Over 70,000 varsity staff in United Kingdom to go on strike for 18 days over pay

London: Nearly 70,000 staff at 150 universities across the United Kingdom will strike for 18 days between February and March in connection with disputes over pay, working conditions and pensions, the University and College Union (UCU) said on Friday.

The union, which represents academics, trainers, librarians and professional staff in colleges and universities, said it was demanding better pay after employers gave them a pay rise worth 3% following more than a decade of below-inflation pay awards.

This comes amid a barrage of strikes in various other sectors, which have already hit Britain hard. As the country grapples with double-digit inflation, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is under pressure to resolve a wave of industrial actions in Britain that began last year.

“The clock is now ticking for the sector to produce a deal or be hit with widespread disruption throughout spring,” UCU general secretary Jo Grady has said.

Strikes across Britain over the past few weeks involving hundreds of thousands of workers have repeatedly disrupted key services like healthcare and rail transport.

Thousands of ambulance workers too were holding a second day of strikes on Thursday over pay and conditions, during which they will only respond to the most urgent cases. Their first strike took place in December and further action is planned for later in January.

Unison, one of trade unions representing ambulance workers, has said that the government “had months to intervene and end this dispute but has failed to do so,” blaming the administration for repeatedly refusing to come to the table for negotiations to solve the crisis.

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