28 January 2022 - UK university staff plan 10 days of strikes in pay and pensions rows
UK universities face 10 days of walkouts over pay and pensions
Bethan Staton (Financial Times, 27/01/2022)
Staff at dozens of UK universities will start 10 days of strike action next month as a fight over pensions, pay and working conditions continues to cause serious disruption to higher education.
The University and College Union, which represents all university staff, on Thursday announced more than 1m students at 68 institutions would be hit by walkouts in February, with potential further action including rolling regional strikes and a national marking boycott to come.
The strike, starting on February 14, is the latest flare-up in a years-long dispute over insecure working conditions, poor pay and deteriorating pensions in higher education, characterised as a “fight for the future of higher education” by the union.
Universities union bids for a ‘way out’ to avert fresh strikes
Catherine Lough (Evening Standard, 27/01/2022)
The leading university staff union has said that if its proposals on pensions are heard, this offers a “way out” of imminent strike action.
The University and College Union (UCU) has called for new pension proposals to be formally tabled and voted on.
It has called for the financial health of the pension scheme to be evaluated, as well as for employers to pay more towards the scheme from April 2023.
University strikes: Queen's and Ulster University face further action
Robbie Meredith (BBC News, 28/01/2022)
Queen's University (QUB) and Ulster University (UU) face 10 days of strike action by some staff in February and March.
The University and College Union (UCU), which represents lecturers and support staff, is taking the action over pay, working conditions and pensions.
The move by the UCU follows a three-day walkout in December 2021.
Watch for these conflicts over education in 2022
Joseph J. Ferrare and Kate Phillippo (The Conversation, 10/01/2022)
At school board meetings across the country in 2021, parents engaged in physical altercations, shouted at school board members and threatened them as well.
These disagreements entered state politics, too, such as the 2021 Virginia governor’s race, which was largely shaped by conflicts over the how issues of race and racism are taught in the K-12 curriculum, and transgender student rights.
Our September 2021 article in Educational Policy explains that the short-term conflicts that generate media attention – such as about critical race theory across the nation – are part of long-standing ideological debates about education. These conflicts are about issues such as who deserves academic opportunity, what the parameters of public education are and whether schools and universities ought to promote a positive image of the U.S. or explore its shortcomings.