Support staff to strike during University of Leeds clearing week

The strike action at the University of Leeds will be disruptive for potential and new students

Support staff at the University of Leeds are to strike during the same week the A-level clearing process takes place, a union has said.

Members of Unison, including cleaners, IT technicians and admin workers, are involved in a dispute over pay.

Unison said members had "no choice" but to walk out for seven days from Saturday 12 August.

The university said it was "disappointed" as it had agreed to work with the union on a pay review.

Unison said the latest in a series of strikes would "affect the new cohort of students, as places will go unconfirmed and clearing will not run as usual due to a lack of staff".

However, it added that the university's current pay offer fell "a long way short" of what its members needed to cope with continuing cost of living pressures.

'Inadequate offer'

The union said that the current pay offer of 5-8%, depending on salary, with a higher percentage rise for lower paid workers, still fell short of inflation.

It estimated that that real value of members' pay had fallen by 30% since 2010.

Neelam Bhambra-Hilton, Unison's Yorkshire and Humberside regional organiser, said: "Senior leaders in higher education have been enjoying executive-style pay and bonuses over the past few years.

"But support staff in vital roles, who make students have a decent university experience, have endured years of pay cuts effectively."

She added: "The university must rethink this inadequate offer again and improve pay."

The union said Leeds would be the only university in the UK to see industrial action during the clearing period.

Clearing week is when universities can fill spaces on courses that are not yet full, meaning students who may not have achieved their target A-level grades can land a place.

A University of Leeds spokesperson said: "We are obviously disappointed that Unison members are taking this action when, in addition to staff receiving an increase of between 5% to 8%, we have committed to working with the union on a pay and grading review at the university.

"During the period of upcoming industrial action, measures will be in place to ensure any disruption of university activities, including clearing, are kept to a minimum."