Uni staff strike for two days over 'withheld pay'

Sheffield Hallam University (SHU) staff are striking over "withheld pay" from a deferred salary increase.

Members of the University and College Union (UCU) will strike on 24 and 25 March over management's decision to delay a 2.7% pay rise by seven months, without back pay.

The university previously said it was struggling to finance the increase as it faced a "challenging time", and had initially delayed it by 11 months.

The UCU accused the university of prioritising investment in new buildings over its staff.

It said the average lecturer had lost about £100 every month due to the deferral.

The university said every 1% increase to staff salaries cost about £2m.

Striking sociology lecturer Dr Bob Jeffrey said he "really regretted" the impact the action would have on students, but "staff's working conditions are students' learning conditions".

Although he accepted some staff members were "reasonably well-paid", he said some staff members were not, particularly those on zero-hour contracts.

"There are only 24 teaching weeks in a year, that's more than half a year when those members of staff can't earn at all - so for those staff, the pay increase really matters."

He said pay rises over the past 10 to 15 years had been "broadly below inflation, reducing pay by 35% on what it would have been", and an increasing number were "feeling that pain".

UCU branch secretary Dr Ben Abell, a biosciences and chemistry lecturer, said the university had concentrated its funds on its new city centre and satellite London campuses.

SHU said it was necessary to spend on buildings to make the university attractive to new students, and the London campus would diversify income.

A spokesperson said: "We are disappointed that UCU has voted to take strike action, although our priority during any industrial action will be to do everything possible to minimise the impact on our students and wider university community.

"Like all universities, we have had to make tough decisions due to the well-documented financial challenges being faced across the higher education sector.

"One of those was to implement the annual nationally negotiated pay award for staff later than in previous years, in order to significantly reduce costs and protect jobs."

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