Hundreds of university lecturers in the borough are to take their first strike action in five years over pensions changes.
City University and London Metropolitan are expected to be hit by walk outs on 22 and 24 March after employers refused the University and College Union’s (UCU) offer to enter talks with the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS).
Hundreds more could join the industrial action if teachers at further education colleges vote yes in a ballot.
UCU said the proposed changes would see new entrants to the scheme lose up to £461,000 over the course of their retirement.
John Sanders, president of City University UCU, said: “We are open to changes in the pension scheme, but this is ridiculous. No one wants to go on strike, but nevertheless sometimes you have to stand up and say: ‘you guys have got it wrong’.”
Thousands of students at the universities are likely to be affected by the cancellation of lectures and seminars but Claire Locke, communications and campaigns officer of London Metropolitan Students’ Union, says that students support the strike.
“Our union passed a motion to support all strike action. We’re fighting the same battle; we’re trying to protect our education and lecturers are rearranging classes and providing resources to lessen the impact on us. When we were demonstrating earlier in the year staff supported us, now we’ll be supporting them,” she said.
A spokesperson from City University said: “City University London may be affected by strike action. The university has prepared and implemented a business continuity plan to ensure that students are affected as little as possible by the strike action.”
Pay and conditions for lecturers are negotiated at a national level leaving local education providers powerless to intervene to stop the strikes. The planned changes to the current superannuation scheme would see staff being paid a pension based on their average, rather than their final salary and the creation of a two-tier system, with new entrants getting different rights from existing members.
The national ballot of UCU members on 3 March saw 82 per cent vote in favour of industrial action short of a strike, and 65 per cent for strike action.
