial climate’ and ‘financial constraints facing the sector’.
The association also wrote online that lower-paid staff would receive a pay uplift of 8%, adding: ‘The offer prioritises the disproportionate effect of high inflation falling on lower-paid staff but still with a minimum of 5% for all other members of staff.’
Which universities are affected by strikes?
According to the UCU website’s full list, the following institutions are being affected by upcoming strikes.
They are:
Full list of universities affected by strikes, as per UCU’s website
- Aberdeen, The University of
- Abertay University
- Aberystwyth University
- Anglia Ruskin University
- Arts University Bournemouth
- Aston University
- Bangor University
- Bath Spa University
- Bath, University of
- Bedfordshire, University of
- Birkbeck, University of London
- Birmingham City University
- Birmingham, The University of
- Bishop Grosseteste University
- Bolton, The University of
- Bournemouth University
- Bradford, University of
- Brighton, University of
- Bristol, University of
- Brunel University
- Buckinghamshire New University
- Cambridge, University of
- Canterbury Christ Church University
- Cardiff Metropolitan University
- Cardiff University
- Central Lancashire, University of
- Chester, University of
- Chichester, University of
- City, University of London
- Courtauld Institute of Art
- Coventry University
- Cranfield University
- Cumbria, University of
- De Montfort University
- Derby, University of
- Dundee, The University of
- Durham University
- East Anglia, University of
- East London, University of
- Edge Hill University
- Edinburgh Napier University
- Edinburgh, University of
- Essex, University of
- Exeter, University of
- Falmouth University
- Glasgow Caledonian University
- Glasgow School of Art
- Glasgow, University of
- Gloucestershire, University of
- Goldsmiths, University of London
- Greenwich, University of
- Harper Adams University
- Heriot-Watt University
- Hertfordshire, University of
- Huddersfield, The University of
- Hull, The University of
- Imperial College London
- Institute of Development Studies (IDS)
- Keele University
- Kent, The University of
- King’s College London
- Kingston University
- Lancaster, University of
- Leeds Arts University
- Leeds Beckett University
- Leeds Trinity University
- Leeds, The University of
- Leicester, University of
- Lincoln, University of
- Liverpool Hope University
- Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts (LIPA)
- Liverpool John Moores University
- Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine
- Liverpool, University of
- London Metropolitan University
- London School of Economics
- London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
- London South Bank University
- Loughborough University
- Manchester Metropolitan University
- Manchester, The University of
- Middlesex University
- Newcastle University
- Newman University
- Northampton, The University of
- Northumbria University
- Norwich University of the Arts
- Nottingham Trent University
- Nottingham, The University of
- Open University
- Oxford Brookes University
- Oxford, University of
- Plymouth Marjon University
- Plymouth, University of
- Portsmouth, University of
- Queen Margaret University
- Queen Mary, University of London
- Queen’s University Belfast
- Reading, University of
- Robert Gordon University
- Roehampton University
- Rose Bruford College
- Royal Academy of Music
- Royal Agricultural University
- Royal Central School of Speech and Drama
- Royal College of Art
- Royal College of Music
- Royal Holloway, University of London
- Royal Northern College of Music
- Royal Veterinary College, University of London
- Ruskin College Salford, The University of
- SAMS at University of the Highlands and Islands
- Senate House, University of London
- Sheffield Hallam University
- Sheffield, The University of
- SOAS, University of London
- Solent University
- South Wales, University of
- Southampton, University of
- St Andrews, University of
- St George’s, University of London
- St Mary’s University College, Belfast
- St Mary’s University, Twickenham
- Staffordshire University
- Stirling, The University of
- Stranmillis University College
- Strathclyde, University of
- Suffolk, University of
- Sunderland, University of
- Surrey, University of
- Sussex, University of
- Swansea University
- Teesside, University of
- Trinity Laban
- UCA University for the Creative Arts
- Ulster University
- University College Birmingham
- University College London
- University of the Arts London
- University of Wales Trinity Saint David
- Warwick, University of
- West London, University of
- West of England, University of the
- West of Scotland, University of the
- Westminster, University of
- Winchester, The University of
- Wolverhampton, University of
- Worcester, University of
- Wrexham Glyndwr University
- Writtle University College
- York, University of
- York St John University
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