![A sign taped to a tree sports the UCU label, and reads "Official Picket" in bold pink letters. A person with a backpack walks past in the background.](https://cdn.the-scientist.com/assets\articleNo\70739\hImg\48539\ucu-banner-m.webp "A sign taped to a tree sports the UCU label, and reads "Official Picket" in bold pink letters. A person with a backpack walks past in the background.")
Staff members from more than 150 UK universities plan to strike on the 24th, 25th, and 30th of this month, the University and College Union announced yesterday (November 8). The strike is estimated to involve over 70,000 university staff members, which would make it the largest strike at UK universities to date, the announcement says.
“Campuses across the UK are about to experience strike action on a scale never seen before,” University and College Union (UCU) general secretary Jo Grady says in the announcement.
If they go ahead, these strikes will mark the fifth consecutive year that UK university staff members have staged strikes in protest of poor working conditions—in this case, low pay increases and pension cuts, the release continues. Earlier this year, UK universities enacted an overall 3 perfect percent pay increase, according to the University & Colleges Employers Association (UCEA), with a 9 percent increase for the ...
![A sign taped to a tree sports the UCU label, and reads "Official Picket" in bold pink letters. A person with a backpack walks past in the background.](https://cdn.the-scientist.com/assets\articleNo\70739\aImg\48537\usu-ai-t.webp "A sign taped to a tree sports the UCU label, and reads "Official Picket" in bold pink letters. A person with a backpack walks past in the background.")
