London, Mar. 21, (PA Media/dpa/GNA) – Tens of thousands of university staff in Britain staged more walkouts on Monday despite hopes of a breakthrough in a dispute over pay, contracts and pensions.
Universities across Britain have been hit by fresh strikes, with lectures and seminars cancelled, as 70,000 members of the University and College Union (UCU) began the first of three successive days of action this week.
It comes after the union’s higher education committee voted to continue industrial action.
On Wednesday, a group of unions and the Universities and Colleges Employers Association, (UCEA) which represents 144 employers, said an agreement had been reached “on terms of reference for detailed negotiations”.
But on Friday, Jo Grady, general secretary of the UCU, said the union’s higher education committee had voted to continue strike action and not to put the proposals out for members to vote on.
The UCU is currently re-balloting its members to allow university staff to take further industrial action through the rest of the academic year if their demands are not met by employers.
Last month, UCU members staged six days of walkouts across Britain.
Seven days of strike action planned for February and March were suspended by the UCU after progress was made in talks with employers, but the UCU staged a further three days of walkouts last week.
GNA